British Choral Music in the Last Third of the 20th Century: Outcomes of the English Musical Renaissance

Abstract

The present paper considers the main development paths of British choral composition during the last third of the 20th century. The analysis of choral scores by British composers, which were in demand in the global concert scene both at the turn of the century and today, identifies several evolutionary trends: (1) post-Britten influenced by the choral music of the outstanding British composer Benjamin Britten; (2) post-Avant-Garde combining the achievements of the post-war Avant- Garde with typical features of British choral music; (3) New Simplicity, understood as a manifestation of the “contemporary reaction to the complexity of the Avant-Garde” (Levon Hakobian); (4) democratic associated with successful attempts to unite the music of academic and popular genres; (5) moderate academic based on a limited selection of Avant-Garde innovations placed in the conditions of tonal or modal composition. Along with the presented classification, three common grounds that unite virtually all choral composers of Great Britain are identified: (1) a connection between the past and present of British music, revealed in most works; (2) an unflagging attention to church works representing mainly Christian denominations (Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy); (3) a desire to combine the compositional and technical achievements of continental composers with the genre and intonational specifics of British music. The key conclusion of the article is that contemporary British composers, even in the context of the multi-directional evolution of British choral composition, have remained faithful to the principles first formulated by the figures of the English musical Renaissance.

Keywords: choral music, contemporary composition, choral texture, vocal timbre, British composers