When I first heard William Henry Harris's Magnificat in A, I was astounded at how much it fucking sucked. Rather, its structure was new to me at first. Then I gradually realized it fucking sucked. I have sung two Harris pieces and I have noticed the same awful aspects in both.
This is a blog post written out of rage and not proofread, so I expect to be embarrassed of it as soon as next week. I want to apologize to people who enjoy Anglican choral music. I am tempted to write off the whole genre, but it does include some Thomas Tallis and Handel (!!!), plus some interesting modern composers. There was just a period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when composers seem to have fucking sucked.
Maybe it's just that I know the language they are writing in, and therefore can spot more keenly the parts where the music doesn't serve the text. Or maybe it's just because British composers have a propensity to suck. Probably a combination of both, and also that I have to sing these choral pieces. But I'm sure hearing the same Magnificat every other evensong must bare to an audience its weaknesses that the choristers hear so clearly!
It's not just that the writing of these short pieces is monotonous, although that's certainly a big factor. The works just cannot make up for their winding structure with any particularly sweet or unique substance, and many choices made seem arbitrary and ridiculous.
Things that English church composers of the 19th and 20th centuries love to write:
- Random solo lines for sopranos, SA, or TB
- Phrases that randomly cut off and then resume after a measure or two
- Hesitant mini-phrases followed by aimless organ interludes
- Random unison sections
- Cadences that aren't fucking cadences
The last thing is the evilest thing about the Harris Magnificat. It goes from tonic to tonic. I to I. The middle voices descend just to jump right back to the same fucking chord. (Zero shade to the performers I reference here, by the way. This choir is very good.)
I'm starting to feel guilty about writing this because my animosity has faded a little since I started. Therefore I will end this here. I feel so alone in this position. If you also hate Anglican choral music, please let me know and I'll properly bitch about John Ireland. In the meantime, check out his Jubilate deo and Te deum and play bingo with the list above.