Music of the Renaissance: a Wealth of Literature for the Male Chorus

Preface Music of the Renaissance: A Wealth In recent years in the United States of Literature for the Male Chorus conductors have observed a by Jameson Marvin resurgence of interest in male-chorus singing. Performances and record ings by ensembles such as the King's Singers and Chanticleer inspire us, A good performance of music of Probably the most compelling and more collegiate, community, distinction is an experience of lasting aspect of Renaissance polyphony is and church male choruses are significance for both the performers that the composite whole projects a performing interesting and challeng and the audience. The reward in per feeling of "timelessness." There is a ing repertory in local concerts and at forming a work by a master com profound sense of the eternal in this state and national choral conven poser such as Josquin, Dufay, music. The multilevels of indepen tions. Publishers, too, are beginning Ockeghem, Taverner, Tomkins, dent rhythmic activity of each of the to respond, offering new editions of Tallis, Byrd, Victoria, Lassus, Pales vocal parts, combined with the often works for male chorus, and many trina, or Monteverdi, is directly pro relatively slow-moving harmonic American composers are offering portional to the mental and emo' rhythm! and influence of mode, significant contributions to the tional energy invested in rehearsing create. a kind of ethereal, oth~r literature for men's voices. it. The repertory of the Renaissance, worldly, reflective spirituality - an Male-chorus music (works which especially the major works - the almost dream-like effect. The are written for, or fit the vocal range Masses and motets by the master primary modes - dorian, phrygian, of the male voice) falls principally composers of the fifteenth and six lydian, mixolydian - exert a powerful within three style eras: 1) twentieth teenth centuries, offers rich rewards. influence on the listener. century repertoire: sacred and The purpose of this article is to en The sound of each mode is distinc secular compositions as well as tradi courage conductors to explore this tive, as one can hear by playing tional arrangements of folk and magnificent literature - some of the scales using only the white keys of a ethnic works; 2) nineteenth-century finest compositions in the entire piano: D-d, E-e, F-f, G-g. These scales works: most prominently, lieder; and repertoire for male chorus. Much of outline the characteristic intervallic 3) Renaissance music: motets, the music listed below offers con contour of the four primary modes. Masses, chansons, lieder, and siderable· challenge. It is well worth Each mode has a particular sound madrigals of the fifteenth and six the effort, and in this conductor's ex color. This color evinces moods and teenth centuries. While composers, perience, choral music of the fif reflects special qualities. The affect editors, and publishers are making teenth and sixteenth centuries seems (the sound-quality-color) of each more of this music available, conduc to harness a male chorus' energy mode evokes immediate feelings. tors need to support their efforts and more effectively than almost any Dorian (D-d) sounds serious and has especially encourage publishers to other genre or style. Why is that? dignity; phrygian (E-e) sounds sad publish still more, and better quality and mournful; Iydian (F-f) sounds repertoire. On the Experience of Performing provocative, even erotic; by com Contemporary music is enjoying Renaissance Sacred Music parison, mixolydian (G-g) sounds particular interest among male joyful, almost exuberant. chorus conductors, and increasingly, believe the answer lies in the Every sacred composition of the not only American, but European, compositional process that shapes Renaissance was written in a mode. Slovak/Hungarian, Scandinavian, the meaning of the music of this era. Composers sought to match the af and Asian music is appearing on con A number of inherent stylistic fect of the mode to the affect of the cert programs. While folk and ethinic elements in Renaissance music strike text. That is why many Masses, and works and many nineteenth-century home. Structurally, the texture of motets with serious texts are fre pieces rem?lin consistently in the motets and Masses of the quently set in the dprian mode. repertories of male choruses, few Renaissance is primarily polyphonic; Laments, lamentations, requiems, men's choruses perform Renaissance each vocal line is independent and chansons on sad texts often are music. Conductors who want to per (though it may imitate the others). composed in the phrygian mode. form music of this period often must The linear contours of each part are Motets and madrigals with pro still rely on editions and ar characterized by subtle, asymmetric vocative or passionate texts may ap rangements made for a by-gone era, units of long and short notes. To sing pear in the Iydian mode. Works with although certain publishers do offer each vocal part expressively requires more frivolous, light-weight texts are new TTBB editions of music of the thought and concentration. Shaping sometimes set in the mixolydian Renaissance. More reliable editions the independently moving melodic mode. of these compositions, however, are contours of four or more parts, while The intrinsic power of the mood of readily found in the collected works at the same time maintaining vertical each mode is extremely compelling, and historical collections of alignment through attention to and, given a sensitivity to it, students Renaissance music in university ensemble rhythm, is extremely subconsciously are drawn by that libraries throughout the country. demanding and deeply satisfying. power. Specific chord progressions Thus, performing Renaissance music inherent to each of the modes (made Marvin is Director of Choral Activities challenges the intellect and demands through the juxtaposition of chords and Senior Lecturer on Music at Harvard good musicianship; and the process built on various scale degrees) par University. elicits strong emotional responses. ticularly evoke that ethereal, April 1989 Page 5 timeless quality. "Timelessness" Since there was no universal stan-_ the more difficult level above; especially is projected when one dard of pitch in the Renaissance similarly, a .. -" indicates that the vocal part contains a long-note (such as A = 440), the absolute pitch degree of difficulty lies between that cantus-firmus, a common structural level of performance today, in terms grade and the less difficult level device in music of the Renaissance. of "proper" pitch, can be regarded as below. a relative matter. Thus, compositions The collection. bf Renaissance Choral Music of the Renaissance for which have been transposed (up or music for male voices offered here is Men's Voices down) less than a minor-third have organized in five sections: not been acknowledged. 1) an annotated list of thirty highly Below is a list of nearly 300 All this music appears in modern recommended pieces. Renaissance compositions for men's clefs. Sources of male-voice music 2) a selected list of sacred works of voices. These are sacred and secular which present the repertoire in C the Renaissance for male voices. works drawn from the fifteenth and clefs have been consciously omitted. 3) a list of sources for this music: sixte-enth centuries, written Following each title-entry there ap a) collected works (opera omnia) specifically for voices the ranges of pears a number (in parentheses) b) collections (like CMM - Corpus which match the vocal confines of indicating the number of vocal parts. Mensurabilis Musicae) the modern male chorus. The majori Works which appear with a "+" c) editions offered by publishers ty of these works lies within an ac placed before the composer's name d) editions or manuscripts (MS) cessible modern TTBB range: low are highly recommended. Thirty available through the IMC (In bass F to high tenor G. A few pieces compositions are annotate9 by the tercollegiate Male Chorus) extend the bass range to low E (or author; they are highly recommend library very infrequently, D or q, and the ed and are indicated by the sign, e) editions or manuscripts con tenor range occasionally extends to "+ + ," placed before the composer's tained in specific collegiate high A (or very infrequently, B). name. male-chorus libraries Arrangements of SATB music do Many works are graded according 4) a selected list of secular musiC of not appear on this list. Most of the to their difficulty. D = difficult, MD the Renaissance for male voices musiC represented here is at the moderately difficult, M 5) a list of sources for this music -as original written· pitch level. Music medium, ME = moderately easy, E in number three above. which has been transposed (up or = easy. Any grade containing a .. +" For both sacred and secular music, down) a minor-third or more has after it indicates that it lies each entry is numbered so that the been designated with an asterisk. somewhere between that grade and composer-title list correlates with the list of sources; The music presented here only partially represents the vast reper toire of male-voice music of the Announcing a Comprehensive Renaissance. Some of the works are very challenging, some exceedingly New Resource in Responsorial simple. Much of the music is accessi ble as well as of good quality. Many Psalmody by HalH Hopson of the pieces are comparable to the .finest literature for men's chorus in any era. This list of sacred and secular Psalm Refrains and Tones male-voice works of the Renaissance "If you can invest in only one resource for is offered with the hope that it will responsorial psalmody, I recommend that stimulate conductors to perform this you secure this creative work of Hal H. Hopson." richly rewarding literature. That the Dr. Harold M. Daniels works listed might also encourage Associate for Liturgical Resources Presbyterian Church (USA) publishers to make more -FEATURES: Renaissance works available to con ductors of male choruses is also a • Psalm refrains and tones for all the psalms in the three-year Common hopeful expectation.

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