Unison Choir Items

[Nick Baty]

On Sunday, I took a deep breath and we had a bash at JS Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. And I think we pulled it off. We sang it in unison, transposed down to Eb (as most of us are on 60 Capstan Full Strength a day) and accompanied it on synthesiser and mellotron choir. There were quite a few positive comments from the ever-patient assembly.

I'm just wondering about other unison music which other parishes have used.

We can't manage two-part block harmony if it means the lower voices have to learn something different from the melody: For some reason we can when the upper voices add an upper harmony – don't ask me why! – and we often arrange items so the assembly carries the tune and we add a harmony or two. And we're OK if the harmony is in backing vocals style: ie the arrangements of Frank's Panis Angelicus where, in the second half, the choir splits in half and sings almost in canon. We might try this later in the year. And would I be mad to try Wachet Auf?

I've been browsing through some John Rutter and several items could be suitable. But I'd be interested to hear of any other simple items which other similar ensembles have used successfully. I have to remember that the only reason for the choir to sing alone is to help the assembly in prayer – rather than helping them squirm in their seats.

[NorthernTenor]

I'm just wondering about other unison music which other parishes have used.

I can thoroughly recommend a couple of useful books that are full of unison liturgical music:

(i) Jubilate Deo, a ""personal gift" gift to the Church from Pope Paul VI.
(ii) The Liber Usualis

Tunes for all liturgical occasions and degrees of proficiency.

[mcb]

Here are some, ahem, constructive suggestions:

• Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus.
• Some more Bach: Flocks in Pastures Green, or Awake, Thou Wint'ry Earth.
• Rutter: For the Beauty of the Earth, or All Things Bright and Beautiful.
• Walford Davies, God Be In My Head (with the organ filling in the lower voice parts)

[Nick Baty]

Thanks for those, MCB.

I'm thinking of the Rutter you mention. Am also looking at his Clare Benediction and possibly The Lord bless you and keep you.

Have Flocks in Pastures Green scheduled for Fourth Sunday of Easter 2010 and am seriously considering Wachet Auf for 15 November this year.

Tempted to use Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus but am considering Elgar's for Good Friday. Problem with both settings is the breathing for people of a certain age.

One of the problems with better-known pieces is that any flaws show up more easily. A choir singing without the assembly is doing attempting rather different than fulfilling its usual role. I must admit, I'm considering these items for all the wrong reasons: Since March 2004, this small band of singers has worked hard at leading the assembly, serving as cantors, adding harmonies etc. For a time, I need to introduce fewer new items to the our assembly for a while but the choir has become an important part of parish life and is appreciated. I'm looking for things for them to do to help keep them together and give them a goal. We'll only be doing an occasional piece – I'm currently working on descants, harmonies etc for some of the standard assembly music we have planned between now and Easter.

[NorthernTenor]

Here are some, ahem, constructive suggestions:

• Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus.
• Some more Bach: Flocks in Pastures Green, or Awake, Thou Wint'ry Earth.
• Rutter: For the Beauty of the Earth, or All Things Bright and Beautiful.
• Walford Davies, God Be In My Head (with the organ filling in the lower voice parts)

mcb,

Ahem: my suggestions were intended to be nothing less than constructive and to the point of Nick's request. The books I recommended are not only useful sources of unison liturgical music of varying degress of simplicity / difficulty; they also contain music particularly recomended to us by the Council and various key post-conciliar documents.

I like your suggestions, too.

[mcb]

Couldn't agree more!

M.

[Hare]

My choir did Wachet Auf last Advent. As long as they can follow the obligato and count, no problem - but Eb may be pushing it for low voices. I transposed it down to C.

Have a look at The Oxford Book Of Flexible Anthems - some unison items, many adaptable to available forces.

[PaulW]

As previously discussed in this thread, and reviewed in Music and Liturgy, Flexible Anthems from OUP, might also be a good place to start.

If I recall correctly, each anthem can be sung unison, with the other parts being filled in instrumentally; each is flexibly arranged, so that if your singers are able to sing more than one part, that can also be accommodated.

[Nick Baty]

Couldn't find your review but have ordered from Amazon – 45p cheaper than OUP and it will be here tomorrow with free express delivery. Mucho gratias!

[NorthernTenor]

Couldn't find your review but have ordered from Amazon – 45p cheaper than OUP and it will be here tomorrow with free express delivery. Mucho gratias!

I hesitate to mention it, but one of the lesser virtues of the unison liturgical music to which I provided links above is that no-one's trying to make money out of music and text qua music and text: you can download it for free. Of course, there are publishers who will do you the service of printing and binding it in convenient form, and you can pay for that convenience and for the cost of the scarce resources employed (I certainly have); but that's a different thing altogether.

[Hare]

so that if your singers are able to sing more than one part, that can also be accommodated.

Simultaneously?

[Angela Barber]

My little group - multicultural, virtually non music readers, made a good stab at Peter Jones' Magnificat and will haul it out for the 16th August. We've done Panis Angelicus lots of times (in other churches as well) and people love it. We find Rutter quite difficult so keep off him, apart from The Lord Bless You and Keep You and one of two Christmas carols. Ave Maria by Simon Linley went down very well and I'm going to introduce the Mozart Laudate Dominum in D this evening which I'll look at in some detail with them and perhaps cut it a bit..... We're not a great choir singing in a large church - would that we were - but we do our best and most times its very successful. We blossomed when our last pp was with us but, sadly, those days are gone and I now fear our blossoms will wither without cultivation....I don't think its appreciated how far a little encouragement goes.........
Angela

[PaulW]

Couldn't find your review…

The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems
Edited Alan Bullard
Oxford University Press
Paperback edition: ISBN 978-0-19-335895-9, £12.50
Spiral-bound edition: ISBN 978-0-19-335896-6, £15.95

The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems is a collection of 65 anthems. In its marketing blurb, it claims to be ‘the perfect resource for church choirs’ and on the front cover, proclaims itself ‘a complete resource for every church choir’, so the question I started out by asking myself was whether these claims are justified. Why, if it is ‘complete’ then tell me that it is ‘a perfect companion to the New Oxford Easy Anthem Book’?

Enough cynicism! The collection is unashamedly aimed at small choirs, young choirs, choirs with few men and all choirs whose numbers fluctuate week by week, ‘problems’ that I am sure many choir directors have experienced. Each piece has been taken apart and reassembled in a way that permits flexibility: unison singing, optional parts, parts for equal voices. Thus, each piece can be performed by more than one combination of performers.

These new, flexible arrangements cover traditional favourites (which may be a dangerous move – who dare mess with ‘tradition’?) and modern classics and includes, also, some new compositions from the stable of OUP composers. Hildegard of Bingen is represented here; J S Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Telemann, Beethoven, Stanford, Elgar, Fauré, Rutter, Chilcott, McDowall, Bullard and others complete the collection. Drawing on a wide range of styles, from Renaissance to the present day, plainsong, folk song, spirituals and African songs, gives the possibility that there will at least one piece that you like, and allows there to be a comprehensive coverage of the liturgical year.

The arrangements clearly indicate how the forces might be deployed. Each item has a vocal scoring given at the top of the fi rst page. Anything indicated in brackets may be omitted – so, for example, a box with S (A) (T) (B) (Keyboard) can be sung SATB a capella, or by unison voices singing the soprano line, or any vocal combination including soprano with keyboard accompaniment; occasionally, there are additional footnotes to explain when the keyboard part can be omitted. Arrangements include SATB, SAMen, Voice 1 and 2 (for example, sopranos and tenors on part one, altos and basses on part two) and Voices 1, 2 and 3, which again can be mixed parts. There are optional descants and in some items, optional splitting of parts. Here, the optional split-part is indicated by smaller noteheads. The precise delivery of each piece is left to the discretion of the choir director, so that you can perform the anthems in the way that suits your choir best.

The keyboard parts have been arranged to be played on organ (with or without pedals) or piano. The parts are clearly marked where the pedals should be used, but it is safe to ignore these and play as much as can be played on the manuals only and, when using the piano, to adapt the music by repeating long pedal notes that the organ would sustain or by doubling the bass in octaves. There is much here that I can attempt to play at sight, which puts the level at around that of a (lazy) Grade 6 pianist! Some of the accompaniments don’t, to my mind, work on piano, being more suited to the organ, but I should admit that this might just be down to knowing the original of a piece. There is an Appendix which lists the original versions and original scoring of the anthems where there have been substantial adaptation and arrangement made for the purposes of the book.

Whilst the book claims to cover the Church’s year, closer inspection shows that Alan Bullard has decided to omit Christmas music on the grounds that there are many carol and other collections available. That is a relief, as it gives space for more comprehensive coverage of the rest of the year, with items for each Sunday and each principal feast day. Whilst this is for the Anglican calendar, there is much that can be used in the Roman Church.

The volume is to OUP’s consistent high standards: the paperback sits easily in the hand for the singer and is not too heavy; the typesetting is clean and easy to read and I have not yet found any mistakes. It is produced to a high standard. My one concern is that some choir directors will see this as dumbing down the repertoire as, indeed, it arguably is. However, the arrangements have been made sympathetically and skillfully; if you are blessed with a four-part choir and/or a good organist then this book is probably not for you (and you will, no doubt, already have a library of suitable music for your forces). I am sure that this will be a useful addition in the library of those choirs with smaller or fl uctuating resources, and will bring within their reach some music which previously would have proven too ambitious.

[Mithras]

If you have a fairly strong choir and organ of full resource, Bax's Epithalamium is a fabulous piece. Though really a wedding hymn with a bit of mental reservation it can be used on All Saints - the text speaks of "receiving this saint with honour due".

M

[Nick Baty]

Thanks for posting the review, Paul.
My copy arrived this morning.
I'm afraid I don't think it's much use.
There's little in there which most of us couldn't arrange for ourselves.
I think I'll continue with my own reductions of Bach, Franck, Mozart et al.