Alex Renwick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I was listening last night to Handel's Israel in Egypt and got to wondering
>who the greatest composer of choral music was.  My choice was Handel
>followed closely by Palestrina.
>
>What do others on the list think? I know this could come to another
>Handel/Bach competition, and, if so, so be it, although I hope it won't.

Unfortunatley, Alex, I don't think that there is an answer for your
question, or at least not an easy one.  I think it depends on your taste
in choral music, but having said that I can offer a few opinions:

1) The Golden Age of choral music is the Rennaisance.  Palestrina is
unquestionably the finest composer of modal, polyphonic works, especially
his Stabat Mater, Missa Papae Marchelli, and motets.  But there are dozens
more great composers from this age with Dufay, Josquin, Jannequin, and even
Dowland, Weelkes, Tye, Morley, and others.

2) J.S.  Bach is the master of fugal composition and counterpoint.  His
works have become the standards by which all others are judged.  Having
said that, Handel wrote more dramatic and involving music but without the
same level of technical complexity.  I think between those two it boils
down to who you like.

3) In the Classical and Romantic periods there were a multitude of
composers who wrote monumental choral works without being a "choral"
composer.  Haydn's Masses, The Creation, and The Seasons are all wonderful,
and then you have Brahms, Beethoven, Mahler, and others who all wrote
selected works that are also standards.

4) The twentieth century has also seen some great composition especially
from the UK with Britten, Howells, Stanford, Rutter, etc.  Many of these
works are as finely crafted as some of the early masses and motets by the
great masters, but the have a very "English" sound.

In conclusion, your qwuestion can be a lot like asking what the best flavor
of ice cream is.  While you might get a great number of votes for Vanilla
or Chocolate (A weak analogy to Bach & Handel) perhaps what is best is that
there are so many different flavors (composers) to try, and each one is
uniquely special.

Jonathan Knapp