This style sheet is adapted from:

Holoman, D. Kern. Writing About Music: A Style Sheet from the Editors of 19^th-Century Music. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1988

Sydney Conservatorium of Music (website), http://infodesk.conmusic.usyd.edu.au/pdf/program_notes_guidelines.pdf, 2000

Henry, Michele L., “Program Notes: Myriad Benefits for Audience and Choir,” Choral Journal, December 2002, 53-55.

The Program Cover

The Program Contents

Translations

Program Notes

1.1  Heading. A concert or recital program should clearly state these items, in the following order:

a.  Presenter

b.  Performing group or individual(s)

c.  Guest or assisting performers

d.  Special circumstances (if any) of the performance (financial underwriters, performances in partial fulfillment of degree requirements, and so forth).

Example 1.1.1:

Randolph College

Department of Music presents

The Chorale

Randall Speer, director

with

Mona Thomas, piano

Example 1.1.2:

Randolph College

Department of Music presents

Jane Doe, soprano

with

Paula Pianoplayer, piano

Frederick Flautist, flute

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music

with emphasis in performance

1.2  Footer. One should clearly present the when and where of the performance. Holoman suggests,  “Make certain to include the year, as this information is required by the tax authorities [in the case of underwritten performances]; without the inclusion of the year, moreover, the concert program is virtually worthless as a historical document” (Holoman, 47).

Example 1.2:

Saturday, February 26, 2005

7:30 PM

The Wimberly Recital Hall

It is generally advisable to list the program order next, somewhat like a restaurant menu. One may choose to include translations and texts (if there are any) in this section, or to wait and include them afterward, within their own section or within program notes. Convention dictates two separate approaches to listing program contents, depending on whether a selection is vocal or instrumental in nature. Style suggestions are adapted or quoted directly from Holoman (47-49).

2.1.1  Standard listing (instrumental). Provide the formal title with key (if traditionally included in the title of the work in question) and index identifier (please abbreviate “opus” as “Op.”, and “number” as “No.”), the composer’s (and/or arranger’s) full name (no initials, please), and the composer’s dates (death dates within the same century only require two digits). Arranger's dates should not be listed. Movements follow, with foreign words italicized.

Example 2.1.1:

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1069                                          Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750)

        Ouverture

        Air

        Gavotte I

        Gavotte II

        Bourrée

        Gigue

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, for Piano and Orchestra        Sergei Rachmaninoff

(1873-1943)

Four Dance-Episodes from Rodeo                                                                           Aaron Copland

(1900-90)

        Buckaroo Holiday

        Corral Nocturne

        Saturday Night Waltz

        Hoe Down

2.1.2   Standard listing (vocal). If a single selection is from a larger work, provide the selection title in regular font (no italics) within quotation marks, followed by “from” and then the larger work title in italics. If more than one selection from a larger work is to be performed, list the larger work first (as with instrumental works). Otherwise, follow this simple rule: if the title of the selection is foreign, italicize; if not, use plain font.

Example 2.1.2:

“Sanctus,” from Requiem for Treble Voices                                                                Carol Barnett

(b. 1949)

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda                                                                                   Gustav Holst

(1874-1934)

        Hymn to the Dawn

        Hymn to the Waters

        Hymn to Vena (The Sun Rising Through the Mist)

        Hymn of the Travellers

Ave Maria                                                                                                                       Michael Head

(1900-76)

Elijah Rock                                                                                                                    Jester Hairston

(1901-2000)

2.2  (Instrumental only) For a movement identified by both a title and a tempo indication, use a colon after the title.

Example 2.2:

Symphony No.3 in E-flat Major (“Eroica”), Op. 55                                       Ludwig van Beethoven

(1770-1827)

Marcia funebre: Adagio assai

2.3  (Instrumental only) For a movement embracing a major change of tempo, as in a movement with a slow introduction and a succeeding Allegro, separate the two with a semicolon

Example 2.3:

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 in B-flat Minor, Op.23                          Piotr Tchaikovsky

(1840-93)

        Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso; Allegro con spirito

As Holoman states, “It is, however, cumbersome to list a multitude of tempo changes” (Holoman, 48). Consult with music faculty in such cases.

2.4  (Instrumental only) It is appropriate to translate movement titles that might not otherwise be understood, particularly if they are not translated elsewhere in the program. Such translations should be parenthetical, and placed within quotation marks.

Example 2.4:

Concerto for Orchestra                                                                                                      Béla Bartok

(1881-1945)

        Giuco delle coppie (“Game of Pairs”)

        Intermezzo interrotto (“Interrupted Intermezzo”)

2.5  (Vocal and Instrumental) For first performances, it is customary to give the date of composition and indicate the festivity of the occasion.

Example 2.5:

The Three Hermits (1997)                                                                                          Stephen Paulus

        (Regional Premiere)                                                                                                       (b. 1949)

The Woman’s Eyes (2004)                                                                                   Denice Rippentrop

        (World Premiere)                                                                                                            (b. 1948)

2.6  (Vocal and Instrumental) Performances arranged by special permission should be so noted in the program. Such notation should be immediately below the selection's information, indented the same as the first line.

Example 2.6:

Symphony No.2 in D Minor, Op.42                                                                            George Onslow

(1784-1853)

        Allegro vivace ed energico

By kind arrangement with the Edwin A. Flesher Collection, Free Library of Philadelphia.

2.7  (Vocal and Instrumental) Guest performers (indicated by “with”) and soloists should be listed if they differ from the norm of the program, or if they are not listed on the cover page.

Example 2.7:

Canticle III (Still Falls the Rain)                                                                                 Benjamin Britten

(1913-76)

with Andrew Downing, horn

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot                                                                                 arr. William Dawson

(1899-1990)

Jane Singer, soprano

3.1.1  Translations are mandatory for texted works in foreign languages. Authorship of the original text and translation should be cited (even if it is you that did the translation), either in program notes or directly beneath the translation. One may or may not elect to present the original language with the translation, but if one does, the two texts should be in facing columns.

3.1.2   If the original poet is known (usually listed on upper left hand side of first page of music), he/she must be listed immediately after the translation, indented, with a hyphen, and dates, followed by a comma, "translated by" and the translator information.

Example 3.1.1:

Hin zu dir von jenen Hügeln

Emsig dieses Bächlein eilt.

Wird ihr Bild sich in dir spiegeln,

Fließ zurück dann unverweilt!

To you from those hills

this busy brook hurries.

Should she be mirrored in you,

flow forthwith back to me.

                       - Aloys Jeitteles (1794-1858), translated by George Bird and Richard Stokes, in The

                                    Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977)

To you from those hills

this busy brook hurries.

Should she be mirrored in you,

flow forthwith back to me.

                       - Aloys Jeitteles (1794-1858), translated by George Bird and Richard Stokes, in The

                                    Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977)

Example 3.2:

                       - translated by Randall Speer, 2006

                       - Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838), translated by Jane Bishop in Glaubitz, Robert, "The

                              Aria Database," http://www.aria-database.com/ariadbse.html (1996-2001)

Good program notes are solidly researched, cite sources (although some program notes do employ footnotes, we recommend citations directly within the text), use language appropriate to our profession, and show something of the performers’ personality and enthusiasm for the repertoire she is presenting.  Style suggestions are adapted or quoted directly from the Choral Journal article by Michele L. Henry, who states:

The information needed for good program notes is substantially the same information that we consider when selecting music for a concert program. What is the subject of the text? What is the style of the piece? When and by whom was the piece written? What are the musical characteristics and challenges of the piece? By asking these questions, we are likely to plan a concert program with intentionality, either by focusing on a commonality among all the pieces, or by providing a representative variety of several elements through our programming choices. Before turning our attention toward rehearsal, why not use it to construct interesting and relevant program notes that will give purpose and direction to the written program? (Henry, 53)

4.1  Discuss the text. Henry states, “Consider enhancing your audience’s understanding of the translated texts, and texts in English. Introduce unfamiliar vocabulary, particularly if it belongs to another time period or culture. Identify the author of the text (if known) and experiences that may have influenced the poetry. Discuss how the composer accentuated the mood of the text through compositional devices. Highlight significant examples of text painting” (Henry, 53).

Example 3.1: [note for Benjamin Britten, Canticle III]

Britten’s music captures the essence of Sitwell’s poetry, as the description shifts from reference to the 1940 rain of bombs on London, to the tears of Judas Iscariot at his suicide, to our own tears at the feet of Jesus Christ, and lastly, to Christ’s reconciliatory blood shed for all of humanity despite our own inhumanity to each other and the world in which we live. The concept of strife followed by reconciliation is nowhere more evident in this work than the fact that the three musicians do not perform together until the final four bars, in which Christ himself states, “Still do I love, still shed my innocent light, my Blood, for thee.”

4.2  Discuss matters of musical style. According to Henry, “It is not unusual to have a selection that represents each of the standard style periods. Share characteristics of each piece that are inherent in these style periods. Take a stylistic element that is present in each piece and represent its evolution throughout the historical periods included in the concert. Highlighting relationships can provide continuity to an otherwise aggregate concert program. If a piece comes from an unfamiliar culture, describe those things that are most valued by the culture. Explain any occasion or observance for which the piece may have been conceived. Discuss any unusual instrumentation or performance practices” (Henry, 53).

Example 3.2: [note for Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda]

The five hymns we perform for you this evening were translated from the original Sanskrit by the British composer Gustav Holst, who was noted for demonstrating in his works a considerable influence of ideas and styles from the subcontinent of India. The Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda are traditionally held up as prime examples of such influence. Holst composed a total of four sets of these Hymns: two for women’s voices, one for men, and one for mixed choir. It is only because the majority of the Choral Hymns is for single-sex ensembles, and thus considered outside of the mainstream of soprano-alto-tenor-bass repertoire, that one rarely hears these works performed.

4.3   Discuss the composer. Henry states, “Share interesting or unique facts about the composer, particularly those that may have impacted the compositional process. If the piece was a commissioned work, describe the situation around its initial performance or the specific [individuals] for which it was commissioned. Describe how this piece may typify the composer’s style, or how it may be an exception to the norm. Make relevant connections between the composer and the author of the text”(Henry, 53).

Example 3.3: [note for Ludwig van Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98]

Editor H. E. Krehbiel wrote, in his 1901 prefatory notes to the G. Schirmer publication of Beethoven’s Opus 98, “ ‘An die ferne Geliebte’ is not only the first song-cycle, it is still the most perfect of all song-cycles in respect of unity. There is both a spiritual and a material bond which knits the six poems as a whole, as the various parts of a Beethoven symphony are moulded into oneness. There is no such unity in the song-cycles of Schubert, who was Beethoven’s first follower; and Schumann, who saw and recognized, could only pay the admiring tribute of imitation in his ‘Frauenliebe und –leben.’ ’’

Ah, but such tribute! Schumann lifted the opening melody to Beethoven’s sixth song (“Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder”) and employed it in not only Frauenliebe but also his Fantasy, Opus 17, his F-Major String Quartet, Opus 41, No. 2, and his Symphony No. 2, Opus 61. In fact, that very theme became for Schumann his “Clara” emblem – one of a variety of hidden musical messages he and his beloved wife would share with each other in their compositions. Johannes Brahms, too, a close friend of the Schumanns, similarly used Beethoven’s melody extensively in such works as Nänie and his Ein Deutsches Requiem, at least in part because of Brahms’ affection for Clara.

And it was not only for later composers that this music held autobiographical meaning: Beethoven himself is likely to have found such portent in the poetry of young medical student and amateur musician Aloys Jeitteles (1794-1858). Much has been made of Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” to whom he alluded in a letter written to Ferdinand Ries the year after his completion of An die ferne Geliebte: “My kind regards to your wife. I, alas! have no wife. I have met only one and her I shall probably never get.”

4.4  Discuss the musical devices. Henry suggests, “Determine the most significant musical features of the piece and help the audience understand the technique. Prepare the audience to listen for specific musical events in the piece. Highlight the formal structure, imitative devices, the texture or changing texture, text painting, dynamic variations, rhythmic patterns, scalar content, or other important features” (Henry, 53).

Example 3.4: [note for Dominick Argento’s Six Elizabethan Songs]

While at times, the piano accompaniment is overtly stark, as in the song “Dirge”, at other times Argento’s “simplicity” requires a considerable degree of virtuosity on the part of the accompanist, all neatly balanced against an extremely lyric and frequently soaring vocal line.

4.5  Cite sources within the text. Do not use foot notes or bibliography. Use of material without citing the source is plagiarism, and as such is an honor code violation! 

Example 3.5.1: references may be within the text itself (see Example 3.3, first paragraph, and last paragraph).

Example 3.5.2: references may be parenthetical, as in several places in the body of this style sheet, as long as the full source is acknowledged elsewhere (see top of this style sheet).