Counterpoint

This week I bought a book about counterpoint from the BYU Bookstore (and even got $25 back for over paying!). This is an idea that fascinates me, but also eludes me. The notion of having multiple independent melodies all working together to create something harmonious is mind-blowing. It's also a feature that I think is missing in a great deal of choral music today.

The author quotes the late Robert Russel Bennett, an arranger for Broadway shows, who said that "counterpoint is the indispensable element in arranging; if it is missing, the audience's enjoyment of the music will be lessened, even thought they will not identify the missing feature."

Bold words. I can agree with him to a degree. I've noticed that a lot of new choral music coming out is mostly homophonic. Just a bunch of stacked chords. Now, don't get me wrong, I love stacked chords, and homophonic music can be really effective and moving. It can, however, be severely limiting. I want more to music that just chords, and singers want more to sing that just chords. There's something missing right now.

There's a certain kind of lost art/black magic associated with modern polyphony. It's an interesting kind of language to work in. There's only a handful of living choral composers I feel that really have it down and I am certainly not one of those. That's why I bought this book. I want to start understanding this element that is lacking from so much music today, but that makes a huge difference in the end result.

So, I've started with chapter one and will work through it slowly and probably blog about what I've learned and maybe even post some results. I have no idea how much of this I'm going to grasp, but I'm excited to at least give it a try!