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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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