Quarantunes
Composer | Conductor | Vocalist
Wordless Choral Works List
Through research and my own experiences as a singer, teacher, and composer, I believe that wordless choral works can be incredibly enriching for choirs of all ages and experiences. The list below includes some modern works that I have begun to catalog that avoid the use of text. These works are organized by their appropriateness for choirs of varying levels (high school and above) and are chosen under the following qualifications:
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They are choral works (for a group of singers) written in western notation.
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They avoid the use of language-based text, contain significant portions that avoid text, or use text in a non-narrative way (i.e through considerable repetition, aka Semantic Satiation).
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They are written by living composers within the past fifty years.
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They are published either by an incorporated publishing house or by the composer (and are therefore available for purchase).
This list is meant to be a suggested works list, rather than a comprehensive catalog. There are certainly (and forever will be!) works I am unaware of that belong here, and I strongly encourage readers to suggest those works to me so I can add them. If there are works you would like to see added to this list, please fill out the suggestion box below!
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For more info on modern wordless choral works (history, teaching considerations, and references), see my writing page.​
To my knowledge, similar lists have also been created by Fahad Siadat and Robert Reynolds.
Beginning to Intermediate High School Choirs
Advanced High School, Community, and Intermediate Collegiate Choirs
Advanced Collegiate to Professional Choirs
Additional Mentions
R. Murray Schafer (1933-2021) - sadly no longer with us, but has a huge body of wordless works that I couldn't possibly not mention. His contribution to this genre is immense and his creative approach to choral writing is delightful. Check out Miniwanka!
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Meredith Monk - similarly to Schafer, many of her works are written prior to 25 years ago, but I highly recommend exploring her works as they are still incredibly engaging and in many cases quick learns! Check out Panda Chant II and Astronaut Anthem.
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Frederick Delius -Two Songs to be Sung on the Water & Midsummer Song (1917)
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Shawn Crouch - To the Joyous, Eclectic All (not published but a worthy mention)
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