IMSLP Forums

Hi all,

Although I know how to use a search function, humans tend to be able to recommend personal opinions a lot better.

I'm looking for recommendations for music that will work really well with a choir of 250+.

For practical reasons, Mahler is not an ideal option.

Examples of stuff that might work:
Beethoven Missa Solemnis; Poulenc Gloria; Berlioz Req / Te Deum; Vaughan William's A Sea Symphony ... it doesn't have to have big orchestra - Rach Vespers works well at this size.

So, surprise me - it doesn't have to necessitate massiveness, it certainly needn't be difficult - it just needs to work well on a massive scale. What would you recommend? What would you like to hear done like this?

Heh. You can ask me in person :)

There's always Schoenberg's Gurrelieder. But along with a huge choir and huge orchestra you'd need a few good vocal soloists. The need for good soloists also extends to such suitable pieces as Brahms' German Requiem and Rachmaninoff's The Bells.

--Sixtus

Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata comes to mind, but you would need a good mezzo soloist for the sixth movement. Borodin's Polovetsian Dances would also work too.

Dvorak- Requiem, Op. 89
Dvorak- Te Deum, Op. 103
Dvorak- Mass in D major, Op. 84
Elgar- The Spirit of England, Op. 80

These are all good pieces by well-known composers that are not performed too often, so I would believe that these suggestions would be nice crowd pleasers.

Verdi's Requiem

Thank you all for your opinions!