What is the Best Sacred Choral Music?

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LadyCalvinist

Puritan Board Junior
I am interested in sacred choral music and I would like to know what people think is the best out there. I have hymns, psalms, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's The Creation, Bach's St. Matthew Passion. I also have some music of Hildegard von Bingen. Suggestions?
 
William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, both of whom were papists, were probably the two best composers of choral music of the Renaissance. Bach is my all time favorite.
 
Thomas Tallis' "Spem in Alium" is, in my opinion, the most beautiful piece of sacred music. And, as a side note, anything by Tallis is excellent.

Allegri's "Misere Mei" is also beautiful and, I believe, better known.

I would also recommend:

Charpentier's "Messe du Minuit pour Noel" & "Te Deum"
Dvorak's "Stabat Mater"
Faure's "Requiem"
Handel's "Israel in Egypt"
Monteverdi's "Venetian Vespers" & "Vespro della Beata Virgine"
Mozart's "Mass in C Minor" & "Requiem"

Various works by Byrd, Palestrina, Taverner & Tye

I also greatly enjoy sacred music from the Russian Orthodox tradition but that might be more of an acquired taste.
 
Daniel is absolutely right on the Charpentier and Mozart. Another one to keep your eyes open for is Praetorius.
 
Brahms' German Requiem. When done in English it is very meaningful and spiritual to me. When done in German it is merely beautiful music. Same goes for Mendelssohn's Elijah.
 
It's a pity they chose to pair Renee Fleming with Bryn Terfel when recording Elijah. I also think there were some parallel thought processes between Elijah and St. Paul.

By the way, Rossini's Stabat Mater and Verdi's Requiem are fantastic for exploring the dramatic possibilities of the underlying texts.
 
One of the greatest works of the greatest composers of all time:

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
 
So many wonderful choral works mentioned. I'm surprised no one has mentioned John Rutter's works. His requiem is at the top of my list of favorites along with many already mentioned. "The Lord is My Shepherd from that work is beautiful." Also if you can find a recording of "I Will Lift up Mine Eyes to the Hills" by Rutter...that brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to it.

Here's a link to to The Lord is My Shepherd: [video=youtube;ovPbeXYUD-g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovPbeXYUD-g[/video]
 
I love this:

[video=youtube;5r3NToblpj8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r3NToblpj8[/video]

Sir John Stainer...

A story about this: when I was about 10 or so, I started attending every Tre Ore service, every year, at my Catholic church in Detroit just so I could hear the men's choir sing this a cappella. The idea that "God so loved the world..." started germinating in my mind and spirit. I was, to put it mildly, with teeming numbers of kids in both places, not exactly a welcome presence either at home or at school. But I kept thinking, I'm part of the world, so could it be that God loves even me? Seemed impossible, but the idea never left. Could He love me that much???

My conversion took another 35 years in coming, but I'm sure that I've never been out of the Lord's care. This piece was used mightily to me as I'm sure it has been for thousands upon thousands of other people. It still brings tears every time I hear it...

Margaret
 
Thanks so much to everyone who replied, some very interesting answers. I
I have heard of Spem in Alium and will try to get it, as well as some of the other music mentioned. But I do find one thing curious, I expected to hear more recommendations for the music of G. F. Handel as he wrote many sacred choral pieces. Are his other peices not in the same league as the Messiah?


Oh, and my father, who is an atheist, loves Russian Orthodox choral music. Go figure.
 
Messiah is in a class of its own in some ways, though some of that is undoubtedly due to greater familiarity. Some pieces of music (Simon Boccanegra comes to mind) have to be listened to multiple times before one is able to hear them. But when I think of Handel's other oratorios, it is not the choral music that comes to mind; When the sun forgets to streak from Solomon is certainly as lovely as anything in Messiah, and there are other pieces of simply ravishing beauty. But it cannot be forgotten that in Messiah Handel has the advantage of Biblical language. This gives something like Behold and see a very definite advantage over something like Great victor, at your feet I bow, even though the latter is stupendous.
 
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