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CONTEMPORARY VOCAL ENSEMBLE MUSIC

This page explores contemporary vocal ensemble music and modern vocal ensemble pieces. The collection features innovative vocal compositions and avant-garde choral works, showcasing cutting-edge vocal music and repertoire for a progressive choir.

NOCTURNE

for vocal ensemble and five instruments

CONTEMPORARY VOCAL ENSEMBLE MUSIC
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Duration:
9 minutes
 
Instrumentation:   
12 singers (SATB), soprano saxophone,
clarinet, harp, guitar and percussion
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Year Composed:
1999
 
Text:
Vocalize
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Written For:
Tamara Brooks
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Premiere Performance:
8 March, 2000
Boston, MA, USA
New England Conservatory Chamber Singers
Eric Hewitt, soprano Saxophone
Rob Hadesbeck, clarinet
Ted Stefan, guitar
Jun Yoo, harp
Seth McConnell, percussion
Tamara Brooks, conductor

Related Music:

About Nocturne

Nocturne invites listeners into the quiet magic of a summer night. Written for twelve solo voices and an ensemble of soprano saxophone, clarinet, guitar, harp, and percussion, the piece was composed for conductor Tamara Brooks. The music draws on the atmosphere of the Berkshires at night — soft movement in the trees, scattered points of light, and the gentle hum of the natural world. Voices and instruments are used as coloristic tools, creating shifting textures and subtle sonic impressions that form a calm, immersive nocturnal landscape.
 

For the Performers

Level: For professional vocal ensembles or advanced conservatory chamber choirs with strong independence and blend.

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Programming: Ideal for concerts exploring night, nature, atmosphere, or contemporary vocal textures; pairs well with modern choral or mixed‑ensemble works.

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Style: Twelve independent vocal lines; coloristic, non‑textual writing; instrumental parts used for timbre and texture rather than traditional melody.

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Venue Fit: Best in resonant halls or spaces where subtle layers and soft dynamics can bloom without amplification.

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Program Notes

While writing Nocturne, I was inspired by the summer nights in the Berkshires. The whispering woods, the flickering lights, choirs of insects, and the moon reflected over the lake all found their way into the score as a musical impression. The score calls for twelve singers (each with individual parts), soprano saxophone, clarinet, guitar, harp, and percussion, which are used here less for their melodic and harmonic possibilities and more as brushes — creating spots, clouds, shadows, and beams of sound.
 

Nocturne was written at the invitation of Tamara Brooks and is dedicated to her.

Contemporary Classical Vocal Ensemble Pieces (20th & 21st Century)

  • John Adams – Grand Pianola Music (1981): Correct. Scored for 3 female voices (amplified), 2 pianos, winds, brass, and percussion.

  • Luciano Berio – Coro (1976): Correct. 40 voices and 40 instruments, each singer paired with an instrumentalist.

  • Benjamin Britten – A Ceremony of Carols (1942): Correct. SSA (treble voices) and harp.

  • George Crumb – Ancient Voices of Children (1970): Correct. Includes soprano, boy soprano, oboe, mandolin, harp, amplified piano, toy piano, percussion (3 players), and musical saw.

  • György Ligeti – Clocks and Clouds (1973): Correct. 12 women's voices and chamber orchestra.

  • György Ligeti – Lux Aeterna (1966): Correct. 16-part mixed choir a cappella.

  • György Ligeti – Nonsense Madrigals (1988–1993): Correct. 6 male voices a cappella (AATBarBarB).

  • James MacMillan – Miserere (1990): Correct. SATB choir a cappella.

  • Frank Martin – Mass for Double Chorus (1922–1926): Correct. Double SATB choir a cappella.

  • Olivier Messiaen – O Sacrum Convivium! (1937): Correct. SATB choir a cappella, with optional organ.

  • Luigi Nono – Il canto sospeso (1955–1956): Correct. Soprano, alto, tenor soloists, mixed choir, and orchestra.

  • Arvo Pärt – Magnificat Antiphons (1988, rev. 1991): Correct. SATB choir a cappella. Also known as Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen.

  • Francis Poulenc – Mass in G Major (1937): Correct. SATB choir a cappella (Credo omitted).

  • Steve Reich – Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973): Correct. 3 female voices, 4 marimbas, 2 vibraphones, glockenspiel, organ.

  • Steve Reich – Proverb (1995): Mostly correct. It’s for 3 sopranos, 2 tenors, 2 vibraphones, and 2 electric organs.

  • Arnold Schoenberg – Friede auf Erden (1907): Correct. SATB choir a cappella (originally with orchestral accompaniment, later withdrawn).

  • Caroline Shaw – Partita for 8 Voices (2009–2011): Correct. 8 voices (SATB, divisi) a cappella.

  • Igor Stravinsky – Symphony of Psalms (1930, rev. 1948): Correct. SATB choir and orchestra, notably omitting violins, violas, and clarinets.

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams – Serenade to Music (1938): Correct. Originally for 16 solo voices and orchestra; alternate version for 4 soloists, chorus, and orchestra.

  • Eric Whitacre – Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine (2001): Correct. SATB choir a cappella.

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