Baker's dozen of 'Choral Conversations' is well done

by Derrick Henry

A book on music that juxtaposes interviews with poet/science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, the late avant-garde composer John Cage and composer/humorist Peter Schickele (of P.D.Q. Bach fame) is bound to be stimulating. And indeed, composer, conductor, and Norcross resident Mark Gresham's "Choral Conversations" (Thomas House Publications, $29.95 sewn paperback), should provide much food for thought for anyone interested in choral music.

Based on 13 of Gresham's interviews for "Chorus!" magazine, of which he was founding editor in chief, the 200-page volume provides a fascinating overview of the choral art as seen through the eyes of composers, poets and performers. "The purpose of the book, like the magazine," says Gresham, "is to help bring choral issues out into the general readership, to provide choral music the same respect accorded to symphonic music and opera."

The strength of Gresham's book is its combination of diversity and focus. Each interview centers on a specific topic.

For instance, Schickele speaks on humor in music and its presentation: "Lukas Foss recently said to me, 'Somebody who doesn't have a sense of humor is not serious enough.' He's saying that a complete person has to have a sense of humor. Music is the sine qua non of human existence."

Atlanta connections abound in the book. Among the subjects are former Atlanta Symphony composers-in-residence Alvin Singleton (on programming African-American music) and Stephen Paulus (on writing music for Christmas), and former ASO assistant conductor Michael Palmer (on the relationship between the orchestral conductor and the chorus). Robert Shaw is not profiled, but his seminal choral work is discussed by several of the interview subjects, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould, who died last year.

Gould concentrates on the business of music, pointing out the struggles of "serious" composers to earn a living. "When I was growing up," he says, "you were either a popular composer, or you were an un-popular composer and made nothing."

Afterward, Gresham said that Gould told him: "This is the best interview anyone has ever done with me, because I got to say what I wanted to say."

(©1997 Atlanta Journal/Constitution)