With a question like that, you risk being overwhelmed in a flood of brilliant suggestions: there is simply too much! So I'll restrict myself to one, and that's Joby Talbot's Path of Miracles.

Welcome! There's so much stuff out there. The musical equivalent of stained glass and incense in the Eton Choir Book, the intricate academic Masses of Josquin and Ockeghem, the intensely personal rhetorical motets of Byrd and Lassus, the English anthems of Tomkins and Weelkes. For instance. And that's not to mention Perotin, Dufay, Binchois, Tallis and a couple of chaps called Palestrina and Victoria. I gather there was also some decent music written after 1650. My personal bias would suggest recordings by the Tallis Scholars, Westminster Cathedral Choir, Alamire, Gallicantus, Philippe Herrweghe, but there is no end to the wonderful stuff out there. Have fun!

Dear Conor,

 

I will offer what I freely admit is a self-serving suggestion, but if recently composed music that is deeply informed by the spirit of Renaissance polyphony interests you, see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMLinOVi7c

 

Best wishes,

Frank La Rocca

choral works of James MacMillan (e.g. Tremunt Videntes Angeli) .   Go to Spotify.com (free) and type in his name to find music like Christus Vincit.   A few other greats with some magnificent a cappella choral music:  Benjamin Britten (Hymn to St. Cecilia, esp.), Palestrina, Thomas Tallis, Orlando Lassus, Henrich Schutz, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, etc.

 

Terry

And we can't forget all of the Russian and other Slavic composers who wrote for the orthodox church -- Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Bortniansky, and on and on.  And secular music, too!

Kate Thickstun

Conor:

 

As others have said, this question could get quite a flood of responses, as there is so much great music that fits your category.  I could give pages of titles, but will limit myself to only a few of the most obvious choices.

Sicut Cervus - Palestrina

Beati Quorum Via - Stanford

Ubi Caritas - Durufle

Almost anything by a contemporary Polish composer named Lukaszewski.  I may well have butchered the spelling of his name.

Any of the Advent or Lenten Motets by Poulenc.

Anything a cappella by Bach and Brahms.

If you are enjoying Tavener (a great choice, by the way) also check out Arvo Part.

 

Okay, time to get back to my actual job.

 

Welcome to the amazing world of a cappella choral music!

 

Ray Horst

...And now for something completely different: Kaia does all a cappella music but it's world music, not classical. We sing in 29 languages and in a wide variety of styles. Check out our samples and videos at http://www.kaiasing.com/kaiamusic.html and feel free to contact me if you are interested in any of the pieces.

 

Sing on,

Cairril

Wow that's a lot of music. Thanks everyone, I really appreiate your help. I'll have to dedicate an entire evening to make my way through all of these suggestions!

Paul Hindemith's, 6 Chanson are ravishing little pieces. Set in French with usable English translations, they are musts.

Benjamin Britten's, Glorianna Dances, which, I believe must be from the Opera of the same name, are treasures which exhibit the best of Britten's techniques...just when you think, "this canon is not going to work, why did he do...OH! it really does work, indeed.  I bought a DVD of the entire opera to hear these pieces in context and, lo, the six pieces had been EXCISED (grief). Always have been my favorites for advancing choirs an appreciation and knowledge of Britten's music. Sorry folks, but two fa-la-la-la-las and I'm done.

S

Bruckner. Three graduals.  Os Justi meditabitur, Locus Iste are awesome pieces.  

Conor, yours is a classic piece of naive intrepidy!  I am surprised, upon a quick scan, that I do not see Barber's "Agnus Dei" listed in these replies.  You must hear it, and you must read the story about it.  It is absolutely fascinating for anyone.  The replies you have received are all fantastic.  Virtually all Russian orthodox music is a cappella.  The reason for that is also quite a good read.  Renaissance (1350-1600) secular choral and vocal music is often a capella.  Sacred music from this era is also often a cappella, but not as often as secular.  Rernaissance composers viewed their own music differently.  If someone took your music and changed the words, the melody, or the "chordal structure," that was very acceptable.  In fact, the composer was often flattered that you selected his music to do so.  Ha!  No copyright laws then, laddy!  However, if someone in the performance group was sick, an instrument could play the part.  I could go on for two semesters of a three credit course on this subject.  Listen to "Alleluia" by Randall Thompson (contemporary era).  It is exquisite.  There is currently a particularly nice volume of a cappella music being composed.  These works are exciting in many regards.  Be absolutely sure to check the works of Eric Whitacre.  Naive intrepidy!  Wonderful question!

Hello:

If I may, I'd like to add three marvelous a cappellas to your list.  They are: Crucifixus, by Antonio Lotti; Heilig, by Felix Mendelssohn;  and

Lay a Garland, by Robert Pearsall.  
Good luck...

                                          t

Conor,

 

Take a moment to browse through Musica database ( http://www.musicanet.org), where you will find thousands of contemporary pieces.

To select them among the more than 165,000 titles, you can either search for a composer (Tavener is a good one), or ask for "contemporary" in the field "Words of title of Keywords...".

You will find many descriptions, with a page of the score and/or a soundfile/video, text, translations, pronunciation of the text, ...

 

Have fun,

Jean

Conor, 

 

If you are looking for new stuff, check out these pieces:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best,

Michael 

 

Conor: Not contemporary(?), but compatible with modern chorale (Whitacre, Lauridsen) works: Wilbye Draw on sweet night: