Since becoming the Women’s R&S Chair, the most frequest question I get asked is, “Where do I even begin looking for women’s choral repertoire?” If you are a new director to a women’s ensemble, it is hard to weed through the re-arranged SATB repertoire and the sparkly schmaltz to find works specifically written for women that are either new and thought-provoking, or have stood the test of time.
Below is a list of resources I have passed along to fellow conductors, as well as a list of “chesnnuts” that I have personally compiled:
Shrock, Dennis. Choral Repertoire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
This comprehensive book surveys choral music repertoire from the Medieval Era to present day, including many classic works for women’s chorus. If you don’t even know where to begin looking for women’s choral music, this book gives you a context of what is available, especially for those eras like the Renaissance and Baroque when there was very little written for women’s voices.
Chestnuts for Women’s Choir: Repertoire that has Stood the Test of Time
This list includes mini-lists of favorite pieces by esteemed conductors of women’s choirs. It’s interesting to notice the overlap of favorite pieces between conductors’ choices. I keep this list in my pile of repertoire I have yet to program, and come back to it every summer when I am programming for the coming academic year.
http://acda.org/files/ChestnutsList.pdf
ACDA Women’s Choir Resource List
Also available on the ACDA website is this lengthy list of selections. While not definitive, it includes many of the popular pieces, and is another great place to start your programming research.
http://acda.org/files/ChestnutsList.pdf
Lindsay’s List of Choral Gems
Below are pieces that I have programmed in my four years at Mount Holyoke that I have just loved teaching and performing. Some of these pieces will look familiar, while others are less performed for no good reason! Please contact me directly if you are looking to perform any of these pieces, and need additional information.
| Composer/Arranger | Title of Work | Difficulty Level | Voicing |
| Anonymous 4 | Nowel: Owt of your slepe aryse | Intermediate | SSAA |
| Barbara Baker | The Storm is Passing Over | Easy | SSA w/ piano |
| Betty Bertaux | What Wondrous Love | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Abbie Betinis | Be Like the Bird | Easy | 5-part canon |
| Abbie Betinis | Cedit, Hyems | Difficult | SSAA w/ flute |
| Abbie Betinis | Jerusalem Luminosa | Intermediate | SA a cappella |
| Johannes Brahms | Adoramus Te | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Johannes Brahms | Vier Gesänge für Frauenchor, Opus 17 | Intermediate | SSA w/ harp |
| Pablo Casals | Nigra Sum | Easy | SSA w/ piano |
| Pavel Chesnokov | Salvation is Created | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Chiara M. Cozzolani | Two Christmas Motets | Intermediate | SSAA w/ continuo |
| Eleanor Daley | Lake Isle of Innisfree | Easy | SSA w/piano |
| Claude Debussy | Salut printemps | Intermediate | SSA w/ piano |
| Hugo Distler | Mörike-Chorliederbuch | Intermediate – Difficult | SA – SSA- SSAA a cappella |
| Maurice Durufle | Tota pulchra es | Difficult | SSA a cappella |
| Ēriks Ešenvalds | Gaujas Meita Rotātāja | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Reena Esmail | Tuttarana | Difficult | SSSAAA a cappella |
| Edvard Grieg | Ved Rundarne | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen | Statements | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Gustav Holst | Ave Maria | Difficult | SSAA SSAA a cappella |
| Gustav Holst | Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Group 3 | Intermediate | SSAA w/ piano or harp |
| Sarah Hopkins | Past Life Melodies | Intermediate | SA w/ 7-part divisi a cappella |
| Zoltán Kodály | Esti Dal | Easy | SSAA a cappella |
| Zoltán Kodály | Mountain Nights | Intermediate | SSSSAA a cappella |
| Dana Maiben | Vermont | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Mary Montgomery Koppel | A la lune | Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Philip Kutev | Dragana I Slaveya | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| David Lang | evening morning day | Intermediate | SSA a cappella |
| György Ligeti | Idegen földön | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Petar Liondev | Kafal Sviri | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Otmar Mácha | Hoj, hura hoj! | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Robinson McClellan | The Woman Turns Herself into a Fish | Difficult | SSA a cappella |
| Felix Mendelssohn | Abendlied | Easy | SA w/ piano |
| Felix Mendelssohn | Lift Thine Eyes, Elijah | Intermediate | SSA a cappella |
| Claudio Monteverdi | Pur Ti Miro | Easy | SA w/ continuo |
| Knut Nystedt | Kärleckens Lov | Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Knut Nystedt | Shells | Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Nick Page | Niška Banja | Easy | SSAA w/ piano |
| Arvo Pärt | Peace Upon You, Jerusalem | Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Francis Poulenc | Ave Maria | Intermediate | SSA a cappella |
| Francis Poulenc | Litanies a la vierge noire | Difficult | SSA w/ organ |
| Francis Poulenc | Petites Voix | Difficult | SSA a cappella |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff | Six Choruses | Easy | SA w/ piano |
| A. R. Rahman | Wedding Qawwali | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Josef Rheinberger | Sechs Gesänge | Intermediate-Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Heikki Sarmanto | Hanget Soi | Easy | SSA w/ piano |
| Franz Schubert | Psalm 23 | Intermediate | SSAA w/ piano |
| Robert Schumann | Nänie, Triolett, & Spruch | Easy | SSA w/ piano |
| R. Murray Schafer | Snowforms | Intermediate | SA w/ 8-part divisi a cappella |
| Joshua Shank | O Saro | Intermediate | SSAA w/ violin |
| Peter Tchaikovsky | Much too soon in the season | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Veljo Tormis | Autumn Landscapes | Difficult | SSSSAAAA a cappella |
| Veljo Tormis | Lauliku lapsepõli | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Ralph Vaughan Williams | Linden Lea | Easy | SSA w/ piano |
| Giuseppe Verdi | Laudi alla vergine Maria | Difficult | SSAA a cappella |
| Tomas Luis de Victoria | Duo Seraphim | Intermediate | SSAA a cappella |
| Eric Whitacre | Five Hebrew Love Songs | Easy | SA w/ piano & violin |