Contemporary Vocal
tagStarted 1950Peak 1990–presentLast big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Contemporary vocal music treats the voice as both text bearer and sound-producing body, mixing classical singing with breath, speech, cries, overtones, microtones, amplified grain, and non-Western techniques. The result can feel intimate, ritualistic, theatrical, or sharply experimental, with consonants, vowels, and noise all composing the line.
History
From postwar solo-vocal experimentation by Berio, Monk, and La Barbara to later ensemble innovation by Theatre of Voices, Roomful of Teeth, The Crossing, and new-music choirs, the lane has steadily widened what “classical vocalism” means; contemporary vocal writing now overlaps with chamber opera, choral new music, text theater, activism, and globally informed extended technique.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- New Music USA
- New Yorker
- New Music USA vocal archives. citeturn11search1turn11search8turn11search4