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In Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor, historian Nicholas Tarling offers short essays on over 28 works, from major masterpieces such as Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. Matthew's Passion to off-the-beaten path choral works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha and Frederick Delius' A Mass of Life. Throughout, Tarling offers assessments that sparkle with unique insights and at the same time ground listeners in the historical contexts of these works' production and performance. Each work is transformed in Tarling's able hands from musical composition to a window into the mind and milieu of the composer.
List of contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Romanticism and the musical background
Chapter 2: Youth and the Prodigy
Chapter 3: Béranger and the Revolutions
Chapter 4: Paganini and his crucial influence
Chapter 5: Liszt and the Polish pianist
Chapter 6: Chopin and the Polish bowman
Chapter 7: Chopin and Polish Romanticism
Chapter 8: Liszt and the great virtuosity
Chapter 9: Chopin and his letters
Chapter 10: The Princess and settlement at Weimar
Chapter 11: Liszt and his three lives
Chapter 12: Wieniawski and the hard-earned years
Chapter 13: Liszt and the Polish Oratorio
Chapter 14: The Survivor and his friends
Chapter 15: The Decline and End
Epilogue
Appendix: Listings of Franz Liszt's music connected to Poland
Index
About the author
Nicholas Tarling is former professor of history at the University of Auckland for nearly 30 years. A specialist in the history of Southeast Asia, he has published extensively on the region's history and culture. As a music aficionado, he has programmed broadcasts on opera for Radio New Zealand, reviews regularly for Opera magazine, prepares and conducts pre-concert talks, and writes concert program notes.
