Graduate recital in conducting

Includes recorded audio files in WAV and MP3 formats, 43:01 in length.The works presented in this recital, although actually performed on separate occasions, combine to form what I consider to be a well-rounded choral music concert. The composers represented are from the Baroque and Twentieth Century periods in music history, and they offer a variety of styles. First on the program is Johann Sebastian Bach's unique chorale cantata, Christ lag in Todesbanden, generally considered one of the masterpieces of the Baroque era. Each movement of Christ lag in Todesbanden is a variation on Martin Luther's powerful Easter hymn of 1524. The ingenious manner in which Bach manipulates the hymn to suit the text gives this work its striking character. Following the cantata is Zoltan Kodaly's Evening for a capella mixed chorus. Composed in 1904--the year in which Kodaly received his degree in composition--Evening is an example of Kodaly's very early style, combining traits of Romanticism with characteristic Hungarian rhythms. Kodaly's subsequent development as a composer was profoundly influenced by his interest in folk music. The second half of the program opens with Three Mountain Ballads, an example of the folk song tradition in America. These songs are arranged by contemporary American composer, Ron Nelson, for women's chorus with piano accompaniment. To close the program, I have selected three chansons from Francis Poulenc's Sept Chansons of 1936. The poetry of Paul Eluard is here set to unaccompanied eight-part vocal writing. The Sept Chansons are considered to be Poulenc's first mature choral work; their success led him to continue writing choral music for the remainder of his life