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A Content Analysis of Choral Journal Repertoire Articles from 1966 to 2019

throughout history. Additionally, we acknowledge that ensembles were preferable, but that treble ensembles
the repertoire discussed in this content analysis repre- needed their own repertoire:
sents the preferences and scholarship of the authors
and conductors featured in the CJ, not necessarily the While not as versatile as the mixed chorus, ma-
membership at-large. Our analysis confirms a lack of ture women’s voices are capable of much more
representation in the composers and works amplified dynamic variety and a more extensive range
at various times in ACDA’s history. and tessitura than one would suspect from ex-
amining the typical listing of most publishers. 12

Historical Analysis of Repertoire Articles These sentiments were echoed throughout articles writ-
in Choral Journal ten in the 1970s, including James Elson’s 1972 article
Over a fifty-three-year time span, only forty arti- indicating, “Most serious composers have had little in-
cles in CJ either focused on repertoire suggestions for centive to write for women’s voices” and how to utilize
treble/SA choirs or provided analysis of specific com- treble revoicings, asking, “Does it (the arrangement)
posers or stylistic periods. We created a spreadsheet sound?”
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and listed information about the repertoire provided Accompaniment types were divergent, utilizing pia-
in each article, including but not limited to, title, com- no or no accompaniment more frequently. We did ob-
poser, and voicing. Some authors did not provide ac- serve authors suggesting pieces with piano reductions
companiment type, solo specifics, or voicing specifics. or optional piano. These various accompaniment types
If this information was lacking in the article, we used may relate to the particular timbre of treble voices and
an internet search engine to provide additional infor- which accompaniment types work best for their voices
mation with a goal of making this repertoire list useful to thrive. For example, Brahms’s Four Songs was praised
to practicing choral conductors and educators. by authors based on its unique instrumentation and
Out of those forty articles, 763 pieces were either ability to provide timbrel presence and was the most
mentioned or analyzed in a variety of depths depend- frequently cited from our list. 14
ing on the purpose of the article. Ninety-five percent The great majority of recommended pieces were
of the pieces were either not repeatedly cited or were written for treble voices, with a handful originally com-
only cited twice. Authors mentioned a small group posed for solo voices, boy choir, or were re-voiced from
of pieces (forty-three) three or more times. Table 1 mixed choir (SATB) arrangements. Interestingly, the
on pages 52 - 55 provides a ranked repertoire listing second most cited piece was Britten’s Ceremony of Carols,
along with information regarding voicing, accompani- which was written for boy choir. Authors’ comments
ment, citation frequency, author/date. regarding this piece ranged from using more harps to
Based on the table, SSAA repertoire was recom- balance the weightier sound of many voices to limit-
15
mended more often, followed by SSA and SA, along ing vibrato “though it will lose some of its purity of
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with some outliers with different voicings (e.g., SAA). sound and angelic effect.” These findings illuminate
Some pieces included solos, but most pieces were writ- the peculiar issues related to how to quantify and de-
ten to feature the full ensemble. This finding could fine treble choirs, as music meant for unchanged male
suggest some authors desired to identify repertoire voices may not necessarily fit the vocal development of
that argued against the stereotype that treble voices mature treble choristers.
lack color—an opinion discussed in a number of In a similar vein, authors wrote regarding challeng-
treble choir articles. For example, in the first article es on how to utilize repertoire for various treble choir
published in 1966, Mary English stated the concern types. Purcell’s Sound the Trumpet (cited three times on
regarding lack of color in treble voices. Crawford R. our list) was selected by the 1983 National Committee
11
Thoburn’s 1969 article regarding joint performances for Women’s Choruses as part of an annotated list and
with tenor/bass and treble choirs indicated that mixed indicated that the piece:

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2023 Volume 64 Number 3 49