an annual survey: sacred choral octavos

8
An Annual Survey: Sacred Choral Octavos Author(s): F. Mark Siebert Source: Notes, Second Series, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Mar., 1967), pp. 618-624 Published by: Music Library Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/895127 . Accessed: 18/06/2014 01:01 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Upload: f-mark-siebert

Post on 20-Jan-2017

213 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

TRANSCRIPT

An Annual Survey: Sacred Choral OctavosAuthor(s): F. Mark SiebertSource: Notes, Second Series, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Mar., 1967), pp. 618-624Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/895127 .

Accessed: 18/06/2014 01:01

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

An Annual Survey:

SACRED CHORAL OCTAVOS By F. MARK SIEBERT

LARGER WORKS

Ahle, Johann Rudolf. Be not afraid. Christmas cantata for S solo, double chor- us (SSST, ATTB), 4 trombones, & con- tinuo. Ed. Leland A. Lillehaug. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1966. 34 p., $1.50; choir copy and trombone parts available.

Dorati, Antal. Missa brevis. SSAATTBB and percussion. New York: Mills Music, 1966. Chorus part, 42 p., $1.50; vocal score, $6.00.

Kelly, Bryan. Missa brevis. Mixed chorus and organ (or orchestra: 0000 4331, timp., perc., str.). New York: Oxford University Press, 1966. Vocal score, 40 p., $2.55; full score and parts available on rental.

Oldham, Arthur. Hymns for the amuse- ment of children. S solo, mixed chorus, & organ (or orchestra: picc. 2111, 4000, timp., str.). Text by Christopher Smart. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966. Vocal score, 28 p., $1.80; full score and parts available on rental.

Pachelbel, Johann. Magnificat. Mixed voices and continuo. Ed. Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht. Kassel: Barenreiter; U.S.A.: Concordia Publishing House, 1966. 20 p., $1.10.

MIXED VOICES

(SATB unless otherwise noted. With keyboard accompaniment unless otherwise specified; asterisks indicate a cappella.)

Altnikol, Johann Christoph. To Him Who never faileth. Hymn. Ed. Marcel G. Frank. Eng. & Ger. text. New York: Sam Fox Publishing Co., 1966. 5 p., 25¢. Bruck, Arnold von. Christ the Lord is risenl Ed. David Pizarro. Charlotte, N.C.: Brodt Music Co., 1962. 8 p., 26¢.

Deering, Richard. O vos omnes. SSATTB. Ed. C. F. Simkins. Lat. text. New York:

Oxford University Press, 1965. 7 p., 35¢. Hellinck, Lupus. Abide thy presence. Ed. David Pizarro. Philadelphia: Elkan-Vogel Co., 1962. 3 p., 25¢. Hiller, Johann Adam. Unto Thee I lift my spirit. Ed. Marcel G. Frank. Eng. & Ger. text. New York: Sam Fox Publish- ing Co., 1966. 3 p., 25¢. Morales, Cristobal de. 1. *Ecce virgo con- cipiet. 2. *Pastores, dicite, quidnam vidistis? Ed. Robert L. Goodale. 1. Lat. text; 2. Lat. & Eng. text. Historical note. New York: G. Schirmer, 1965. 11 p. and 12 p., 30¢ each.

Paminger, Leonhard. *Christmas motet. SATTB, opt. acc. Ed. David Pizarro. Eng., Lat., Ger. text. New York: G. Schir- mer, 1963. 8 p., 25¢. Pinkham, Daniel. *Open to me the gates of righteousness. Opt. acc. New York: C. F. Peters Corp., 1966. 3 p., 25¢. Schubert, Franz. 1. *Christ ist erstan- den. 2. *Salve Regina (O Lord eternal). 3. Salve Regina (O hear me when I call on Thee). Nos. 1 & 3, Ger. & Eng. text; 2. Lat. & Eng. text. Ed. Daniel Pinkham. Boston: E. C. Schirmer Music Co. 1. 9 p., 25¢; 2. 12 p., 30¢; 3. 10 p., 30¢.

EQUAL VOICES

Schein, Johann Hermann. 1. A mighty fortress is our God. 2. O Lord, look down from Heaven, behold. 3. Salvation now to us has come. 4. My soul, now bless thy Maker. 5. From depths of woe I cry to Thee. SS or SA and continuo. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1966. Nos. 1-3 and 5, 4 p. each; no. 4, 5 p.; 250 each.

UNISON VOICES

Thomson, Virgil. When I survey the bright celestial sphere. New York: H. W. Gray, 1965. 8 p., 25¢.

The author is on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

618

m

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

An annual review of publications in the area of sacred choral music can be a haphazard thing at best; the number of works received is stag- gering. The presentation that seems most workable is to convey a variety of information that will be of some use to conductors of church choirs and of other choral groups. This survey includes, as far as possible, representative publications of all types and sizes in an attempt to reflect general trends in publication, as well as significant new offerings. Gen- erally, only original works (rather than arrangements) are included, and the works of known composers are passed over unless they have some special interest. Thus the rather large amount of material by Schiitz is not included. An attempt was made to include only recent publications (one publisher sent a large number of octavos with a 1955 copyright date!), but some older publications released under a new copyright did slip by. Needless to say, many worthy works were passed over. Although this reviewer has attempted to be objective, his selection of modem works undoubtedly reflects his personal taste.

A few titles were selected because they are parts of new series de- serving attention. Some familiar series, on the other hand, were passed by; the excellent Moramus Editon, for example, issued by the Moravian Foundation and published by Boosey and Hawkes, is neglected, even though ten new releases are on hand, one of them running to thirty- six pages.

Johann Rudolph Ahle was of the generation of Weckmann and Christoph Bernhard, and the present work is a typical geistliches Kon- zert of the seventeenth century. The text is Biblical, except for the closing chorus, which employs the text (but not the melody) of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ. Chorus I (SSST) portrays the angelic choir; chorus II (ATTB) represents the shepherds-both choruses being accompanied by four bassoons and basso continuo. The editor wisely suggests the substitution of trombones or cellos for the bassoons; though the bas- soon parts are not demanding, to assign them to less than skilled per- formers of this unruly reed instrument might be disastrous. In addition to the editor's sound suggestions for handling range problems in some of the vocal parts, one might try soloists or a small number of singers for Chorus I, and spatial separation of the groups would probably be effective (as well as historically correct). The opening sinfonia might be repeated between the first two choruses. Although this work is a bit bland in comparison to pieces by Weckmann and Tunder, it has its moments, especially in the final chorus, and is well worth performing, as are many of the other similar works published by Concordia. It is well within the capabilities of many church choirs. The wise organist

619

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

will recast the portions of the continuo in which the realization doubles the four instruments.

The Magnificat by Pachelbel is another of the composer's choral works being issued somewhat sporadically by Barenreiter. It may prove more practicable for the average or even the limited choral group than have some of the previous titles in this series of Pachelbel's works, simply because it is for the standard SATB chorus rather than for double chorus. A variety of performance combinations is possible. The title states that it is "for 4 or 12 Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass Voices, with 4 Strings ad libitum; or for 4 Solo Voices and Cembalo." Because the work consists of relatively brief, contrasting sections, an attractive

approach would be to use chorus and solo quartet in contrast, with the

strings, if available, and continuo accompanying the chorus. This is a short, interesting setting of the Magnificat text and could be used litur-

gically, incidentally in a festive service, or, for a non-church group, in a

public concert.

Any discussion of Antal Dorati's Missa brevis here will be necessarily hampered because the percussion parts were not available to the reviewer. Thus this evaluation, based on partial evidence, may be somewhat erro- neous, particularly regarding structural aspects of the work.

This is a work of medium length (the chorus part occupies forty-two pages), and, apparently, is not intended for liturgical use. Mandatory divisi passages occur in all parts. Although the piece is dissonant and

employs remote tonal relationships, it should not be too difficult to

perform; the individual voice parts are quite singable, and they are often co-ordinated with motion in another part.

The strong points of the piece are the general vocality of the lines, a nice balance of chordal and contrapuntal writing (including imita-

tion), the imaginative use of the chorus for varied and interesting effects, and the general transparency of the texture. Its weaknesses are a stereo-

typed and excessive use of certain devices of writing, structural weak- ness of some movements (here the missing percussion may supply the necessary connective material), and occasional interruptions in the broad lines of development for a choral effect.

Frequent use of imitation and paired voices gives the work formal coherence and textural clarity. Unfortunately, the sonority of parallel fourths is over-used, a technique which brings to mind an explanation once given by a fellow student in a composition class: "My pieces aren't really contemporary-sounding; I simply write traditional harmony and then change all the thirds to fourths." The work, however, is filled with enough imaginative choral writing to suggest that, with the

percussion, it should be well worth programming.

620

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The other Missa brevis to be considered, by Bryan Kelly, has more

variety in the vocal lines than does Dorati's, which makes it more interest-

ing. Kelly avoids Dorati's mannered melodic writing, but indulges consistently in a mannerism of his own-dissonant clashes between the voices and the accompaniment.

In general the vocal lines of Kelly's piece are not difficult, and there are frequent passages in octaves for Soprano-Tenor and Alto-Bass. However, there will be sufficient challenge for many choruses: the vocal

parts must frequently find or sustain notes that are a half-step away from accompanimental notes, and there are many asymmetric rhythms and overlapping rhythmic patterns.

The organ accompaniment is quite idiomatic, a mercy not always conferred by composers. Portions of the Credo, however, seem to require a more incisive attack and accent than the organ can provide.

Each movement is well-designed. The longer ones-Credo and Gloria- have sections in contrasting tempo, while the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus are quite brief and unified. The contrasts in the Credo are well pre- pared and reflect the meaning of the text. The Gloria is a rushing, impetuous piece built principally on an ostinato rhythm. This headlong rush is interrupted by a section Maestoso for the ascriptions beginning with Laudamus te, a tempo change which may be dangerous to the struc- ture.

Arthur Oldham's Hymns for the Amusement of Children is by no means children's music-they could neither sing it nor be amused by it. The six hymn texts by Christopher Smart provide material for four movements, two pairs of hymns that make up the ten-minute work. The over-all melodic style seems a shade contrived in its consistent angularity. Oldham, however, has some interesting rhythmic combina- tions (3/4 against 6/8 in no. 3; 2/4 against 6/8 in no. 2), and incorporates some canonic sections.

The second movement, "Beauty (for a damsel)," is a soprano solo against an obbligato melody, with wordless chorus in the middle portion. No. 3, "For Saturday; for Sunday," is the most interesting movement by virtue of its rhythmic vitality and novel superimposition of the two texts. The very end of the whole piece is noteworthy. Its final couplet (from the fifth poem, "Plenteous Redemption") is:

Bids me be great and glorious still, And so I must, and so I will.

The passage begins forte, but each succeeding phrase is made softer; "And so I must" is set again, piano, yet again-unaccompanied, cre- scendo molto to fortissimo-after which "and so I will" is repeated in longer notes, molto rallentando, subito pianissimo.

621

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The remaining titles are all brief pieces. For convenience they will be treated in roughly chronological order.

Hellinck, who died in 1541, is one of those composers called Lupus or Lupo who cause a bit of confusion in Renaissance music. This piece is built on the cantus firmus De Profundis that is so familiar from later chorale settings under its German title Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir. In this edition only an English paraphrase of the text is provided. Hellinck employs the cantus firmus intact in the tenor, and employs its opening motive for imitative entries by the other parts at the begin- ning. Thereafter the contrapuntal fabric continues, without imitation, and with few interruptions. For choruses accustomed to the style of the later sixteenth century this should be an interesting piece with its more

widely spanning phrases and lines, its less careful dissonance treatment, and its greater distance from functional tonality.

Arnold von Bruck also was active during the first half of the sixteenth

century, and he, too, writes a linear style that is less familiar. The pres- ent piece sets three stanzas of Christ der ist erstanden, each differently. The melody is kept intact in the tenor, with the original rhythm. The other parts draw on it for motives to be treated imitatively. Unfortu-

nately the original text is not given, but one suspects that the piece is

closely related to the German Lied tradition. For this reason it would be appropriate to perform it as a tenor solo with accompanying instru- mental ensemble. Occasional lack of melodic interest in the other parts suggests this as a possibility.

Leonhard Paminger is little known, but on the basis of this piece he bears investigation. Active through the mid-sixteenth century (d. 1567), he produced Latin motets for Lutheran use. The present piece is a macaronic quodlibit on Omnis mundis jocundeter (Tenor II), Resonet in Laudibus (Soprano), and In dulci Jubilo (Alto). Tenor and bass are free polyphonic parts, using the text of Omnis mundis. The latter is the true cantus firmus, for its rhythms are kept intact; Resonet in laudibus is partially distorted in its rhythms, but the melodic line is preserved; and In dulci jubilo is richly paraphrased. The piece is edited by David Pizarro, who also edited the two previous pieces. Here he has provided a thoughtful prefatory note, giving biographical information on the composer and some highly useful suggestions for performance. In par- ticular, his recommendations about instruments are sound; as he indi- cated, organ doubling might obscure the linear movement, for the five

parts cross freely and overlap phrases. This, indeed, is intricate poly- phony. Performance by a small choir, or soloists, with a broken consort of doubling instruments would be ideal. Both the original texts and English translations are provided.

622

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The two pieces by Morales included in this review are representative of G. Schirmer's series Early Spanish Music, which includes both secular and sacred pieces. The Renaissance produced a number of excellent

Spanish composers and Morales is one of them who deserves to be heard more frequently. These pieces amply demonstrate his complete mastery of polyphonic writing. The polyphonic writing of Pastores, dicite, quidnam vidistis is rather dense, depending structurally on a series of

points of imitation. Like his Flemish contemporary Gombert, Morales treats a motive several times in each section, rather than limiting its

appearance to the initial entries in each voice. There are also a few duets in the manner of Josquin. The piece has a prima and secunda

pars, each ending in a sprightly Noi section. Ecce virgo concipiet displays a much thinner texture, highly sug-

gestive of the style of Josquin, but with a very personal note that eludes description. There are many sections in only two or three parts, which makes for continued interest as new motives are constantly employed. In two impressive passages of contrast, sustained chords are used to set the words Deus Fortis. In concert these two pieces could be

performed together very effectively because of their decided stylistic contrast.

Deering is a relatively unfamiliar composer, one of the generation of English Catholic composers who fled to the continent where his motet, O vos omnes, was published in 1618. All six parts are used for chordal passages, while the imitative passages are generally assigned to a reduced number of voices. The full sections appear somewhat more festive than is typical for this particular text, but the English penchant for cross relations, as well as a chromatic setting of the word dolor, creates the necessary atmosphere of mourning and makes for some very inter- esting harmonic progressions.

Concordia has published eight pieces from Schein's Opella Nova, available as a collection or separately. All are for two solo voices and continuo, and all are based on relatively familiar chorale melodies. Basically they are for equal voices, but in most cases they can be per- formed by a soprano and an alto. These are very interesting pieces, using the voices in intricate contrapuntal interplay as well as in passages of thirds. It is almost a mannerism with Schein to seize brief frag- ments from the chorale and to use them in very close, stretto-like imitations.

The pieces by Altnikol and Hiller are, too, from a series-Memorable Masterworks, published by the Sam Fox Publishing Company. Of the ten titles announced, seven are by little-known composers. Altnikol is usually remembered as Bach's son-in-law, the student to whom he

623

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

dictated his last composition, while on his deathbed. This piece reveals little about Altnikol's compositional talents, for it is little more than a tasteful chorale harmonization. Hiller is often remembered as an

important composer of early Singspiele, but he also was Cantor at the Thomasschule. Unto thee I lift my spirit is quiet and rather simple, exhibiting, in its lyricism, some connection to the Lied-composition of the later eighteenth century.

The three pieces by Schubert are from the King's Chapel Series (E. C.

Schirmer), which includes composers from Pelham Humphrys (sic) to Ned Rorem. To those who know Schubert's choral writing only from the Masses, these pieces may be surprising. They are closely related to the choral Lieder; such pieces were written by many song composers of the nineteenth century, but only those by Brahms get much attention. Christ ist erstanden is apparently to be unaccompanied; both of the Salve Regina settings are provided with string parts that are available on rental. In the one piece they merely double the voices; in the other

they are an arrangement of the organ accompaniment. Both Salve Regina settings are provided with new English texts, thus making them useful to choirs in Protestant churches.

Virgil Thomson's When I survey the bright celestial sphere is a duet for unison choir (or solo voice) and the upper line of the accompani- ment, with the lower line moving almost constantly in parallel thirds or tenths. Occasionally there are bits of contrasting motion; occasionally the vocal line moves into octaves. The piece is in a clear C major throughout, with no chromatic alterations whatsoever. The prosody is admirable, and the normal accents of the English words have been very carefully set. The piece is interesting, but some other works from Thom- son's pen seem superior.

The publisher has sent the fourth of five Psalm-motets by Daniel Pinkham. Judged by this brief example they are well worth attention. This piece is chordal throughout, tonal but dissonant. The most striking feature of the piece is the good understanding of choral writing that it exhibits. It is set in only four parts, thus even a small choir should be able to make it sound quite impressive. The major challenge for the singers will lie in the chordal progressions; there are no rhythmic problems.

624

This content downloaded from 195.34.78.61 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:01:12 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions