Carmelo Pace : complete annotated list of works

Abstract

At the age of eighty, Carmelo Pace is one of the select handful of composers who should be universally considered as one of the most important figures at work in the world today. His extraordinarily consistent and prolific output embraces every medium. Despite Pace's formidable achievement, he is no ivory tower composer - on the contrary, his experience as a performer, conductor and teacher renders him uncommonly practical in his approach. Each of his works, whether educational or virtuosic, theatrical or "absolute", is utterly suited to its medium and precisely gauged to its purpose. At the same time, Pace is always himself, so that any part of this complete list of works provides a history and cross-section on the preoccupations of this protean and charismatic musical personality. The Stage Works in the first section of this complete list of works run the gamut from grand opera to cantatas to incidental music and finally ballet. The second section presents Carmelo Pace's impressive list of works for orchestra, which include symphonies and other works. The third section involves band music while the fourth deals with chamber music. It is here that Pace's practical experience bears particular fruit. The penultimate section deals with Liturgical music, while the last section is entitled Choral Music. This complete list of works is intended as an "ordnance survey map" of the wealth of music that Carmelo Pace has given us to date. Wander in it with pleasure.