THE COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENTS OF ALICE PARKER AND ...

destination. Dr. Ann Howard Jones, formerly Assistant Conductor to Robert Shaw and the
Atlanta Symphony Chorus from 1984-1998, refers to this aspect of Parker and Shaw’s writing
when she speaks of the strength of its “horizontal” orientation. By this she means that its focus
is on melody and its counterpoint among the voices, on their forward-moving direction and flow.
Janice Long uses the same geometric imagery in her summary of Parker’s writing style: “Parker
is a contrapuntal composer. Linear considerations are more important than vertical
considerations.” 52 Jones sees an opposite trend in much of the choral music written today, whose
beauty is found in lush harmonies, in rich clusters, and in sensuous sonorities that dazzle the
ear—a “vertical” orientation. 53 A look at the opening of Eric Whitacre’s popular “Water Night”
is a good example of this; there is no clear melody until measure 7 and 8, and the beauty of the
piece is largely in its use of clusters and dissonances within a diatonic setting.
52 Long, “Alice Parker: Analytical Notes on the Cantatas,” 62.
53 Ann Howard Jones, telephone interview with author, 15 Jul. 2010. Dr. Jones also assisted with the Robert Shaw
Chamber Singers and helped to organize the Robert Shaw Institute. She is currently Professor and Director of
Choral Activities at Boston University.
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