MUS 101-02 - Oratorio Society

1 credits (Fall and Spring)

Singing in the Oratorio Society is an excellent way to develop your musical skills, and once you have refined those skills in singing, in listening to others, in reading pitches and rhythms, choral singing can be a rewarding activity for your entire lifetime. The Oratorio Society draws together students, faculty, and staff of the college, people from the town of Grinnell, and nearby cities such as Newton and Malcolm. In recent years, the Oratorio Society has performed many of the masterpieces from the choral literature, such as the Brahms Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem and Grand Mass in C Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Bach’s Magnificat, Verdi’s Requiem, and Britten’s monumental War Requiem. In addition to performing these major works, the choir also has expanded its activity beyond the confines of classical music. In the spring of 2012, for example, the Oratorio Society participated in thrilling performances of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, in collaboration with the Grinnell Jazz Ensemble. In the 2012-13 season, we presented The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, by Carol Barnett, in collaboration with an outstanding bluegrass string band from Minneapolis, Monroe Crossing, and Orff’s Carmina Burana, in collaboration with the Grinnell Singers, Grinnell Symphony, and Ottumwa Symphony. Originally founded in 1901, the Grinnell Oratorio Society was, in the early decades of the 20th Century, one of Iowa’s most auspicious musical institutions. Edward Scheve (1865-1924), a composer of symphonies, concertos, oratorios, and chamber music, established the choir as an outgrowth of the music conservatory that was then part of Grinnell College.

Prerequisite: None.
S/D/F only.
Instructor: Rommereim