Great Choral Music

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. In 1555, Pope Marcellus decreed that church music "must be sung in a fitting manner, with properly modulated voices, so that everything may be heard and understood". Which Italian composer undertook to compose a mass in honor of Pope Marcellus which adhered to these principles? Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Luca Marenzio Giovanni Gabrieli Orazio Vecchi

2. This German composer lived from 1585-1672; his output includes a setting of the Passion, a Christmas oratorio, a setting of the entire book of psalms, several madrigals, instrumental music, and a large body of sacred pieces. Heinrich Schutz Michael Praetorius Melchior Vulpius Heinrich Isaac

3. This Italian composer's works bridge the Renaissance and Baroque eras. His best known choral works are his madrigals (both spiritual and secular) and his "Vespro della Beata Vergine". He is principally known, however, for being the first truly great operatic composer. Arcangelo Corelli Jacopo Peri Francesco Cavalli Claudio Monteverdi

4. The choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach include the great Mass in B Minor, the Magnificat in D, over one hundred church cantatas, and two mighty settings of the Passion from the gospels of these two evangelists. Matthew and Luke Matthew and John Luke and John Matthew and Mark

5. Best known for his oratorio "The Messiah", Georg Frederick Handel also wrote this great oratorio which includes choruses about swarms of insects, fire and hail, and darkness and an aria about frogs and diseased cattle. Solomon Samson Israel in Egypt Judas Maccabeus

6. The famous "Hallelujah Chorus" is sung at the conclusion of Handel's "Messiah". True False

7. Haydn's great oratorio "The Creation" opens with an orchestral prelude. What does it describe? Light being separated from darkness The creation of man The waters separated from dry land Chaos

8. Which of the following is NOT a setting of the mass by Mozart? The "Sparrow" mass ("Spatzen messe") The "Credo" mass The Coronation mass The "Lord Nelson" mass

9. Which three sections of Mozart's great Requiem were entirely composed by his pupil Sussmayer after his death? Lacrymosa, Sanctus, and Benedictus Offertory, Lacrymosa, and Sanctus Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei Offertory, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei

10. This great choral work of Beethoven was written with the inscription "From the heart, may it go to the heart." Christus am Oelberg The Mass in C The Ninth (Choral) Symphony Missa Solemnis

11. Which great German poet wrote the text used for Beethoven's great Ninth symphony (the "Ode to Joy")? Goethe Rilke Morike Schiller

12. This French composer's Requiem includes four brass choruses, a movement in which the chorus sings only two notes in repetition, and another movement in which the orchestral accompaniment consists of flutes and trombones. Charles Gounod Theodore Dubios Cesar Franck Hector Berlioz

13. Which of the following is true of Johannes Brahms' great "Deutsches Requiem"? It was written after the death of the composer's mother It does not use the text of the Catholic Requiem mass All of these Jesus is not mentioned by name in the text

14. These two Italian opera composers each wrote a major sacred choral work in operatic style. One, known primarily for his operatic comedies, wrote a setting of the Stabat Mater. The other wrote a powerful setting of the Requiem in honor of a great Italian author. Ironically, the latter composer's Requiem had started out as a joint work with other prominent Italian composers of his day on the occasion of the previous composer's death. Rossini and Puccini Rossini and Verdi Donizetti and Verdi Bellini and Verdi

15. The music of this Austrian composer includes several settings of the mass, a Te Deum, and several motets. Gustav Mahler Richard Strauss Anton Bruckner Robert Schumann

16. Apart from Beethoven, which of these great symphonists wrote symphonies utilizing chorus and soloists? Anton Bruckner Paul Hindemith Johannes Brahms Gustav Mahler

17. Carl Orff's great "Carmina Burana" is based on medieval German-Latin poetry and is divided into seven sections. What is the theme of the beginning and closing section of the work? The Spring Love Fortune Death

18. "Belshazzar's Feast" is a "partita for chorus and orchestra" by this British composer best known for composing the scores for Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean films, and for the royal march "Crown Imperial". William Walton Benjamin Britten Edward Elgar Ralph Vaughan Williams

19. This twentieth century British composer's choral works include "Rejoice in the Lamb", "A Ceremony of Carols", "Five Flower Songs", "A War Requiem", and "A Festival Te Deum." Herbert Howells Ralph Vaughan Williams Gustav Holst Benjamin Britten

20. "In the Beginning" is an exciting choral work by this American composer, also known for "Rodeo", "Billy the Kid", and "Appalachian Spring". Aaron Copland Leonard Bernstein Samuel Barber Charles Ives

21. In what language did Leonard Bernstein write his "Chichester Psalms"? Latin Hebrew Greek English

22. This French composer's works include a setting of the "Gloria", four Lenten motets, four Christmas motets, a Litany to the "black virgin", and a Stabat Mater. Francis Poulenc Gabriel Faure Ernest Chausson Claude Debussy

23. This Russian composer, best known for his piano works, composed a setting of the Russian vespers and a choral setting of Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Bells". Ignace Padarewski Peter Illych Tchiakovsky Sergei Rachmaninoff Alexander Glazounov

24. The Requiem settings of French composers Gabriel Faure and Maurice Durufle omit this section of the mass. Dies Irae Libera me Offertorium Sanctus

25. Which of these great twentieth century composers wrote the "Symphony of Psalms"? Aaron Copland Charles Ives William Schumann Igor Stravinsky