Children's Choirs

This paper reports on a research project focussing on a children's chorus in an early learning centre. The participants in the research were 187 three-to-five year olds and the adults consisted of generalist and specialist teachers and an external researcher who was a participant observer. Data was collected through direct observation and recorded on video, photographs, children's drawings and field notes. The research design was qualitative, interpretive and consisted of cycles of planning after each event so it was therefore action research and contained elements of teachers researching their own practice. The children have been able to gain skills, an understanding of some music concepts, been introduced to different roles, for example, audience, performer, conductor, choreographer, orchestra member and collaborative decision maker around repertoire and the nature of performance. The aspect of experience discussed in this article is on principles of participatory learning and the relationship to the adults' role, which was one of intentional teaching and how this enhanced the children's musical explorations.

This paper contains a literature review of sources addressing vocal registers in children's voices, three observations of children's choir rehearsals, and three exercises designed by the author to be used in rehearsals to access and develop the head voice.

Maricela es un conocidísimo joropo para piano de Sebastián Díaz Peña (1844-1926). En esta versión, extraída de un manuscrito autógrafo, Díaz Peña incorpora a la parte de piano un coro y tres personajes solistas: Isidoro (tenor), Don Teodoro (bajo) y Socorro (soprano). La partitura está disponible para descarga libre.

Este el el Cantoral Litúrgico usado en la parroquia "San Maturín" Ubicada en Boquerón, Diócesis de Maturín, Venezuela. Contine cantos clásicos en español, y cantos de autores propios de la parroquia y la Diócesis.

Incluye:
Nuevo: Enlaces a la Cuenta de Facebook y WhatsApp de Joscar Salazar para consultas.

Enlaces y accesos directos del índice a Cantos y de encabezado de página al índice.

Nuevo: Enlace de el título del canto al Audio en Youtube o en la Nube. (Principalmente los compuestos por Joscar Salazar y los agregados en estos últimos días)

Nuevo: cantos como:
* Gracias, Señor por el pan de tu cuerpo de comunión.

* Hazme volver, (enamorame)  (adoración eucarística)

* Camino de Belén, aguinaldo (Adviento)

* Niño Dios, comunión (Navidad)

* Reyes que vinis por ella, de la comunidad Horeb en aguinaldo y la versión de António Alcalde (Navidad)

* Correcciones ortográficas a lo largo del documento.

* Configuración de párrafo para que no se corten cantos a mita de coro o estrofa (en algunos cantos)  los cantos  desde la sección de entrada hasta pascua están completos en una misma columna, no se cortan al final de la línea.

* 2 nuevas secciones, oraciones presidenciales y padres nuestro,

O presente texto apresenta algumas reflexões acerca da criação de arranjos para coros infantis. Considera-se aqui a prática coral como um meio de educação musical, por isso, partindo da necessidade de que regentes se reconheçam educadores, estes são convidados a repensarem suas práticas nas quais se inclui a criação por meio da elaboração de arranjos musicais para estes grupos. Para tal, são apresentados exemplos da literatura musical coral nacional e internacional (e ocidental) que possam servir como ferramentas por meio das quais regentes, educadores musicais e demais músicos criem seus arranjos.

Η Νέα Μέθοδος γραφής παρουσιάστηκε από τους δημιουργούς της με σειρά πλεονεκτημάτων έναντι της Παλαιάς Γραφής. Μεταξύ αυτών, έμφαση δόθηκε στη συντόμευση της πολύχρονης μαθητείας, χάρη στη διευκόλυνση της διδασκαλίας της ψαλτικής, μέσα από την αναλυτική καταγραφή των ψαλλομένων που αποδέσμευσε τους μαθητές από την ανάγκη απομνημόνευσης των περίπλοκων θέσεων.
Σκοπός της ανακοίνωσης είναι να διερευνήσει το εάν, στις συνθήκες που έχουν πλέον διαμορφωθεί, υπάρχουν έστω κάποια από τα χαρακτηριστικά της βυζαντινής αντίληψης για τη χορωδιακή εκτέλεση των ψαλμάτων που θα ήταν δυνατόν να αναδειχθούν, χάρη στις ευκολίες που προσφέρει η αναλυτική σημειογραφία.

Los estudios que han abordado la educación que recibieron los niños en la Catedral de México durante la época novohispana se han centrado en el Colegio de Infantes de México, fundado en 1726 y han afirmado que su apertura significó un parteaguas en la enseñanza musical. Esta tesis discute dicho planteamiento y, a través del análisis de fuentes primarias, demuestra que el Colegio de Infantes no fue una institución dedicada a la formación de músicos, sino un internado en el que se formaron individuos útiles para el servicio de la catedral.

A inclusão de obras com divisão vocal em corais infantis iniciantes constitui-se um desafio para o regente, uma vez essa escolha do repertório pode desestimular os cantores, por não lhes oferecer desafios musicais ou por demandar habilidades musicais ainda não adquiridas. Com base na revisão bibliográfica, este trabalho propõe uma pedagogia de ensino de canções com divisi, inspirada pela Teoria da Zona de Desenvolvimento Proximal (VYGOTSKY, 1988) e por orientações de Dwyer (2008) e Jaramillo (2004). A pedagogia proposta apresenta modelos de composição musical, partindo das texturas mais simples às mais complexas.

Pedro Fernandez de Castilleja (c. 1487-1579) was Chapel master at Seville from 11514 to 1568. He was replaced as the teacher of the choirboys in 1551 by his colleague Francisco Guerrero, who called him 'master of the masters of Spain'. During those years, he also had taught Latin and Greek grammar to Juan de Mal Lara and other boys. The article includes a notice of his activities and pieces, and the text, translation and commentary of his three Latin epigrams and one epitaph.

Este artículo explora el imaginario musical educativo contenido en un tipo de villancico poco estudiado hasta ahora: el villancico de seises. En la primera parte se estudia brevemente el contexto litúrgico de este subgénero poético-musical, su ubicación dentro de los oficios de maitines y sus rasgos literarios, basándonos fundamentalmente en la consulta de pliegos impresos. La segunda parte se centra en el análisis y edición crítica de A probar un villancico, un villancico de seises compuesto en 1726 por Juan Manuel de la Puente, maestro de capilla de la Catedral de Jaén. Como es típico del villancico, los seises son representados de una manera cómica por medio de una serie de clichés literarios que se transfieren al terreno musical. Sin embargo, el subgénero da algunas claves que permiten aproximarse, desde un punto de vista práctico, al sistema de educación musical en la España del siglo XVIII, canalizado casi en exclusiva a través de las capillas eclesiásticas. // This article explores the educational musical imaginary presented by a type of villancico little studied so far: the villancico de seises or boy singers. The liturgical context of this poetic-musical sub-genre, its location within the office of Matins and its literary features are briefly studied in the first part, based mainly on the consultation of pliegos or printed chapbooks. The second part focuses on the analysis and critical edition of A probar un villancico, a villancico de seises composed in 1726 by Juan Manuel de la Puente, chapel master of the Cathedral of Jaén. As typical of the villancico, a comic representation of the seise is offered through a series of literary cliches that are transferred to music. However, this subgenre gives some clues that allow us to approach, from a practical point of view, the music education system in 18th-century Spain, channeled through the ecclesiastical chapels almost exclusively.

Canadian artist Bill Burns’s recent opus “Dogs and Boats and Airplanes” represents a profound immersion in the iconography of travel and the sophisticated commercial industry which enables it. The project is both multi-sensorial in its focus on object inter- actions, and interdisciplinary in that it engages cinematic appropriation, quotidian social phenomena, and commu- nity participation. Comprised of drawings, a photographic series, a photo book, a postcard book, a collection of salt and pepper shakers, a vinyl album, a video and a print series, this heterogeneous body of work has been widely exhibited during various stages of development though it has yet to be presented together in its entirety. In effect, “Dogs and Boats and Airplanes” engages with animal and mechanical interactions in the post-industrial world largely by way of tactile, relational, and sonic encounters. Burns’s preoccupation with a central theme – in this case, dogs, boats, and airplanes – and dili- gent accumulation of images and objects pays homage to Dadaist strategies of incongruence and absurdity to question how seemingly unrelated elements cultivate new aesthetic vocabularies.

In  the  nineteenth  century,  a  small  number  of  composers  included  parts  for  children’s  chorus  in  their  symphonic and choral works. As the twentieth century progressed, more and more composers scored for
children’s choirs to perform alongside their adult counterparts. The children’s chorus became an indispensable component of the score, with their voices necessary for delivering texts or portraying roles inappropriate for adult voices. Post-war Europe was enjoying a change in mood, creating art works that embodied hope and renewal, and in many instances it turned to children to reflect this zeitgeist. At the same time, composers were exploring the possibilities of children’s choirs to add to the developing timbral palette available to them. As the repertoire for children’s choirs and adult orchestras increased, so too did the sophistication of the musical demands made upon them. Children’s choirs in the twenty-first century now need to be highly skilled and well trained in order to effectively perform some of the modern compositions. In a response to these trends, symphony orchestras around the world are choosing to have their own ‘in-house’ children’s chorus in order to perform the growing number of works that call for them. In this article, seven works for children’s chorus and adult music ensembles are explored, and compositional and historical trends are discussed. The contrast in musical demands from the earlier works is compared with those of more recent pieces, and the rise of the modern, symphonic children’s chorus is explored.

Este trabalho relata a nossa experiência na tentativa de implmentação de um coro infantil, no tempo integral de uma escola municipal, como ação de um projeto de extensão universitária de curta duração. Embora essa modalidade de educação musical, de baixo custo, tivesse sido escolhida pela comunidade contemplada pela ação, a atividade não teve êxito, por motivos de falta de infraestrutura e por constante interrupção do fluxo pedagógico. Conclui-se que se faz necessário potencializar o
diálogo entre a universidade e a comunidade, no sentido de encontrar soluções para esse tipo de conflito, atendendo aos interesses de ambas as instituições.

Nel periodo quaresimale prossima alla Pasqua, a Campobello di Mazara, una località in provincia di Trapani in Sicilia, una delle tradizioni che ancora persiste è quella dell'altare dedicato al S. Giuseppe, Santo Patriarca e protettore dei poveri. Anticamente durante il banchetto, si usava cantare Le parti di San Giuseppe (o lodi) in onore al santo, pratica che il tempo ha portato via, dato che l'iniziativa canora era nata dalla famiglia Indelicato nell'Ottocento e tramandata da padre in figlio e da zio e nipote. Quest'anno l'Inno a San Giuseppe è stato ripreso ad opera del M° Valentina Mangiaracina, direttrice del coro di bambini e ragazzi "Pueri Cantores" della Chiesa Madre di Campobello di Mazara.

Hanns Eisler spent summer 1941 in Woodbury, Connecticut at the home of philosopher Joachim Schumacher, a lecturer at the nearby Westover School, an academic institution for young girls. That summer, Eisler wrote "Das Woodbury Liederbüchlein," a collection of twenty short a cappella songs for the Westover glee club. He used familiar children’s rhymes to teach young singers various choral styles associated with American amateur glee performance, while also introducing young voices to contemporary musical language. However, news of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union that summer darkened Eisler’s spirit, prompting him to include four austere German-language reactions. Therefore, Das Woodbury Liederbüchlein serves a dual purpose as Gebrauchsmusik for maturing singers and as an exile’s artistic reaction to the existential horrors of war. Eisler scholars such as Jürgen Schebera and Albrecht Dümling have addressed the collection’s contradictory character, with particular interest directed toward the German songs. Eisler’s original intention for these songs as instructional pieces for amateur female choir has been overlooked. This paper draws upon research at the Hanns Eisler Papers at the University of Southern California, the Joachim Schumacher Papers at the University of Connecticut, and the archives at the Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut.

Combining choirs for a large-scale performance can be rewarding. If the choirs comprise different generations, differing vocal timbres can add musical possibilities. A school in London operates two choirs in partnership: one for adult members of the school community and a student choir. They perform large-scale works together regularly. Interviews were undertaken with adults to understand their experience of the partnership. Frequently research explores students’ engagement but rarely are the views of adults sought. Intergenerational music-making involves challenges such as participants working collaboratively and not in competition. Participants in this case study discuss the impact of singing in a choir with sons or grandsons and implications for family and community cohesion through music-making are explored.

Resumo: este artigo sintetiza a tese homônima recentemente defendida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Música da Universidade de São Paulo. O trabalho está estruturado sobre três diferentes e concomitantes frentes de pesquisa e traz uma abordagem diversificada da Regência coral infanto-juvenil. Parte-se de uma pesquisa social com 52 regentes que, em suas respostas ao questionário apresentado, identificam características, desafios e dificuldades de ordem social e técnica no desenvolvimento de seus grupos e nos oferecem dados sobre o atual contexto em que a prática coral é realizada. Com a análise desses dados, foram eleitos três focos de pesquisa bibliográfica, referentes às principais questões colocadas pelos regentes: a própria Regência, a Técnica Vocal e a Educação Musical. Assim, foram levantados pontos de vista de variados autores referentes a esses itens, que tradicionalmente fazem parte da formação do regente e compõem o conjunto de saberes, competências e habilidades desse profissional. Segue-se uma discussão sobre elementos estruturais e planejamento em canto coral, visando facilitar e organizar as tarefas do regente, especialmente no que concerne aos procedimentos de ensaio e aos processos de criação e recriação na música coral. Já a pesquisa-ação foi realizada a partir do PCIU! – Projeto Coral Infanto-juvenil da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), um grupo criado especificamente para os fins dessa pesquisa, que perpassa toda a discussão e sintetiza o todo, na medida em que se observa o desenvolvimento do coro e se analisam as atividades e escolhas técnicas presentes nos ensaios. As dificuldades relatadas pelos colegas regentes corais participantes da pesquisa servem de pano de fundo permanente ao processo reflexivo e interagem com as práticas do PCIU!, em uma pesquisa coesa que une teoria e prática e se consolida em um trabalho artístico de performance musical.

Orientador: Prof. Livre-docente Marco Antonio da Silva Ramos. Agência de fomento: Programa Pró-doutoral da CAPES.

In 2013 Campbell and Wiggins edited The Oxford handbook of children’s musical cultures which described different musical experiences and diverse child populations across the world. This paper contributes to this particular interdisciplinary genre by contextualising and describing a well-known children’s choir in Serbia that practices and performs in the Belgrade Orthodox Cathedral (Saborna Crkva). This church occupies an important geographic, political and religious position in the culture of historical Belgrade. There has been a choir in this space operating continuously since 1853, The First Belgrade Singing Society, Prvo Beogradsko Pevacko Drustvo (PBPD), and in 1981 the children’s choir (DHPBPD) was founded. In this paper we historically locate the church and choir and describe the present activities of the children’s choir. This latter we do through an interview with the director and some illustrative observations of two sisters who are participants in the choir. The concluding discussion includes an exploration of musical culture, community and identity. We use the Vygotskian concept of perezhivane to link the emotional experience of the children with the adult culture and history to explain why participation in the children’s choir has been such a significant part of cultural learning and identity formation.

Competition is ostensibly an integral part of music making (Millard, 2007, p. 47). Taking the creation of music, composition, as the primary example, it is evident that since the Renaissance period competition between style, genres and composers has only grown significantly. Whether it be the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri; immortalized in the 1984 film Amadeus, the German – Russian feud between Brahms and Tchaikovsky or the contemporary disagreement between Steve Reich and Phillip Glass over minimalist techniques, competition is part and parcel of the art of music making (Bamberger, 2015, p.2; Therivel, 1999; Forman, 1984). The question remains, however, ‘What role does competition play in increasing the quality and excellence of music?’ This literature review uses the case study of secondary school choirs to explore what affect competition has on increasing the quality of the choral sound.

First audition of the choral work "Jesus, meine Freude" of my own, at the Inaugural Festival of the Grenzing Organ - USP / Evangelical Cathedral of São Paulo. Grande Coral Evangélico, with Ana Paula Brito (soloist), José Luis de Aquino (organ) and Dorotea Kerr (conductor).
Primeira audição da obra coral "Jesus, minha Alegria" de minha autoria, no Festival de Inauguração do Órgão Grenzing - USP/Catedral Evangélica de São Paulo. Grande Coral Evangélico, com Ana Paula Brito (solista), José Luis de Aquino (órgão) e Dorotea Kerr (regente).

This article describes how the Dutch pop phenomenon Kinderen voor Kinderen mirrors the Zeitgeist of societal changes in the Netherlands. Strongly rooted in the left-winged pillar of the system of pillarization (verzuiling),  Kinderen voor Kinderen dared to address controversial topics like the fear for the atom bomb, the changing female body in puberty, homosexuality and diversity. Bespreekbaarheid is the key word for our three case studies. The first – Brief aan Ernst – is an answer song for Doe Maar, a reaction to the doemdenken. The second one – Het Tietenlied – breaks the taboo of developing breasts. Lastly, the third case study – Kom erbij –is about diversity and gender issues.

The canons of Aachen’s Marienkirche recorded memorial endowments for services in the church’s two oldest necrologies.  Beginning in the fourteenth century, these endowments provide the earliest evidence of polyphonic singing at the church, specify amounts paid to celebrating clerics and professional musicians, and even specify payments to choirboys.  Canons’ wills also provide endowments for the performance of polyphony in annual memorial services and for high feast days, sometimes providing more: funds for the education and care of choirboys.  This paper traces the evolution of Aachen’s memorial endowments, underscoring their importance for the maintenance of liturgico-musical traditions at the institution.

Este trabalho consiste em um relato de experiência que demonstra como a criação de um sítio eletrônico dá origem a um Programa de Extensão Universitária e otimiza a sua interação dialógica. Os dados são coletados no referido sítio eletrônico e na sua página do Facebook, bem como nas mensagens enviadas pelo público que acessa o domínio. O
principal referencial teórico utilizado neste relato é Pierre Lévy (2011; 2010a; 2010b).

This paper presents some aspects of vocal techique in the work of children's choir conductor. It discusses about the
vocal development of the group, according to the different phases of each member and considering that the most
part of the children doesn't have orientation about vocal mechanism. This techique is focused in the reharsal,
involving body consciousness (mainly the breathing system and its relation with voice production), warm-ups, vocalises and the prepare of the repertoire. The discussion is based on the researches from Graham Welch – about children's singing - Jean Bartle, Jacques Clos and Brigitte Rose – about their experiences as conductors. With the
experience of a children's choir project at a public University in Brazil, this paper presents some practical exercises in order to show how this work is realized and what is being achieved with each exercise, also based on Brazilian works (books, articles, thesis concerning children's choir conducting and vocal development). We hope that we can help conductors and music teachers sharing the practical material and the theoretical references used in this work, and we hope to contribute with the musical education in general presenting the conclusions of his paper.

This article explores how three regional children's choirs and their practitioners, from different provinces of South Africa, project what Hammond refers to as 'singing South Africanness'-the premise that choirs from South Africa project a distinctly South African choral identity that they themselves construct by fabricating a mental representation or 'perception' of themselves, through the identification, organisation and interpretation of particular musical and non-musical elements.

In spite of the role of children choirs is not well known and appreciated nowadays, it has been fundamental in Music and human education of a lot of musicians. This article presents the Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos Children Choir, which will be 50 years old soon. The history of this group is explained as well as the music training of its students, who have also contributed with their opinions. Finally, the author details some of the main problems this type of choir has, particularly this one, and tries to give some solutions to them so that its life will be perpetuated along this century.

Resumen En Chile, históricamente se ha incorporado el canto coral a programas de enseñanza, tanto escolares como universitarios, haciendo uso del instrumento vocal y coral como un orgánico a disposición inmediata de todos los seres humanos, acompañando sus procesos de aprendizaje y exploración. Dentro de esta realidad, ha sido necesario generar estrategias para la selección de repertorio, siendo este insuficiente y, en muchas ocasiones, de una dificultad inaccesible para coros de menor experiencia. Estas estrategias radican en la posibilidad de generar repertorios actualizados, habitualmente basados en la interpretación de arreglos y adaptaciones en donde las características del coro sean vistas como una herramienta más que una limitación, con el objetivo de potenciar su exploración musical. Ante una gran demanda de este tipo de repertorios me he visto forzado a sistematizar un conocimiento a través de la práctica para reflexionar en torno a la pregunta: ¿De qué manera pueden aprovecharse las características de un coro formativo y las técnicas compositivas para aportar a un desarrollo integral de nuevos arreglos corales? Para responder, luego de exponer los fundamentos teóricos de la creación de arreglos desde su dimensión lúdica, relaciones de intertextualidad musical, y cuestiones de autoría, propondré un método para abordar un arreglo que pueda ser de utilidad a directores, educadores, compositores y arreglistas, a través de la metodología de la práctica-como-investigación, con el objetivo de generar una respuesta sistematizada (no generalizante) a la pregunta expuesta. Palabras clave. Arreglos, Intertextualidad, Canto Coral, Composición.