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Views from the Choir Loft

“Truly Wonderful Quote” • Dr. Roger Wagner

Jeff Ostrowski · July 14, 2022

F YOU HAVE NEVER read the 1960 interview with DR. ROGER WAGNER, you really should. Wagner—who preferred his name pronounced the French way (Roh-shay Vahg-NEY)—was basically an American, but died in France in 1992. According to Paul Salamunovich, one of Wagner’s last conversations was with Robert Shaw, the internationally acclaimed choral director who has lived in France for several years. Shaw and Wagner had long been considered the dominant figures in American choral music. An excerpt:

“Study the great works and as soon as possible perform them. Do steep yourself in the tradition of ancient music from the very beginning of the chant through the polyphonic period—all the way through. Through the baroque period, right through to the romantic period, right through to the contemporary idiom. Experience all of these things. Have a feeling for musical values. Have a respect for the phrase. Do a lot of music. Do not become stagnant; have great hopes and treat your high school groups or your college groups as if they were professionals. Don’t apologize for them, because they are going to be as good as you are. The chorus is as good as its conductor.”

Speaking of Paul Salamunovich, I was pleased to see that he agrees with my professors when it comes to choral vowels:

I don’t mean to imply that I ever doubted my teachers—but it’s nice to have things reinforced!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Conductor Roger Wagner, Paul Salamunovich Last Updated: July 15, 2022

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Partly on account of these alterations, and partly because I have been unable to ascertain the authorship of many compositions—which have come to me either in manuscript or through other collections—I have thought it right to publish the volume without appending the names of writers to their works. This, however, I confess to be a defect…”

— Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1863)

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