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The Evolution of American Choral Music: Roots, Trends, and Composers before the 20th Century
How did choral music start in the United States?
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.
—Walt Whitman
Leaves of Grass1
Prologue
Unlike political history, American choral music did not immediately burst forth with significant people and events.
Choral music certainly existed in America since the Colonial Period, but it was not until the twentieth century that its impact was significant. The last half of the twentieth century saw an explosion of interest in choral music unprecedented in the history of the country.
American choral music came of age on a truly national level, and through the expansion of music education, technology, professional organizations, and available materials, the interest in choral singing escalated dramatically.
It is possible to trace the history of American choral music from its two most basic perspectives:
1.
Music that had a functional
