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Abstract
George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898) was a prolific American composer of the mid-19th Century, writing symphonies, oratorios, an opera, a mass, sacred choral music, and a wealth of piano literature. Yet his music today—much of which remains unpublished—has been almost completely forgotten. Among these works is his first oratorio, Praise to God (1860), one of the earliest grand-scale choral-orchestral works ever to be produced in the United States. This piece is unique among much of Bristow’s major output in that its piano-vocal score was published. However, after its initial performances, the piece seems to have fallen into obscurity. Still available today in its published piano-vocal score through online printing sources, this work is very accessible to choirs and deserves to be performed as a representative of important American choral literature. This document first aims to provide a historical context for Praise to God and then offers a detailed musical analysis of the piece—complete with considerations for keyboard-vocal rehearsals and performances—in the hope that it may be performed and become more familiar among American musicians, scholars, and audiences.
