Two queries for my small choir

[Angela Barber]

I run a small multinational choir. We've been going for 18months and are progressing very slowly towards reading the music. We now need to lead the congregation in Dom Gregory Murray's New Peoples' Mass. Does anyone know of a CD of this mass? I would like to try some Palestrina so could anyone advise me which short work would be possible for us to try? I know first reaction of some will be "don't bother - with what you have to work with it would be impossible". I never give up and am prepared to work ad infinatum to get something going. I never cease to be thrilled when my choir produces a very passable interpretation of works like Peter Jones Magnificat.
Any advice from greater mortals would be much appreciated.
Angela B.

[docmattc]

Welcome to the forum Angela!

NPM is recorded by McCrimmon on Celebration Hymnal for Everyone HYMN CD 10 (Mass settings)
http://www.mccrimmons.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40_44&products_id=611
but you have to promise to ignore the now banned 'gems' that are also on the CD!

My one foray into Palestrina is "Adoramus te Christe" which I sweated blood to teach two years ago but it was well worth the effort. When we finally got it all together, the choir were stunned by the effect, and very surprised that there's only 16 bars of it! I'm considering embarking on something similar for this choir 'term'. If I were you I'd have a trawl of the Palestrina pages on cpdl.organd see what you like. That's how I'm going to spend a couple of hours now before I see whether Oxford or Cambridge sink first.

[Peter]

Yes, welcome Angela!

Another Palestrina motet you could try is "Bone Pastor" - very appropriate for the Sunday after next! Many years ago, when I was a student I did it with the chaplaincy choir, most of whom did not read music so we learned everything by note-bashing. I can't remember how long it took us to learn this one or how well it went but at least we gave it a go. Other non-Palestrina works we also did included Bach's "Jesu, joy..." in which we had a solo oboist doing the famous instrumental bit and Mozart's "Ave verum" with organ accompaniment. In the latter piece, a real gem, what they say of Mozart is particularly true: the notes are easy but the music difficult. You should be able to produce an acceptable performance soon; you could work at it for years before you produce a really good one, though you'd find it very rewarding work and well worth the effort. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[mcb]

The best loved motet by Palestrina is perhaps Sicut Cervus. It's not hard - certainly within the reach of a church choir learning to sing polyphony. It's longer than the other suggestions, so it probably takes more learning. But the individual lines are more lyrical, which maybe helps to make it stick in the memory.

Similar and a bit easier is Tallis's If Ye Love Me.

Once your choir's got the bug, I'd suggest looking at Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus. Harder than the Palestrina, but not impossible for a beginning choir, and such a fabulous piece of music that the choir will get a real sense of accomplishment from mastering it.

Hope that helps!
Martin.

[alan29]

Here's a vote for Bach chorales. Something like the Passion Chorale is exquisite in Holy Week and very singable(and listenable to), but challenging enough to give a beginning choir areal sense of achievement. The English Hymnal is brimming with them for every season.
Alan

[Nick Baty]

Not wishing to throw a spanner in the works, I'm wondering why you're aiming at New People's Mass when there's so much more available which will is easier for the assembly to learn and more interesting for them to sing and with choir parts of varying complexity.

[dmu3tem]

Dear Angela,

Following on from the last reply. If you are interested in extra repertoire why not come along to meetings of the SSG composers group where new compositions of all types are regularly shown and copies are usually doled out for free. I am sure those attending would be only too pleased to tell you about other compositions they have 'on the stocks'. You do not have to be an SSG member, or even a composer, to attend. Just come along. Details and travel directions are provided on the composers section of the SSG website. Our next meeting is at Leeds Catholic Cathedral on Saturday April 5th starting at 10.30 am for 11.00am leaving at 4.00 pm. A later meeting is planned at Worth Abbey on July 5th.

Thomas (Muir)

[Angela Barber]

Many, many thanks to all those kind people who replied to my two queries for my choir. I now have plenty of material to work on - only hope the choir doesn't take fright when I mention Tallis et al! The web site is a great find - wonderful that people are so willing to share their experiences. Angela Barber

[docmattc]

Inspired by this thread I started teaching Sicut Cervus last week. We have a large mosaic in the apse which features the opening lines of Ps 42 so its especially appropriate for the parish. As mcb says, the melody is not difficult, but timing needs to be spot on. If only I could teach my basses to count to four The phrase "basses you're ahead of us" isn't one you hear often!

There is a very nice teaching aid on youtube