Recommendations for massive choirs

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NcLean
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Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by NcLean »

Hi all,

Although I know how to use a search function, humans tend to be able to recommend personal opinions a lot better.

I'm looking for recommendations for music that will work really well with a choir of 250+.

For practical reasons, Mahler is not an ideal option.

Examples of stuff that might work:
Beethoven Missa Solemnis; Poulenc Gloria; Berlioz Req / Te Deum; Vaughan William's A Sea Symphony ... it doesn't have to have big orchestra - Rach Vespers works well at this size.

So, surprise me - it doesn't have to necessitate massiveness, it certainly needn't be difficult - it just needs to work well on a massive scale. What would you recommend? What would you like to hear done like this?
pml
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by pml »

Heh. You can ask me in person :)
--
PML (talk)
sbeckmesser
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by sbeckmesser »

There's always Schoenberg's Gurrelieder. But along with a huge choir and huge orchestra you'd need a few good vocal soloists. The need for good soloists also extends to such suitable pieces as Brahms' German Requiem and Rachmaninoff's The Bells.

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dwil9798
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by dwil9798 »

Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata comes to mind, but you would need a good mezzo soloist for the sixth movement. Borodin's Polovetsian Dances would also work too.
allegroamabile
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by allegroamabile »

Dvorak- Requiem, Op. 89
Dvorak- Te Deum, Op. 103
Dvorak- Mass in D major, Op. 84
Elgar- The Spirit of England, Op. 80

These are all good pieces by well-known composers that are not performed too often, so I would believe that these suggestions would be nice crowd pleasers.
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by Sathrandur »

Verdi's Requiem
NcLean
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Re: Recommendations for massive choirs

Post by NcLean »

Thank you all for your opinions!
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