Greatest Choral Works

1. Mass in B minor - Johann Sebastian Bach
2. St. Matthew Passion - Johann Sebastian Bach
3. Messiah - Georg Friedrich Handel
4. Missa Solemnis – Ludwig von Beethoven
5. Requiem Mass – Giuseppe Verdi
6. Requiem – Gabriel Faure
7. Requiem – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
8. Missa Papae Marcelli – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
9. German Requiem – Johannes Brahms
10. The Creation – Franz Joseph Haydn
11. Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers of 1610) – Claudio Monteverdi
12. Requiem Grande Messe des Morts - Hector Berlioz
13. War Requiem – Benjamin Britten
14. Carmina Burana – Carl Orff
15. Glagolitic Mass – Leos Janacek
16. Cantata No. 140, Wachet Auf - Johann Sebastian Bach
17. Missa Pange Lingua - Josquin des Prez
18. Belshazzar’s Feast – William Walton
19. Symphony of Psalms – Igor Stravinsky
20. The Dream of Gerontius – Edward Elgar
21. Elijah – Felix Mendelssohn
22. Mass No. 11 in D minor “Nelson” - Franz Joseph Haydn
23. Ave Verum Corpus - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
24. Mass for 5 Voices – William Byrd
25. Mass for 4 Voices – William Byrd
26. Les Noces – Igor Stravinsky
27. Miserere – Gregorio Allegri
28. Magnificat in D major - Johann Sebastian Bach
29. Alto Rhapsody - Johannes Brahms
30. St. John Passion - Johann Sebastian Bach
31. Gloria, RV 589 – Antonio Vivaldi
32. Requiem – Maurice Durufle
33. Zadok the Priest - Georg Friedrich Handel
34. A Child of Our Time – Michael Tippett
35. Mass in C minor “Great” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
36. Psalmus Hungaricus – Zoltan Kodaly
37. Le Roi David – Arthur Honegger
38. Cantata No. 147, Herz und Mund - Johann Sebastian Bach
39. Ode for St. Cecelia’s Day – Henry Purcell
40. Solomon - Georg Friedrich Handel
41. Spem in Alium – Thomas Tallis
42. Messe de Notre Dame – Guillaume de Machaut
43. Israel in Egypt - Georg Friedrich Handel
44. Stabat Mater – Antonin Dvorak
45. Cantata No. 80, Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott - Johann Sebastian Bach
46. A Ceremony of Carols - Benjamin Britten
47. Lamentations of Jeremiah – Thomas Tallis
48. Te Deum – Anton Bruckner
49. Exsultate, Jubilate - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
50. Mass No. 9 in C major, in tempore belli “Paukenmesse” - Franz Joseph Haydn
51. Stabat Mater – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
52. Gloria – Francis Poulenc
53. The Seasons - Franz Joseph Haydn
54. L’Enfance du Christ - Hector Berlioz
55. St. Cecilia Mass – Charles Gounod
56. Cantata No. 4, Christ Lag in Todesbanden – Johann Sebastian Bach
57. Mass – Igor Stravinsky
58. Mass in C major “Coronation” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
59. Chichester Psalms – Leonard Bernstein
60. Sea Drift – Frederick Delius
61. La Damnation de Faust - Hector Berlioz
62. Sea Symphony – Ralph Vaughan Williams
63. The Bells – Sergei Rachmaninoff
64. Christmas Oratorio – Johann Sebastian Bach
65. Stabat Mater - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
66. Christmas Oratorio – Heinrich Schutz
67. Missa se la face ay pale - Guillaume Dufay **
68. Te Deum - Hector Berlioz
69. Missa Brevis - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
70. Cantata No. 208, Was mir behagt - Johann Sebastian Bach
71. Requiem "Officium defunctorum" – Tomas Luis de Victoria
72. Vespers – Sergei Rachmaninoff
73. Judas Maccabeus – Georg Friedrich Handel
74. Mass No. 5 in A flat – Franz Schubert **
75. Schicksalslied – Johannes Brahms **
76. Mass No. 14 in B flat “Harmoniemesse” - Franz Joseph Haydn
77. Ave Maria gratia plena - Josquin Des Prez **
78. Sederunt principes – Pérotin **
79. Stabat Mater – Gioacchino Rossini
80. Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae - Jan Zelenka **
81. Missa l'homme armé - Josquin Des Prez **
82. Cantata No. 202, Weichet nur, Betruebte Scatten “Wedding” – Johann Sebastian Bach
83. Vesperae Solennes de Confessore - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
84. Missa Brevis - Zoltán Kodály **
85. L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed Il Moderato - Georg Friedrich Handel
86. St. Luke Passion - Krzysztof Penderecki **
87. Mass No. 2 in G major – Franz Schubert **
88. Serenade to Music - Ralph Vaughan Williams **
89. Cantata No. 82, Ich habe genug - Johann Sebastian Bach **
90. O magnum mysterium – Tomas Luis de Victoria **
91. Sancta Civitas – Ralph Vaughan Williams
92. Canticum Sacrum – Igor Stravinsky **
93. Seven Penitential Psalms of David – Orlando di Lassus **
94. Mass No. 2 in E minor – Anton Bruckner **
95. Cantata Profana – Béla Bartók
96. Stabat Mater – Franz Joseph Haydn
97. Ave Maria – Franz Schubert **
98. Mass in G minor – Ralph Vaughan Williams **
99. Requiem Mass No. 1 in C minor – Luigi Cherubini **
100. Christus – Franz Liszt **

** indicates new entries

Greatest Composers of Choral Works
1. Johann Sebastian Bach
2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
3. Georg Friedrich Handel
4. Franz Joseph Haydn
5. Igor Stravinsky
6. Hector Berlioz
7. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
8. Johannes Brahms
9. William Byrd
10. Benjamin Britten
11. Felix Mendelssohn
12. Ralph Vaughan Williams
13. Thomas Tallis
14. Ludwig von Beethoven
15. Sergei Rachmaninoff

Reserved for possible future revision

puurrdy shaw Miserere could jump up a bit...

I have a question on Bach Cantatas. I mean what was the criterium of selection for them?
After all there are I think 300 and some no less famous then the ones on list.(e.g "Ich hatte viel beckummernis" or "Weinen, klagen..") Moreover if you see some other attempts to rate them
(Simon Crouch on classical net for example) they are nothing like this! In particular on crouch list BWV 4("Christ lag in todebanden") is rated 1, that is below som 30 other Cantatas! So how does one select them?

I looked at what various sources listed as Bach's greatest cantatas, and ranked them roughly according to how often they were listed. The order they are listed here doesn't exactly match any one source. It's more like the general consensus between all the sources.

If you have a link to Simon Crouch's list, I'd be interested in seeing it.

The link is: http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst ... teindx.php
Can not agree with his list thou. I think it is to subjective, showing his personal like/dislike more than
anything else.

I agree with you. Also, he gave 26 cantatas his highest rating, which I think is too many to make his list very useful. The highest rating should indicate where to begin, and 26 cantatas is too many to begin with.

For the "Greatest Choral Composers" list why is Bach #1? I understand he has influence and some truly incredible works, but it seems like Handel just obliterates he and Mozart in influence.

Because greatest and most influential aren't the same thing.

Yeah, I based the Choral Composer rankings primarily on where their works were ranked on the list, and by that measure, Bach was the clear choice for #1. Handel ahead of Mozart might be a possibility, however.

found this to be a nifty little chart

Wonderful!

a preview of eric whitacre's coming release... mind-blowing music...

Chills, George... gives me chills.