Choral Reviews: Format and Content Guidelines

HEADING

Missa secunda
Hans Leo Hassler
SATB
HLH Publications #SAC 100, $4.95
<Web Address>

• Title: Capitalize first word and all other words except prepositions, articles, and coordinate conjunctions (Wade in the Water). Capitalize and italicize titles in foreign languages as in proper prose (Ave Maria, Ave verum corpus). Do not italicize titles that are in English. When in doubt, use the capitalization used in the octavo itself.

• Composer/arranger: If an arranger, follow the name with (arr.), for example: Kirby Shaw (arr.). If the work has both a composer and an arranger, list them on separate lines, beginning with the composer. Name of editor appears in the text, not in the heading.

• Forces: SATB, two-part, unison, followed by solo parts and accompanying instrument(s). Please do not indicate "unaccompanied" if the work is listed as “ a cappella”; give only the voicing as above. Accompaniment should be designated as “piano” or “organ” if clearly intended for one or the other, “keyboard” in the case of sacred works, where either instrument could be used. If a work is available in more than one voicing, please focus your review on only one of them, mentioning the existence of the others (and any of their important features if you had the chance to examine them) in the body of the review. (Catalogue numbers for those other voicings may also be included in the body of the review.)

• Publisher's name: If the music indicates that the publisher is a division of a larger company (or is distributed by another company) that second company should be listed as “agent.” Example: Thomas House (Intrada Music Group, agent). Follow with catalogue number and price. (If price is an even dollar amount, do not include the zeros: “$1” instead of “$1.00.”) If no price is indicated, please attempt to get the price from your local music dealer or over the Internet. "No price listed" should be used as a last resort. If you are reviewing an international publication, please include a website address or other ordering information, as well as the price (as current as possible) in the foreign currency.

• If you are reviewing a set of pieces (published separately), please review them under the title of the set, as follows:

Three Connecticut Folk Songs
Sharon Greenwich (arr.)
SATB
Yankee Music (published separately)

1. The State Income Tax Blues, #4238, $1.50
2. What Speed Limit?, #4239, $1.25
3. The Land of Women's Basketball, #4240, $1.25

CONTENT

Attached to these guidelines is a reference chart that contains a list of content requirements. Please go through the music and fill out the chart as you go. You will then be able to write the review quickly and in an organized manner. However, be sure to write in prose so that your review does not sound like a list.

FORMAT

* Only one review per page.
* Please single-space heading; leave a double space; single-space the body of the review.
* Place your name and address (as you wish it to appear in the Choral Journal) at the end of each review.
* Please proofread carefully; then have someone else proofread.
* Pitch designations: C-B, c-b, c1-b1, c2-b2.
Middle C = c1.
High A for tenor = a1.
High G for soprano = g2.
Low F for bass = F.
Write out notes with accidentals, ex. = b-flat, g-sharp, etc.
* Use numerals for named singing parts (soprano 1) but spell out numbers for terms such as “part one,” “part two,” etc.
* Use the word “unaccompanied,” not a cappella, within the body of the review.
* Use “ca.” not “c.” for the abbreviation of the word "circa."
* When in doubt, use full names for people mentioned (text authors, composers, etc.) rather than just last name. If the person is very well known (Brahms), the first name need not be included.

CLICHÉS TO AVOID--PLEASE TRY TO REPHRASE

“...is sure to please both singer and listener alike and will find use in both church and school settings.”
“These pieces will be well worth the challenge.”
“A composition that is a true gem.”
“The time spent in polishing and learning the music would be well worth the effort.”

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

• Please follow your deadline!
(This is of utmost importance if your review is to be published in a timely manner.)
• Review only those pieces that are effective and worthy.
• Please be concise and accurate.
• Describe the piece thoroughly enough so that the reader would want to obtain a copy for further study.
• Use professional language.
• Have someone read through the review objectively before you send it to me.
• Send me your review by e-mail or hard copy. If you are using e-mail, I will send you confirmation that I have received it. If you do not receive confirmation in 48 hours, please send it again.
• You may keep your music.
• THANK YOU for sharing your judgment, experience, and writing skill with the readers of Choral Journal.
• If you have any questions, please contact me:

Dr. Lyn Schenbeck, Choral Review Editor
(706)880-8013

Guidelines for ACDA Choral Journal Reviews
Carroll Gonzo, Editor

• Be concise. Avoid unnecessary words and redundancies. Use “generally,” “basically,” and other such words only if they add meaning.

• Though passive voice is often useful for describing a piece, avoid staying in the passive voice too long.

passive: The piece is based on an old Russian folk song.
active: The composer based the piece on an old Russian folk song.

• Watch for excessive repetition, particularly when referring to the “work” in question. Try to incorporate synonyms such as “piece,” “composition,” or the name of the genre (anthem, motet, mass).

• Use commas for: descriptive clauses, introductory clauses, lengthy independent clauses, and in a series, employing a comma before the “and.” Short clauses shouldn’t be separated by commas unless the conjunction “but” is used.

The work, which was written in 1967, includes optional accompaniment by flute, oboe, and bassoon, and may also be performed without piano accompaniment.
The accompaniment is simple and the piece is quite short.

• Keep adverbs close to the words they modify.

awkward: The writing in this passage very nearly, to the untrained ear, sounds atonal.
perhaps: To the untrained ear, the writing in this passage sounds very nearly atonal.

• Use while to introduce a clause if you are referring to time, otherwise use though.

While the basses are intoning the main theme, the sopranos enter with a quiet counterpoint.
Though the basses carry the main theme, the harmony remains static.

• Italicize titles of all works, no matter how small; never italicize movements or sections.

Brahms’s “Wiegenlied” is charming; it reminds me of the second theme in the Allegro from his second symphony.

• Spell numbers (including intervals!) less than 100, except in time signatures, tempo indications, measure numbers, and publication numbers.

The center section of the piece, beginning in m.25, switches to a 6/8 meter and introduces seventh-chords and flatted-fifth harmonies.

• Hyphenate century references only when used as adjectives:

“vocal writing in the twentieth century”
“twentieth-century vocal writing”

• Abstract pitches are capitalized, without quotation marks; keys are always capitalized, and are hyphenated only if the key precedes a generic title. Pitches referring to a specific register use standard formula (C, c, c1, c2)

Beethoven’s famous C-Minor Symphony ends in C Major.
From this point, the basses maintain a D pedal tone for twenty-three measures.
The soprano part ascends twice to g2, but is otherwise not challenging.

• Relative pronouns: use “which” if the clause it introduces is descriptive in nature, in which case it takes commas. Use “that” if the information contained in the clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

The pieces that were performed most frequently in Vienna in 1900 were all written by Austrians.
These pieces, which were the most frequently performed concert works in Vienna in 1900, were written for mixed chorus and orchestra.
• Exceptions: use “which” if:

the clause modifies the noun “that,” (That which is harmful should be avoided.)
if the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition (The chair on which you are sitting is about to break!).