Unger M.P. Historical Dictionary of Choral Music

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102 • DIEMER, EMMA LOU

and org. (1951); Two Anthems (1955); Prayer for Peace (1960); This

Sacred Ground, a setting of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, for Bar.,

children’s chorus, chorus, and orch. (1962); To Music, a choral sym-

phony for T, B-Bar., chorus, and orch. (1967); A Secular Cantata,

for T, Bar., chorus, and small orch. (1976); and several unpublished

works, including A Song for Hope, a setting of a text by Eliezer [Elie]

Wiesel for 8 solo vv., chorus, and small orch. (1986).

DIEMER, EMMA LOU (24 NOVEMBER 1927– ). American

composer and organist. She received her formal education at Yale

University and the Eastman School, studying with Paul Hindemith,

Howard Hanson, and Roger Sessions, among others. She has held

teaching appointments at the University of Maryland and at the

University of California (1971–91), where she founded an electronic

music studio. Throughout her career she has been active as a church

organist, and she has written more than 100 choral works. Those for

amateurs emphasize accessibility, combining simple vocal writing

with more demanding keyboard accompaniments.

D’INDIA, SIGISMONDO. See INDIA, SIGISMONDO D’.

DINESCU, VIOLETA (13 JULY 1953– ). Romanian composer active

in Germany. She has taught at conservatories in Heidelberg, Frank-

furt, and Bayreuth, as well as at the University of Oldenburg. Her

choral works include many for children’s chorus.

DISCANT. A type of organum in which the voices move in a note-

against-note manner, usually in contrary motion. Surviving settings

include ones for two, three, and four voices.

DISTLER, HUGO (24 JUNE 1908–1 NOVEMBER 1942). German

composer, choral conductor, organist, and teacher. He studied at the

Leipzig Conservatory, where he developed a keen interest in the

revival of early organ-building techniques and music of early Ger-

man composers such as Heinrich Schütz, Leonhard Lechner, and

Johann Sebastian Bach. His admiration of Schütz, in particular,

led him to write polyphonic choral works in a tonal, yet astringent

harmonic language, with effective word-painting. Many of them

were written during his tenure as organist and choirmaster at the Ja-

kobikirche in Lübeck (1931–37), during which time he also taught at

the School for Church Music in Spandau (Berlin). In 1937 he moved

DIVINE OFFICE • 103

to Stuttgart to teach at the Württemberg Hochschule für Musik.

His choral duties there included directing the Esslingen Singakad-

emie, and later the conservatory choir, which premiered parts of the

Mörike-Chorliederbuch at the festival of German Choral Music in

Graz (1939) to considerable acclaim. That year he was appointed

successor to Kurt Thomas as teacher of composition, organ, and

choral conducting at the Staatliche Akademische Hochschule für

Musik in Charlottenburg, Berlin. His untimely death at his own hand

two years later was the result of war pressures and deep depression.

Distler’s works for vocal ensemble (almost all of which are to Ger-

man texts) include Die Weihnachtsgeschichte, op. 12, a Christmas

oratorio for unaccompanied voices (1933); Choral-Passion, op. 7,

for two solo voices and five-part chorus (1933); Geistliche Chor-

musik, op. 12, a collection of motets for four-voice chorus inspired

by Schütz’s volume of the same name (1934–36, 1941); and an un-

completed St. John Passion, among more than a dozen others. Of his

secular choral works, the Möricke settings are best known.

DITTERSDORF, CARL DITTERS VON (2 NOVEMBER 1739–24

OCTOBER 1799). Austrian composer and violinist. Born Carl Ditters,

in Vienna, he established an early reputation as a virtuoso violinist and

composer. In 1764 he wrote the mass for the coronation in Frankfurt

of Archduke Joseph (later Emperor Joseph II) as King of the Romans.

In 1765 he began duties in Grosswardein (now Oradea, Romania), suc-

ceeding Michael Haydn as Kapellmeister. In 1769, when the Bishop

of Grosswardein dismissed most of his performers, the composer de-

cided to move to Johannesburg, where he served in several musical and

administrative capacities. He was ennobled by Empress Maria Theresa

in 1773. From the early 1780s he appeared frequently in Vienna. In

1786 his oratorio Giob (Job) was performed there, and a very success-

ful 1786 premiere of his comic opera, Der Apotheker und der Doktor,

led to international recognition. Despite waning fortunes later in life

he remained active as a composer. Extant choral works include over a

dozen masses, mostly for chorus, orchestra, and organ (some of which

are attributed also to others), litanies, and dozens of Latin motets.

DIVINE OFFICE (LITURGICAL HOURS, LITURGY OF THE

HOURS, CANONICAL HOURS). A cycle of prayer services held

at prescribed times of the day in the Roman Catholic Church. They

104 • DOLES, JOHANN FRIEDRICH

were established in medieval times, and consisted of Vespers (at sun-

set), Compline (before bedtime), Vigils or Matins (after midnight),

Lauds (at dawn), Prime (at 6:00 a.m.), Terce (at 9:00 a.m.), Sext (at

noon), and None (at 3:00 p.m.). Musical elements included the sing-

ing of psalms and canticles with antiphons, and hymns.

DOLES, JOHANN FRIEDRICH (23 APRIL 1715–8 FEBRUARY

1797). German composer, organist, and conductor. While enrolled

at the University of Leipzig, he studied privately with Johann

Sebastian Bach. In 1744 he became Kantor at the Freiburg cathe-

dral, a position that included additional responsibilities at other city

churches as well as at the local city school. In 1755 he was appointed

Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, although he did not begin his

duties (which were more or less unchanged since Bach’s day) until

the beginning of 1756. Encountering difficulties and opposition, he

eventually left his post in 1789 but continued to compose. Before he

left that year he was visited by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who

was so impressed with a performance of the Bach motet Singet dem

Herrn that he asked to see the music and proceeded to copy out the

parts. Doles was one of the most important Protestant church musi-

cians in Germany during the latter part of the 18th century (another

was Gottfried August Homilius). Among his choral compositions,

which embrace the light, melody-dominated Classical style, are some

160 church cantatas and 35 motets.

DONATI, IGNAZIO (C. 1570–21 JANUARY 1638). Italian com-

poser who worked at cathedrals in numerous Italian cities, including

Milan (from 1631). His extant choral publications include one book

of psalm settings, two volumes of masses, and numerous books of

motets—often small-scale concertatos for a few voices and con-

tinuo. Evidently concerned with making his works as adaptable

as possible, he included prefaces that explain alternative means of

performing his works—identifying what may be omitted if necessary

(even ritornellos).

DONATO, BALDASSARE (?1529–17 FEBRUARY 1603). Italian

composer and singer. A student of Adrian Willaert at San Marco

(St. Mark’s Basilica) in Vienna, he subsequently received several

appointments there, eventually succeeding Gioseffo Zarlino as mae-

stro di cappella in 1590. Although Donato wrote some church music,

DUBOIS THÉODORE • 105

including motets for five or more voices (many of them preserved in

a publication of 1599), his fame rested primarily on his madrigals

and villanellas, of which he published three volumes, and which

were disseminated broadly in reprints and anthologies.

DONATO DA CASCIA. See ITALIAN TRECENTO.

DONIZETTI, GAETANO (NOVEMBER 1797–8 APRIL 1848).

Italian opera composer. Despite his preoccupation with opera, Doni-

zetti composed some 50 Latin liturgical works (usually with orches-

tra) during the early part of his career (before 1824), then evidently

little until about 1835, after which he wrote another dozen sacred

works, including three requiem settings (one of them an unfinished

work for Vincenzo Bellini). Some 30 additional extant works for

vocal ensemble are undated. Included in their number is a fourth

requiem. Almost all of them call for orchestra.

DOWLAND, JOHN (1563–20 FEBRUARY 1626). English composer

and lutenist. He traveled widely and was regarded as one of the lead-

ing lutenists of his day. Nevertheless, perhaps because of his conver-

sion to Catholicism as a young man while living in Paris, he failed

to receive an appointment at the English court until 1612. Instead, he

worked from 1598 until 1606 as a highly paid musician in the court

of Christian IV of Denmark.

As a composer, Dowland was particularly known for his ayres—

songs for solo voice and lute. These were published not in the usual

partbook format, but as single books in which melody and accom-

paniment appear together. The books were intended to be placed

flat on a table, around which the musicians grouped themselves.

Because Dowland often supplied alternate ATB parts, the songs

could be performed not only as solos accompanied by lute, but also

as partsongs, with the accompanying parts played or sung in various

combinations.

Dowland’s sacred music includes psalms and devotional songs;

most of them for four voices.

DUBOIS (FRANÇOIS CLÉMENT) THÉODORE (24 AUGUST

1837–11 JUNE 1924). French composer, organist, and teacher.

Though of humble background, he showed early promise and was

accepted as a student at the Paris Conservatoire in 1854. In Paris he

106 • DU CAURROY, EUSTACHE

established a growing reputation as an organist and composer. In

1871 he began teaching at the conservatory, advancing eventually to

the position of director (1896–1905). His pedagogical skills culmi-

nated in the publication of several treatises. As a composer he is best

known for his sacred choral works, some of which remained popular

for many years. They include a dozen masses (most with organ ac-

companiment), 5 oratorios (including the famous Les sept paroles du

Christ for solo vv., chorus, and orch. (1867), and 71 motets. Dubois’s

secular choral works include 8 choral scenes for unaccompanied male

voices (1876–1916).

DU CAURROY, EUSTACHE (BAPTIZED 4 FEBRUARY 1549;

DIED 7 AUGUST 1609). French composer who worked at the royal

court. He admired the works of earlier composers such as Josquin

des Prez, Adrian Willaert, and Gioseffo Zarlino, and emulated

their contrapuntal techniques. Extant choral works (most of which

were published posthumously) include Preces ecclesiasticae, a col-

lection of 53 motets (including 4 Te Deum settings) for three to

seven voices; Meslanges de la musique, a collection of 10 psalms,

35 chansons, and 15 Noëls, for four to six voices; and a Missa pro

defunctis (requiem) for five voices, used continuously for the funer-

als of French kings long after the composer’s death.

DUFAY, GUILLAUME (C. 5 AUGUST 1397–27 NOVEMBER

1474). French composer, the most renowned of his time. Born near

Brussels, he trained as a chorister at Cambrai Cathedral (1409–12),

where he subsequently served as a subdeacon. In 1420 he apparently

moved to Italy, where he held positions in various cities until 1439

(Rimini, Bologna, Rome, Savoy, Florence), when he returned to Cam-

brai. He remained in Cambrai during the 1440s, during which time he

also served the Duke of Burgundy. A second stay in Savoy (1452–58)

was followed by a final period in Cambrai (1458 until his death).

Of his extant works, the motets include about a dozen isorhyth-

mic works (most for four voices), in which all voices usually em-

ploy isorhythm, and the tenor is presented in various mensurations,

resulting in sections proportional in length. He also wrote 11 freely

composed works for three or four voices.

Of Dufay’s masses and individual mass movements, over 30 sur-

vive. The majority of them are for three voices. His early mass settings

consist of single movements and two- or three-movement groupings.

DU MONT, HENRY • 107

The Missa Sancti Jacobi, on the other hand, includes settings of the

Proper in addition to the entire Ordinary, as does another plenary

mass, the Mass for St. Anthony Abbot. After encountering English

tenor masses, Dufay began writing works unified by the use of a single

tenor throughout; these include Missa Se la face ay pale (which em-

ploys the tenor of his own ballade as cantus firmus), Missa L’homme

armé (his longest work), Missa Ecce ancilla Domini, and Missa Ave

regina (which parodies sections of his own motet). In Missa L’homme

armé the Agnus Dei contains a riddle canon, which is to be solved

from the instruction “Let the crab (i.e., cantus firmus in reverse) return

full and return half.” Thus the cantus firmus must first be sung back-

ward, in long note values, then forward in faster note values.

Other surviving works include 4 Magnificats, 16 antiphons, some

two dozen hymns, and some 30 chant settings (often harmonized as

fauxbourdon). Dufay’s extant secular works (most for three voices)

include about 60 rondeaux, 8 ballades, a few virelais, and some 7

works to Italian texts.

DU MONT, HENRY [HENRY DE THIER] (C. 1610–8 MAY

1684). French composer, organist, and harpsichordist. He was born

and educated near Liège. In 1643 he was appointed organist of the

newly built Church of St. Paul in Paris, a position he retained until

his death. From 1652 he was harpsichordist to the Duke of Anjou (the

king’s brother), and from 1669 he was organist to the recently mar-

ried queen (the Infanta Marie-Thérèse). From 1663 he served as one

of four maîtres of Louis XIV’s chapel. In 1672, along with Pierre

Robert, he became the compositeur de musique. In 1673 he was ap-

pointed maître de la musique de la reine.

Du Mont’s surviving compositions are almost all sacred: some 120

petit motets of great variety (including, for example, “dialogue motets,”

one of which, the Dialogus de anima, is actually an oratorio); 26 grands

motets (originally 70 or more in number, they established the genre at

the French court); and the Cinq messes en plain-chant (1669), a col-

lection of monodic masses “suitable for both monks and nuns,” which

remained in French use through the middle of the 20th century. The

Airs à quatre parties of 1663 are mainly settings of Antoine Godeau’s

French psalm paraphrases—polyphonic pieces in strophic form, most

of them for four voices and continuo. His secular works include some

18 three-voice chansons

, which are preceded by preludes for viols.

108 • DUNSTABLE, JOHN

DUNSTABLE, JOHN (C. 1390–24 DECEMBER 1453). English

composer. Little about his life is known with certainty, but by the

1440s Continental writers such as Johannes Tinctoris were identi-

fying him as the preeminent representative of a sweet new English

style, the founder of a new art. The primary characteristic of this style

was evidently a prevailing consonance resulting from an emphasis on

thirds and sixths.

Many questions regarding authorship and chronology of Dunsta-

ble’s works remain, especially since many of them are preserved in

Italian and German manuscripts. Included in the approximately 50

pieces definitely ascribed to him are 15 individual mass movements,

several mass pairings, some mass cycles unified by the use of the

same tenor throughout (Dunstable and Leonel Power were appar-

ently the first to write tenor masses), about 12 isorhythmic motets,

nearly 30 freely composed motets on liturgical texts, and a handful

of secular pieces. Almost all of his works are for three voices (a few

isorhythmic motets for four voices represent the exception). Lengthy

duets occur frequently in his writing but pitch imitation is used spar-

ingly.

DUPRÉ, MARCEL (3 MAY 1886–30 MAY 1971). French organist

and composer. Especially renowned for his skill at improvisation,

he performed internationally, and in 1920 was the first to perform

Johann Sebastian Bach’s entire organ repertory at the Paris Con-

servatoire. His compositions employ a post-romantic, chromatic

harmonic language, and demonstrate a gift for counterpoint. While

most of his works are for the organ, he also composed choral works.

Examples include the cantatas Les Normands (1911) and Psyché

(1914), for chorus and orchestra; 4 motets, op. 9, for chorus and 2

org. (1916); De profundis, op. 17, for solo vv., chorus, orch., and org.

(1917); the oratorio La France au Calvaire, op. 49 (1945–56); and

2 motets, op. 53 (1958).

DURANTE, FRANCESCO (31 MARCH 1684–30 SEPTEMBER

1755). Italian composer and renowned teacher, active in Naples. His

students included Niccolò Jommelli, Giovanni Paisiello, Giovanni

Battista Pergolesi, and Niccolò Piccinni. Unlike his Neapolitan con-

temporaries who pursued opera, Durante established his reputation

with sacred music, composing in all sacred genres and styles of the

DVOR

ÁK, ANTONÍN • 109

time. Among his surviving works are two dozen Kyrie-Gloria pairs,

complete masses cycles, including some in stile antico, at least three

requiems, in addition to psalms, motets, Magnificats, Lamenta-

tions, litanies, and other liturgical music. His creative exploration

of expressive effects, orchestration, and thematic and structural op-

tions, together with a contrapuntal mastery tempered by a natural

agreeableness, made him one of the most venerated teachers of his

time, and have ensured a continued place for his works in the sacred

choral repertory.

DURUFLÉ, MAURICE (11 JANUARY 1902–16 JUNE 1986).

French composer and organist. He studied with Louis Vierne, and

served under him at Notre Dame Cathedral. From 1930 until his

death he served as organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont. A graduate of

the Paris Conservatoire, he later taught there. Although he composed

few works, they are all highly regarded. Invariably they are infused

with the spirit of chant. His choral works include Requiem, op. 9,

for solo vv., chorus, org., and orch. (1947); four motets, op. 10, for

mixed chorus, of which the most famous is Ubi caritas (1960); Mass

“Cum jubilo,” op. 11, for Bar., Bar chorus, and orch. (1966); and

Notre-Père, for mixed chorus (1977).

DVOR

ÁK, ANTONÍN (8 SEPTEMBER 1841–1 MAY 1904). Czech

composer, admired internationally for establishing a nationalist style

with his symphonies, chamber works, oratorios, songs and, to a lesser

degree, his operas. Though of humble background, he made the most of

his opportunities, and in 1859 graduated from the Prague Organ School.

He played viola in the Provisional Theater Orchestra in Prague until

1871, while composing privately. After 1871 he began making himself

known as a composer. His early works followed German models; he

subsequently changed to a more classical, nationalist style. During the

years 1874–78, he successfully applied for a series of stipends from the

Austrian government. Johannes Brahms, who was one of the judges,

soon became Dvořák’s champion, introducing him to the publisher

Simrock. As other publishers began clamoring for his music, Dvořák

found himself suddenly famous, not only in Germany, but internation-

ally. Despite subsequent political resistance to his works in Germany,

his music was enthusiastically received in England, a country he ulti-

mately visited eight times, often conducting his own performances.

110 • EBEN, PETR

In 1892 Dvořák accepted the position of artistic director of the

National Conservatory of Music in America (New York City), with

the understanding that he would help create a distinctly American

musical style. Taking this charge seriously he asked Henry Thacker

Burleigh, a black student at the conservatory, to teach him African

American spirituals, and Henry Krehbiel, a music critic, to provide

transcriptions of native American melodies. Homesickness and the

failing fortunes of his principal financial supporter in New York

caused him to return to Bohemia in 1895. In 1901 he became director

of the Prague Conservatory, where he had taught briefly before mov-

ing to the United States. In his final years, seeking to reach a wide

audience, he focused increasingly on opera.

Several of Dvořák’s large choral works were influential at critical

junctures in his career: Hymn: The Heirs of the White Mountain, a

setting for chorus and orchestra of an epic nationalist poem (1872),

led to recognition in his homeland; Stabat mater, for S, A, T, B, cho-

rus, and orch. (1877), helped establish his reputation in England and

beyond; and the Te Deum, for S, B, chorus, and orch., written in 1892

at the request of Mrs. Jeannette Thurber, president of the National

Conservatory of Music in America for the celebration of the 400th

anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America, introduced him

to the American public. Other choral works include Psalm 149, for

male chorus and orch. (1879; rev. for mixed chorus and orch., 1887);

The Spectre’s Bride, a choral ballad (sometimes classified as a dra-

matic cantata or oratorio) for S, T, B, chorus, and orch. (1884); St.

Ludmilla, an oratorio for S, A, T, B, chorus, and orch. (1886), Mass

in D for soloists, small chorus, and org. (1887, arr. for orch. 1892);

Requiem for S, A, T, B, chorus, and orch. (1890); The American

Flag, a cantata for A, T, B, chorus, and orch. (1893), commemorating

the fallen soldiers of the War of 1812; five sets of Czech partsongs

for male voices (all unaccompanied except for one set, which calls

for piano); two sets of partsongs for unaccompanied mixed chorus;

and Moravian duets for unaccompanied female voices.

– E –

EBEN, PETR (22 JANUARY 1929–29 OCTOBER 2007). Czech

composer, pianist, and organist. His compositions include sympho-

EBY, ANDERS • 111

nies, operas, chamber music, and much choral music. Interned at Bu-

chenwald during the war because his father was Jewish (though the

family was Catholic), he emerged with a deepened religious faith and

a commitment to musical composition as a means of communication.

After his release he attended the Prague Conservatory, graduating in

1954. He subsequently taught at the Charles University in Prague

(1955–90) and at the Conservatory (1990–94). For many years he

suffered under repressive Communist rule, being denied promotion,

and facing professional restrictions because he refused to join the

Party and because he continued to attend church with his family. He

was allowed to tour internationally as a performer, however, and he

developed considerable renown for his skill in improvisation. His

compositions have an expressive urgency. They often make reference

to archaic elements such as chant, and are therefore characterized

by flowing vocal lines, which tend to move somewhat quickly. The

harmonic language is freely tonal, with occasional pungent disso-

nances.

Among Eben’s many choral works are Missa adventus et quadra-

gesimae, for single-voiced male or mixed choir and org. (1952);

Pragensia, a cantata for mixed chamber choir and Renaissance

insts. (1972); Missa cum populo, for choir, congregation, brass, and

org. (1982); the Prague Te Deum, for mixed choir, brass, timp., and

perc., or organ, composed in celebration of the end of Communist

rule (1989); and several oratorios: Apologia Socratus, for A, B,

mixed choir, children’s choir, and orch. (1967); Posvátná znamení

[Sacred Symbols], for S, B, mixed choir, children’s choir, winds and

brass, perc., and org. (1993); Anno Domini, for 2 solo vv., children’s

chorus, chorus, schola gregoriana, and chbr. orch. (1999); and Iaco-

bus, for Bar., chorus, and orch. (2002).

EBERLIN, JOHANN ERNST (BAPTIZED 27 MARCH 1702;

DIED 19 JUNE 1762). German composer and organist working in

Salzburg. His great volume of sacred vocal music was admired for its

contrapuntal fluency and was influential on succeeding composers

such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Extant works include about 11

oratorios, 58 masses, 9 requiem masses, about 160 Proper settings,

settings of psalms and canticles, and other sacred pieces.

EBY, ANDERS (5 FEBRUARY 1949– ). Swedish choral conductor.

In 1969 he began leading an ensemble that was formally organized