STICKING PINS IN SUNBEAMS: A METHOD OF SCORE PREPARATION INSPIRED BY THE PHILOSOPHY OF JULIUS HERFORD, WITH EXAMPLES FROM THE BEETHOVEN MASS IN C

Abstract

This document presents a score study methodology based on the approach of Julius Herford (1901–1981), a pivotal but under-documented figure in American choral pedagogy. Herford's teaching profoundly shaped generations of conductors, yet his analytical techniques were never codified in a systematic form. Drawing on archival research, published writings, and interviews with former students, this study distills Herford’s approach into a structured, practical method designed for contemporary use. The project is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 contextualizes Herford’s influence and outlines the rationale for revisiting his methodology. Chapter 2 reconstructs that methodology in four interrelated stages: Context, Overall Form, Structurally Essential Details, and Form as a Process in Motion. These components are synthesized from Herford’s primary documents, including his annotated piano-vocal score and handwritten charts on Beethoven’s Mass in C, as well as from his writings in Choral Conducting: A Symposium and American Music Teacher. Chapter 3 applies this reconstructed method to the Kyrie from Beethoven’s Mass in C, drawing on Herford’s own analytical materials and offering a detailed case study that demonstrates both the method’s rigor and its interpretive flexibility. Chapter 4 reflects critically on the application process, acknowledging both the strengths and limitations of Herford’s approach and exploring its continued relevance for modern conductors. The central argument is that Herford’s philosophy and techniques, though demanding and nonlinear, offer conductors a means of deeply internalizing musical structure and intention. His emphasis on visual graphing, expressive pacing, and the integration of textual and historical insights provides a powerful alternative to more reductive analytical models. By constructing a model based on Herford and testing it against one of the works he himself studied, this document both preserves and revives a tradition of score study rooted in aural imagination and formal clarity. In doing so, it bridges archival scholarship with the practical needs of working musicians, offering a toolset for score preparation that is systematic and strategically exhaustive.