The quarterly choir resource full of training and ... · The quarterly choir resource full of...

1

Edition 7: November 2011

The quarterly choir resource full of training and repertoire ideas!Voice for Life ‘Gold Dust’

Welcome to this edition of Voice for Life Gold Dust from the Royal School of Church Music – a quarterly resource for all Voice for Life choirs offering support, advice and training ideas for use with your singers.

In this edition, we’re focusing on music for Advent; the start of the church year and a season alive with possibilities for creative use of music to enhance worship. There are many themes running through the season of Advent; from the Old Testament prophecies which look forward to the Messiah, to the waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus and through to the promise of his return at the second coming.

The season is rich with symbolism and is characterised not only by a feeling of expectation and hope but also by a certain sense of solemnity and reverence. Music for Advent is consequently varied in both style and focus, picking up on the various tenets of Advent and giving us a wide array of material to choose from. The music highlighted in this edition will give you a taster and cross-section of what is available; from a thirteenth-century hymn to a newly composed anthem.

November 2011

2 World of warm-ups

3 Singspired!

‘A tender shoot’ by Simon Lole

7 Hymn time!

‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’

11 Repertoire resource

Music for Advent

There are more liturgical and musical resources for Advent in the ‘downloads’ section of the Sunday by Sunday web pages – see www.rscm.com/publications/sbys.php?pnl=1_2, and more suggestions for seasonal repertoire at www.rscmshop.com/index.php/seasonal-suggestions/advent.html.

Colin Davey

Voice for Life Programme Manager +44 (0)1722 424844 [email protected]

2

Warm-up round: Laudemus Virginem

This fourteenth-century round (arranged by Jon Banks) provides a gentle introduction to the modal minor tonalities found elsewhere in this edition of Gold Dust. The three-bar phrase structure is unusual, but the whole phrase can be learnt in one go (make sure your singers are familiar with the Latin words before singing them): the second phrase is a repetition of the first.

There are some creative performance suggestions for this round in the Voice for Life Songbook 2.

World of warm-ups

© 2008 The Royal School of Church Music

LauPlan

dege

musmus

virsce

gile

nemra

maa

tercri

estter:

etspe

eran

iustes

fiin

liJe

ussum

Jeju

susgi

est.ter.

4

1 2 3

ree

D‹ A‹7 D‹ B‹7

ree

E‹ B‹7 E‹ C©‹7

ree

F©‹ C©‹7 F©‹ D©‹7 etc.

Arpeggios in minor keys

We often neglect minor keys in warm-ups, meaning our singers are not as familiar with the sounds of these tonalities as they are with major keys. These arpeggio patterns are similar to patterns found in the tune of ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ (page 7).

A non-modal variant, which will also encourage accurate pitching of chromatic movement:

ree

D‹ A7 D‹ B7

ree

E‹ B7 E‹ C©7

ree

F©‹ C©7 F©‹ D©7 etc.

3

A tender shootIntroduction

The words of this anthem were written by the German composer Otto Goldschmidt (1829–1907) for his own anthem – which is still popular today. Simon Lole’s setting (published in The Advent Sequence: Veni Emmanuel) uses the English translation by William Bartholomew (1793–1867). The words are based on Isaiah’s description of the Messiah: ‘A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.’ (Isaiah 11.1).

The anthem can be performed in unison throughout, or with the optional upper part in the second verse.

Training ideas

The music can be taught effectively and quickly line-by-line, but could also be a very good sightreading exercise:

• First, identify the key (singers should be able to identify G minor by Dark Blue level – although the modal language of the piece may make it harder for them to distinguish it from B flat major; play through the introduction to allow them to work it out aurally). Singers at the Yellow level should also be able to identify the modal character of the tune.

• Identify the dominant and tonic notes and make sure your singers are accustomed to the sound of these within the key - this is important if they are to be able to pitch the descending fifth at the end of the first phrase. By red level, singers should be able to sing the first note after hearing the tonic chord.

• Give your singers a few pointers (mainly stepwise movement, every phrase finishes on the tonic, the note for ‘up’ is the same as ‘has’ … ) and let them try the first four bars. Consider doing this unaccompanied – the accompaniment may put them off, and if you play their line, they will just follow you!

• Make this phrase secure before going on; then encourage your singers to look for the differences in the very similar second phrase.

• Once the first eight bars are secure, look at the structure of the next nine bars, paying close attention to the sequences that mark repeated words. The one passage here that may cause problems is the descending fourth and ascending fifth in bars 17–18; encourage your singers to remember the three notes ‘blooms in the’, so that they can aim one below the first, then one above the last (the leap down to F in particular may cause some problems, particularly if your singers are unfamiliar with the modal language of the piece: consider leaving out the dissonant E flat in the accompaniment until this is secure).

• The final phrase begins with an arpeggio figure. By the Light Blue level, your singers should be able to work out that the natural sign will raise the second note, and therefore that this note has to be aimed higher than they might expect (using the given accompaniment, which doesn’t follow the vocal line but gives a good sense of the major harmony). Accompany this passage from the outset to reinforce this.

In general, this approach will work for the upper part as well, although the descending arpeggios at bar 42 may cause less experienced singers some problems, and the lead from B flat to F sharp in bars 48–49 may require a little more help.

A tender shootSingspired!

4

Performance

The piece needs a good legato line throughout. Take care to support the breathing to the end of the word ‘started’ to retain a sense of momentum carrying over to the next phrase – the crotchet rest shouldn’t be intrusive. Be careful to keep a pure vowel sound through ‘might’ and ‘light’, especially where these words are set to two slurred notes.

A slight push on the first beat of the bar will ensure that the three repeated notes at the start don’t sag – but don’t make it heavy enough to interfere the crescendo in bar 9.

More experienced singers should be able to introduce subtle variations of colour to ensure that the sequences in bars 13–21 don’t sound merely repetitive.

This piece needs careful attention to dynamics. It may be useful to work from the end of the piece, to avoid getting too loud too quickly: the ff in bar 47 needs to leave room for an effective crescendo in bar 49; the più f in bars 36–37 needs to leave room for the crescendo in bar 35; bars 34–36 need to be quieter than the più f and the mf at the start of the verse must allow a crescendo in bar 33. Once you’ve arrived at a suitable mf, you can use this at bar 22 to determine suitable dynamic levels for the first verse.

Sample quick-fire questions

• Name the first note. After hearing the tonic chord, sing it.• What does mp mean?• How many beats are in each bar?• What key is this piece in?• What does Lento mean?• What is the interval between the upper and lower parts in bar 50?• What does the word ‘imparted’ (bars 9-10) mean?• What do the lines over notes (e.g. in bars 18-21) mean?• What does più (‘più f ’ bars 16-37) mean?


5

PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE FOR SINGERS


© 2008 The Royal School of Church Music. All rights reserved.

Lento

p

A ten der shoot has start ed

4

up from a root of grace, As an cient seers im part ed from

7

Jes se's ho ly race;

mp

It blooms with out blight,

11

it blooms with out blight, Blooms

p

in the cold bleak

15

win ter, the cold bleak win ter,

19

mf

Turn ing our dark ness in to light!

22

mf

This

26

Music: Simon Lole (b.1957)Words: William Bartholomew (1793–1867)

A Tender ShootFor Gwen

VOICE I

6



mf

This shoot I sai ah taught us, from Jes se's root should

29

shoot I sai ah taught us, from Jes se's root should spring; The

spring. The branch of which we sing, of which we sing;

33

vir gin Ma ry brought us the branch of which we sing;

più

Our

f

più

Our

f

God of end less might, our God of end less

37

God of end less might, our God of end less might;

might; Gave her this child to save us, this child to

41

gave her this child to save us, this child to save us,

save us; Thus

ff

turn ing dark ness, dark ness in to light!

46

Thus

ff

turn ing dark ness, thusturn ing dark ness in to light!

VOICE II (Optional)

7

O come, O come, EmmanuelHymn time!

4. O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ‿ shall come to thee, O Israel.

5. O come, O come thou Lord of Might, who to thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, in ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ‿ shall come to thee, O Israel.


OOO

come,come,come,

Otruethou

come,Branch

Day

Emof

spring,

manJescome

use,and

el,free

cheer

andthineour

ranownspi

somfromrits

capSaby

tivetan’sthine

Istyad

raranvent

el,ny;

here;

thatfromdis

4

mournsdepthsperse

inofthe

lonehell

gloom

lythyy

expeoclouds

ilepleof

heresave,night,

unandand

7

tilgive

death’s

thethemdark

Sonvicsha

oftorydows

Godo’erput

aptheto

pear:grave:flight:

10

Re joice, re joice, Em man u

el shall come to thee, O Is ra el.

16

1.2.3.

Words: from the Latin (13th Century)

J M Neale (1818–1866) and others

8

Introduction to Hymn time!

This section is designed to help deliver relevant training for singers to achieve their hymn/song singing targets at Light Blue and Dark Blue levels, and for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Award exams.

Aim to dedicate some of your rehearsal time each week to hymn/song singing. This could be as little as 5 minutes, perhaps after your warm-ups; it may be considerably more. The simple verse (or verse–chorus) structure means that singers should be able to pick up the melody fairly quickly, but may need time to be able to read and understand the lyrics fully (young singers in particular). Don’t feel you must cover a whole hymn (teaching the notes and discussing lyrics) in one rehearsal. You can cover a couple of verses one week, then come back to it the next week to consolidate, test their memories, and then add more verses.

For choirs that sing regularly for worship, regular work on hymns and songs will help breed familiarity with the melodies and lyrics, allow greater understanding of the meaning of the hymn texts and improve the overall quality of hymn (and other congregational song) singing. Choirs that don’t sing regularly for worship can use this approach with any verse, or verse–chorus, songs to teach the music and lyrics and help your singers understand what they are trying to communicate.

Background

‘O come, O come Emmanuel’ is based on the ‘O’ antiphons – seven pieces traditionally sung before the Magnificat in the days leading up to Christmas. Each of the antiphons (and each of the verses in the hymn) focuses on a different name for Jesus; Sapientia (Wisdom), Adonaï (Lord), Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse), Clavis David (Key of David), Oriens (Dayspring), Rex Gentium (King of the nations) and Emmanuel (God with us). Five verses are given here; many hymnbooks contain all seven.

The antiphons form an acrostic: read in reverse order (moving away from Christmas), the first letter of each of the names of Jesus spell the Latin words ‘ero cras’ – ‘tomorrow, I will come’. The verses of the hymn do not usually follow this order (Emmanuel, the first verse, is the last of the antiphons).

The music for ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ dates from the thirteenth century. The refrain may well have been added later.

The RSCM publishes an arrangement of this hymn by Noel Treddinick, with a descant by David Iliff, in The Advent Sequence and The Carol Book (instrumental parts are available on the Carol Book CD Rom). The original hymn, with a second part discovered by Mary Berry, is in the Voice for Life Songbook 2.

Training

Before teaching this song, you’ll need to make a decision about gaps at the end of each phrase. In the version here, the tune has been fitted neatly into 2/2, with a regular pause at the end of each phrase, but many versions of this tune have retained the less measured feel of the original plainsong, specifically by keeping the last note of the first phrase shorter – this makes sense in some verses (particularly 2 and 3 here) more than others, and if you choose not to do it, you may want to carry over from the first phrase to the second


9

to make sense of the words. Other versions lengthen the last syllable of ‘Emmanuel’ in the refrain: this can make the meaning of the words less clear. Whatever you choose to do, tell your singers and be consistent!

Noel Tredinnick’s arrangement suggests a tempo of around 62, which will allow your singers to sing each phrase comfortably in one breath.

Teach the tune a phrase time, taking care to make the melodic line smooth. While the pulse needs to remain steady, you need to keep some of the freedom of the plainsong.

Read Isaiah 7:14 – this is the source of the name ‘Emmanuel’ (Hebrew for ‘God with us’). Go through the first verse, explaining any words that cause difficulty.

Before teaching the subsequent verses, it would be a good idea to discuss the significance of the names of the Messiah. You may like to refer to a scriptural passage relevant to each:

Verse 2 (Branch of Jesse): Isaiah 11.1: ‘A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.’ 11.10: ‘On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.’

Verse 3 (Dayspring): Isaiah 9:2: ‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.’

Verse 4 (Key of David): Isaiah 22.22: ‘I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.’

Verse 5 (Lord of Might): Isaiah 33:22: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’

All biblical quotations from The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National

Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

More ideas

The tradition in some churches is to divide the verses of the hymn (using the full seven verses) between the Sundays of Advent – verses 1 & 2 on Advent Sunday, 3 & 4 on Advent 2, 5 & 6 on Advent 3 and 1 & 7 on Advent 4.

The Sunday by Sunday article ‘Worship during Advent’ (Sunday by Sunday 53, pages 11–18) gives a number of creative suggestions for using the ‘O’ antiphons, with lists of hymns and songs with pick up themes from the antiphons, choral arrangements of ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ and organ music based on the hymn.


10

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear; Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall

shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Isaiah 22.22

O come, the Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save, and give them victory o’er the grave: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep

darkness – on them light has shined.

Isaiah 9:2

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Isaiah 33:22

O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Isaiah 11.1

O come, O come thou Lord of Might, who to thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, in ancient times didst give the law in cloud and majesty and awe: Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall

shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Isaiah 22.22



Match the hymn verses to the Bible passages

11

The Advent Sequence – Veni Emmanuel

This sequence of words and music provides all you need for an Advent Carol Service, plus a wide range of choral resources for use during Advent, in one convenient book.

The choral music offers great flexibility in a wide range of styles and levels of difficulty for choirs of all standards.

Congregational items include established Advent hymns and contemporary worship songs.

The Advent Sequence includes music by

• John Barnard• Jon Banks• Bernadette Farrell• George Guest• Graham Kendrick• Simon Lole• Peter Moger• David Ogden• Margaret Rizza• Richard Shephard

Repertoire ideas on an Advent themeRepertoire resource

The Carol Book and The Carol Book Supplement

The RSCM Carol Book has everything you need for Christmas, Advent and Epiphany, including 150 carols in various settings, service outlines, prayers, readings and blessings. This is an indispensable photocopiable resource, so you only need buy one copy (CCLI licence required), which includes a CD-ROM containing clip-art, service layouts, instrumental parts and all the words of the carols which you can paste into your service sheets.

The Carol Book Supplement contains a further sixteen traditional carols from Britain and Europe in sparkling arrangements for SATB, SA Men and Unison with descant.

See www.rscm.com/carolbook for a downloadable carol service outline and a podcast about The Carol Book.

The Advent Sequence is an indispensable addition to the music and liturgy of Advent for churches of all sizes. Additional resources are available at www.rscm.com/adventsequence.

12

Maranatha, alleluia! by David OgdenSource: Voice for Life Songbook 2Arrangement: SA and Men (plus descant) with piano or organ accompaniment. There is a version for upper voices in Carols for LifeHelps to develop: confidence with changing time signatures; careful counting of rhythm; good attention to dynamic range and other musical markings

Christ, be our light by Bernadette FarrellSource: Songs, Psalms and SpiritualsArrangement: SATB and Organ/Piano. Can be sung in unison (there is also an arrangement for SA Men on the Songs, Psalms and Spirituals CD-Rom)Helps to develop: Resonance in low register; understanding of modal minor

Come, light of the world by Paul InwoodSource: Songs, Psalms and SpiritualsArrangement: SATB and Organ/Piano. Can be sung in unison (there is also an arrangement for SA Men on the Songs, Psalms and Spirituals CD-Rom)Helps to develop: confidence in pitching more awkward intervals (the verse is based around upward leaps of a perfect fourth and minor seventh); understanding of triplets and security singing three against two

Rain down justice by David OgdenSource: Sunday by Sunday Collection 1This song is suitable for use with the lighting of Advent candles, singing verse one on the first Sunday of Advent, verse two on the Second Sunday and so on: see www.rscm.com/assets/publications/sbys/adventWreath.pdf for liturgy resources for the Advent Wreath.Arrangement: SATB (optionally, with cantor and/or congregation) with optional keyboard.Helps to develop: Energetic declamatory singing with clear diction and strong accents; sensitive balance

Prepare ye the way of the Lord from ‘Godspell’ – Stephen Schwartz arr. Christopher Walker and David Ogden Source: Songs for Life 1Arrangement: Melody, two optional harmony parts, instrumental descant and keyboard.Helps to develop: Rhythmically secure syncopation; precise pitching of sixths; part singing

Advent Carol by Richard ShephardSource: Choral leafletArrangement: SATB with organ, Can be sung a capella throughout or by accompanied unison voicesHelps to develop: Understanding of compound time; dynamic control and management of crescendo and

Repertoire ideas on an Advent themeRepertoire resource

All of this music is available from RSCM Music Direct.

Tel: +44 (0)845 021 7726

Fax: +44 (0)845 021 8826

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.rscmshop.com

diminuendo

I sing of a maiden by Louis HalseySource: Carols for LifeArrangement: Two-part with keyboardHelps to develop: Legato singing and melismas; linking of registers; precise pitching of wide intervals

The quarterly choir resource full of training and ... · The quarterly choir resource full of...

Documents

Transcript of The quarterly choir resource full of training and ... · The quarterly choir resource full of...