A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir and
sometimes soloists, which in its internal workings and overall musical
architecture adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term
"choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz
(pictured) when describing his Roméo et Juliette in his five-paragraph
introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral
symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which was the first
time a major composer placed the human voice on the same level with
instruments in a symphony. A few 19th-century composers, notably Felix
Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt, followed Beethoven in producing choral
symphonic works. The genre developed further in the 20th century, with
notable works produced by Benjamin Britten, Gustav Mahler, Sergei
Rachmaninoff, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky and Ralph Vaughan
Williams, among others. The final years of the 20th century and the
opening of the 21st century have seen several new works in this genre,
among them compositions by Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Hans Werner Henze and
Krzystof Penderecki.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choral_symphony>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
The first officially recorded baseball game using modern rules was
played in Hoboken, New Jersey, US, with the New York Nine defeating the
New York Knickerbockers, 23–1.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/baseball>
1850:
Louise of the Netherlands married Crown Prince Karl of Sweden-Norway.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_of_the_Netherlands>
1953:
Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed as spies who passed
U.S. nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg>
1961:
Kuwait declared independence from the United Kingdom.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait>
2009:
The War in Afghanistan: British forces began Operation Panther's Claw,
in which more than 350 troops made an aerial assault on Taliban
positions in Southern Afghanistan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Panther%27s_Claw>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
quango (n):
An organization that, although financed by a government, acts
independently of it
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quango>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power
is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles
combined with a historical sense that despite all setbacks the
condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and
material advancement. At the root of human responsibility is the
concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find
a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end
at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and
environmental impediments. It is man's vision of a world fit for
rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to
build societies free from want and fear. Concepts such as truth,
justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are
often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power.
--Aung San Suu Kyi
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi>