Resources
From ouchoir
|
News and updates for members - Rehearsal schedules - Rehearsal notes - Resources - Information for members - Committee |
In this area members can find useful resources such as pronunciation documents, translations etc.
Contents |
News
Here is the latest Gerontius newsletter:
http://www.gerontius.net/newsletter/2013-02
General
For help with singing in general, as opposed to a particular term's programme, please see the Singing Support page.
We all knew singing was A Good Thing - but it keeps us healthy too, it seems: have a look at Alice Wignall's article 'Keeping body and soul in tune' from The Guardian, Tuesday August 26, 2008 [1] GS
Summer 2013
Recordings
Victoria: Missa O quam gloriosum
All members of staff - and external members if you have a local library card - have instant free access on the intranet to Naxos recordings where you can find a complete recording by Oxford Camerata, cond. Jeremy Summerly on Naxos 8.550575. This is a perfectly good performance by a young mixed-voice choir which will be helpful for general familiarity and even for helping to learn your notes from. However, I do find it a little rushed and colourless.
Also in the Naxos library are all the movements except the Credo in a very polished and much-praised performance by the Monteverdi Choir under John Eliot Gardiner which I find more characterful. It's part of their Pilgrimage to Santiago series, SDG701.
However, I see from the Gramophone's listings back in 2007 that a recording by Westminster Cathedral Choir conducted by David Hill was also regarded very highly. Hyperion CDA66114.
And if you want to push the boat out there's a DVD Video of The Sixteen with Harry Christophers. Coro BBC Sacred Music COR 16100.
Further information is welcome if anyone is familiar with other recordings.
Britten: Five Flower Songs
I can unhesitatingly recommend the recording by my former departmental colleague John Rutter and his Cambridge Singers: the compilation of 'English choral songs' takes its title from Elgar's part-song There is Sweet Music. CSCD 505.
Stephen Layton's recording with his excellent group Polyphony is highly praised: it comes as part of a compilation dubbed 'the perfect introduction' to Britten's choral music. Helios CDH 55438.
There are several other recordings to choose from (John Eliot Gardiner, The Sixteen, etc), each coupled with different works. No shortage in this centenary year.
There are also several versions available in the Naxos library, including Rutter, The Sixteen and Finzi Singers.
Pearsall: Lay a garland
I don't imagine anyone is going to want to buy a CD just for this piece, but again there are several performances of it available in the Naxos library, including two contrasting interpretations by Jonathan Summerly and John Rutter.
Help with note-learning
Unfortunately most of the usual sources have not produced rehearsal materials for the pieces in this term's programme.
However, the good news is that Saffron Choral Prompt does list the Britten Flower Songs, which I suppose is the most difficult item in terms of pitch and rhythms: http://www.saffronchoralprompt.co.uk/
Spring 2013
German pronunciation audio files
This recorded guide was prepared for rehearsals for earlier concerts but you may find it useful for the Bach and Schütz pieces we're singing this term, especially if you do not speak German or have not sung in German before.
This is the printed material which accompanies the audio guide.
Spring 2013 files
Here are the resources specific to this term's repertoire:
Bach audio pronunciation files
Johann Ludwig Bach: Das ist meine Freude
Johann Sebastian Bach: Komm Jesu Komm
Church Slavonic pronunciation audio files
Bogoroditse Dievo (Ave Maria)
Bogoroditse Dievo (normal speech)
Otsche nasch (Pater Noster)
Help with note-learning
JS Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
Rehearsal CDs and MP3 downloads of Komm, Jesu, komm are available in the Choraline series. They cost £8.9 to £11.99 (and come coupled with motet no.1). See the Choraline website www.choraline.com
I am also happy to recommend some MP3 files which Graham Healing found on the Internet last time we did a Bach motet: http://www.cyberbass.com/Major_Works/Bach_J_S/bach_js_motets.htm These are practice files which let you hear either the whole texture or the whole texture with your part highlighted. It’s an electronic realisation so the parts afford no articulation of the phrasing, but even so the overall effect is reasonably pleasing as these things go. It's better in some sections than others: unfortunately, for instance, the rapid antiphonal exchanges at the beginning don't come off very well, but stick with it because, on a brief sample, the flowing lines in the common time section which begins at bar 64 fare better and give you a good idea what you need to know.
Some members of the choir use practice materials prepared by Saffron Choral Prompt. The distinctive quality of these recordings is that the words are sung. They already have this work in their catalogue (it's not clear to me whether all eight parts are available but my understanding is that they will also record parts to order). http://www.saffronchoralprompt.co.uk/
Chris Garnett has drawn the Choralis website to my attention: http://www.choralia.net/, and specifically http://www.choralia.net/bh14mp3/. Chris points out that, if the pieces you're interested in are on the site then you are able to download them, to an mp3 player for instance, and listen to them away from your computer. My take on it is that the progressive model on which this site works could be advantageous to some, although in practice I found the stages less differentiated than the description suggests (for instance I could hardly hear the metronome in the first level). More helpful perhaps is the inclusion of the words, albeit 'sung' by electronically-synthesised human voices, and I know some of you will find that useful for keeping your bearings. However, be warned, it hardly does justice to German pronunciation, so don't abandon Ekkehard's renderings for the authentic touch!
Breathing places in Bogoroditse Dievo
Following Liz's advice about the meaning of the text, I am suggesting:
Breathe wherever there is a comma or full stop in the Cyrillic.
In addition breathe after 'vjenach' on page 3, end of first system.
Places where I want you not to breathe because it breaks the sense are:
- before 'Ty' on page 3, towards end of first system
- before 'plod' on page 3, middle of second system
- before 'dusch' in penultimate bar
Punctuation of Totus Tuus
The punctuation is different in the two editions of Gorecki's Totus Tuus. The engraved edition (green cover) has commas wherever a word or phrase is repeated in the text, which is good editorial practice, but not particularly helpful in this particular case because it fragments some musical phrases. Conversely, the composer's manuscript (plain white cover) has rather sparse punctuation, which may or may not be intended as an indication of his intentions for breathing places. Neither of these seems to me to be entirely practical as a guide to breathing places. So I suggest the following rubric for breathing places in an attempt to reconcile the two scores. Please make yourself aware how they affect the particular score you happen to have.
Manuscript version (1989)
Observe all commas, full stops and exclamation marks, treating them as breathing places
- except the commas etc at bars 8, 16, 75, 83, 119, 124, 128, 138
- but add breaks at
--- 23, 31, in each case after '-di'
--- 51, 53, 55, 57, 62, 69 after '-a'
--- 90, 98, 106 after '-di'
--- 132, 142 after '-a'
Engraved version (1994)
Observe the commas, full stops and exclamation marks, treating them as breathing places
- except the commas etc at bars 1, 3, 8, 16, 21, 29, 37, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 63, 67, 70, 75, 83, 88, 96, 104, 112, 114, 119, 124, 128, 138
Komm, Jesu, komm: structural hints
The 6/8 section of Komm, Jesu, komm contains a lot of repeated and shared material. This document attempts to show how it is constructed:
Recordings
JL Bach: Das ist meine Freude
There's a brilliant performance of this on YouTube. It's by a good choir with a very good conductor and, as a bonus, it shows score and recording simultaneously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv0NrpFzC9s
JS Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
There are some forty recordings of Bach's motets, BWV225-230, currently available on CD, at least on this website: http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/42234/1
I have just bought these three and they are all excellent:
- Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner, SDG716
- Collegium VOcale Gent, Philippe Herrweghe, PHI-LPH002
- Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, BIS-SACD-1841
These are all recent recordings by small groups of professional singers - in two cases re-recordings after many years of accumulating experience and experimenting with interpretation. They are very sophisticated vocally and all make interesting choices about speeds. All three also restrict instrumental support to organ and continuo bass line, which may not be an option in our circumstances (larger group, limited audibility of small organ). They also perform at baroque pitch approximately a semitone lower, and Suzuki contains occasional variant readings.
Of course, it's difficult to hear everything that's going on in the more a complex sections: however, I was pleasantly surprised how transparent the textures were in these recordings and that it's possible to hear a lot of telling internal detail in different passages of all three.
My choice was based largely on the reviews quoted on the Presto Classical site and I could easily have chosen a different three, or indeed an additional three.
Here for reference are my previous review recommendations for Komm, Jesu, komm:
- La Petite Bande/Kuijken (Accent ACC 9287 D) uses a small group of trained singers but is probably closest to the approach we will adopt in the sense that he opts for an accompaniment of strings and wind, which is a practical expedient I also intend to adopt. Some of his speeds are faster than we might attempt, though on the other hand too slow speeds bring their own problems. This recording is good for an overall sophisticated impression of the work although you might not find it particularly helpful for note-learning.
- Trinity College Cambridge/Marlow (Conifer CDCF 158) follows a more traditional approach with simple organ continuo support. The interpretation is less exaggerated than Kuijken's and an excellent example of the English collegiate choral tradition. I think it’s just as brisk in the faster sections, though the texture is more transparent, just occasionally in danger of becoming too thin. Unfortunately this 1988 recording seems to be out of the catalogue at the moment, but it still receives an honourable mention in reviews.
- Thomanerchor Leipzig/Thomas (Berlin Classics 13292BC). This 1963 recording features the direct successor of Bach's own choir and may even have been recorded in the building for which he was writing. However, the faster sections are taken more deliberately than either of the two above performances and with a clarity which sometimes becomes slightly mannered: nevertheless these very qualities might make it more accessible if you are listening for detail. I would have to warn, though, that you might find the recording quality of this disc becoming a little wearing after a while.
On the CyberBass site mentioned above (under 'Help with note-learning'), if you click on 'Buy the CD' you'll be shown a wide choice available from Amazon - if you still want to spend your taxed income supporting a company which does not seem to be paying its share.
Bogoroditse Dievo
Asked about a recording of the Stravinsky pieces I have found two interestingly different interpretations of Bogoroditse Dievo:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGSBMVcFuf4 (Dan Wessler's graduate conducting recital) is almost consistent with the view Liz and I have arrived at as to meaning and phrasing
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcnWbCPPlAw (TheRonLad) is more elegant vocally, and indeed rather beautiful, but in at least two places it makes a nonsense of the meaning. Nor is it very Russian in its timbre. But it does bring out some interesting moments in the harmony rather affectingly.
Otsche nasch (sometimes transliterated 'Otche nash')
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNohDOpVUZM This is TheRonLad again, with the same strengths as above and the same reservation about excessive anglicisation, but no blunders this time over phrasing
Totus Tuus
There is a good performance by the choir of New College Oxford on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT-fogvEMTs
Autumn 2012
Concert programme
Here is a pdf file of the concert programme:
Bar numbers for Novello score
The only edition of Beethoven's Mass in C available for us to borrow comes without bar numbers. A previous user may have added them to your copy but, if not, please use this crib to add bar numbers to your score so that we can rehearse more efficiently. Beethoven bar numbers
Pronunciation Guide
This short guide is intended to help singers used to Italianate Latin to make a few basic accommodations appropriate for German mass settings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. View German Latin pronunciation guide
Recordings
There is no shortage of recordings of this work. The most obvious choice is John Eliot Gardiner's with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (1989), which seems to come to the top of everybody's list: (Archiv 435 391-2). It is an excellent reading in every respect although, if in learning mode, you might find some of his faster speeds daunting.
The same might actually be true of the highly-regarded Beecham recording of 1959: although this has a broader, more traditional sound, it is very nimble and dramatic and still a good buy. I have it coupled with The Ruins of Athens (EMI Classics CDM 7 64385 2) but it is available in other couplings and at budget price.
Both these recordings feature in this list of recommendations: http://www.stanford.edu/group/SymCh/performances/W2010/FYLP.html
I failed to locate the Colin Davis recording on this list but found he has done another recently and it's very good (with London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra live from the Barbican): LSO0594
However, if you want instant satisfaction without paying any money, try this perfectly commendable performance which I turned up on a simple google search: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hSO_Qxhkb0
Of course members of staff and holders of Bucks County library tickets also have free access to the Naxos catalogue.
Practice Recordings
Since Beethoven's Mass in C is a work much performed by amateur choral societies it is available in the Choraline catalogue, from which you can purchase a CD or download mp3 files of your part for a very reasonable price. http://www.choraline.com/store/singers-choraline-rehearsal-cd-mp3
Some members of the choir use practice materials prepared by Saffron Choral Prompt. The distinctive quality of these recordings is that the words are sung. They already have this standard work in their catalogue. http://www.saffronchoralprompt.co.uk/
You can also download files for free on this website: http://www.cyberbass.com/Major_Works/Beethoven_L_v/beethoven_mass_in_C.htm
Do bear in mind, however, that the speeds adopted in these various renderings may be different from those I settle on for our performance.
Summer 2012
Schumann
Pronunciation of Drei gemischte Chöre
(No. 2 'Vorvärts' begins at 1 min 18 secs; No.3 'Gondoliera' at 2 min 35 secs.)
Text and translation of Drei gemischte Chöre
Thanks to Regine Hampel, Richard Seaton and Elly Milburn for preparing these materials
The following recorded guide was prepared for rehearsals for earlier concerts but you may find it useful for the Schumann pieces we're singing this term, especially if you do not speak German or have not sung in German before.
This is the printed material which accompanies the audio guide.
Liz Lane
In Flanders Fields poem and preliminaries
John Alexander McCrae was a Canadian physician. He was in charge of a field hospital during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. Accounts of how he came to write this poem vary, but it seems to have been inspired by the burial of his friend and former student, Lt. Alexis Helmer, who had been killed in the battle. It was written in May 1915 and first published in Punch magazine on 8 December. It quickly became one of the most popular poems of the war, used in countless fund-raising campaigns. McCrae died of pneumonia in January 1918 while commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. You can easily find out more about him by googling his name.
I was introduced to Liz Lane's setting while pursuing our programme theme of women composers and chose it for is intrinsic musical beauty. However, it seems to me that its emotional theme also has a contemporary resonance, despite the passage of time, when our society is having to ask depressingly similar questions about the loss of young lives in foreign conflicts.
Spring 2012
Deus misereatur nostri
Psalm 67
The following shows
Bar numbers in Robert Johnson's setting: Latin text (Vulgate): English (Authorised Version)
bar 1 Deus misereatur nostri God be merciful unto us
10 et benedicat nobis; and bless us
18 illuminet vultum suum super nos and cause his face to shine upon us
30 et misereatur nostri and be gracious unto us
35 ut cognoscamus in terra viam tuam, that thy way may be known upon earth,
46 in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum; thy saving health among all nations.
56 confiteantur tibi populi Deus: confiteantur tibi populi omnes. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Second Part
65 L(a)etentur et exultent gentes O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
76 quoniam iudicas populos in (a)equitate for thou shalt judge the people righteously,
86 et gentes in terra dirigis. and govern the nations upon the earth.
93 Confiteantur tibi populi Deus, confiteantur tibi populi omnes; Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
107 terra dedit fructum suum. Then shall the earth yield her increase;
117 Benedicat nos Deus, Deus noster; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
123 benedicat nos Deus, et metuant eum omnes fines terrae. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Richt soir opprest
Ruth McCracken has provided an underlay of the entire Alto part
Media:Richt-soir-opprest-alto-line.pdf
And has added the pronunciation
Media:Richt-soir-opprest-alto-line_pronunciation.pdf
Pronunciation guide: Media:Richt_soir_opprest_pronunciation_guide.doc
Here are underlay and pronunciation files for the remaining three parts:
Media:Richt soir opprest_soprano_underlay.doc
Media:Richt soir opprest_soprano_pronunciation.doc
Media:Richt soir opprest_tenor_underlay.doc
Media:Richt soir opprest_tenor_pronunciation.doc
Media:Richt soir opprest_bass_underlay.doc
Media:Richt soir opprest_bass_pronunciation.doc
And here is a score with all the parts, all the underlay and al the pronunciaion
Media:Richt soir opprest_SATB_pronunciation.doc
Recordings
Ian Every has turned up a few recordings of our C16 pieces. There are not many around!
The Naxos library (which you can access logged into the OU) has a recording of Richt soir oppresst http://open.naxosmusiclibrary.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/mediaplayer/flash/http-fplayer.asp?br=64&tl=762364 This is for instruments and solo voice (the voice comes in at 1’10”). It used to be the case that you can also gain access to the Naxos library if you have a local library ticket.
Chandos has quite a long sample: http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Chandos/CHAN0529#listen
For the Johnson, Deus misereatur nostri, Linn records have a version as part of the Wode Collection. It’s sung by 4 solo singers but clear and perhaps useful. http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-the-wode-collection.aspx You can preview on this web page and buy tracks (mp3 for £1.70) but the complete CD is not generally available to buy. However, the liner notes available on the website are very interesting. (The CD was specially produced for an exhibition at Edinburgh University Library. The web page mentions a number for the library (+44(0)131 650 8379) where you can enquire whether spare copies are still available.)
St Magnus changes
I list here the changes I have made to the original 2000 score of my Choral Prelude on Hymn to St Magnus score in order to make it appropriate for the present concert
Bars 1-2 will be played by horns sounding an octave lower
Bars 3-17: this first verse will be sung by the tenor soloist (the alto line only, an octave lower)
Bars 39-42: the pitches are unchanged but some have been transferred from trumpet to horn sounding an octave lower. Similar adjustments have been made to the brass entries at bars 66 and 71
Bar 116: a new section, provided as a separate sheet, has been inserted here. This and subsequent bars will have to be renumbered as detailed on the insert sheet.
If you don’t have rehearsal letters marked in your score, please add them:
A - bar 23
B - 39
C - 43
D - 59
E - 75
F - 94
G - 116 (now at the beginning of the insert)
H - the new 132 (which was 116)
If you don't have the following dynamic marks already added to your copy from the previous performance, please write them in:
- 139 (was 123) beat 2, crescendo throughout the remainder of the bar
- 140, ff
- 141, dim.
- 143, f
- 148, ff
St Magnus pronunciation guide
This is a crib for medieval Scots Latin pronunciation as it affects the Hymn to St Magnus. Media:Magnus pronunciation.doc
Concert programme
This is the programme for the concert
Autumn 2011
Pronunciation Guide
Bill has prepared a guide to help singers used to Italianate Latin to make a few basic accommodations appropriate for German mass settings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. View German Latin pronunciation guide
Mozart Ornaments
Here is a crib suggesting how I would like you to handle the ornaments in Mozart's 'Coronation' Mass.
Ornaments in Mozart's 'Coronation' Mass
Practice Recordings
You can purchase CDs or download mp3 files of your part in the Mozart 'Coronation' Mass (but not the Bruckner motets) from the Choraline catalogue http://www.choraline.com/store/singers-choraline-rehearsal-cd-mp3
Summer 2011
An excellent recording of the Vaughan Williams songs is available on a CD called 'There is sweet music' by The Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter (CSCD 505). As it happens two of the Grainger pieces and the Stanford are also on the same CD.
And here's a link to a recording of the third Grainger piece 'I'm seventeen come Sunday' on his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Grainger (scroll down to the bottom).
And a link to a recording of a Lincolnshire accent: http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=021M-C0908X0052XX-0600V1.xml#
Spring 2011
German pronunciation
For general guidance about German pronunciation see under Autumn 2009 below.
The following pronunciation audio files are specific to Ein deutsches Requiem:
Many thanks to Regine Hampel and Richard Seaton for giving up their time to prepare these files for the choir.
Practice recordings
You can purchase CDs or download mp3 files of your part from the Choraline catalogue http://www.choraline.com/store/singers-choraline-rehearsal-cd-mp3
Alternatively, Graham Healing has identified a site on which you can download free practice files for each of the four parts and tutti: http://www.cyberbass.com/Major_Works/Brahms_J/brahms_requiem.htm
The media player on this also has a tempo control which is rather useful. However, it works in IE and Safari but not in Firefox. The site also explains that there are some restrictions around using it on a Mac.
Recommended recordings
The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers (CORO COR 16950) is the CD which sparked off the idea for this concert. It has rightly been praised for the transparency of the textures - particularly in the fugues this is obviously an asset, achieved by entrusting the entire piece to a group of only 21 singers. I'm less sure about the choice of an 1872 piano for the accompaniment.
Otto Klemperer's recording with the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra, Schwartkopf and Fischer-Dieskau is available in the EMI 'Great Recordings of the Century' collection (7243 5 66903 2 5). This is a masterful reading and a wonderful recording which will give you a feel for the breadth and grandeur of the piece in its full choral and orchestral strength.
However, there are many other recordings which are also worthy of attention. The Choraline webpage mentioned above offers several, some at budget prices.
Richard Seaton has bought a copy of the Harry Christophers recording for the OU CD Library.
Autumn 2010
Mozart Vespers
Texts and translations [will be provided soon]
Spring 2010
Practice files
Here are practice files, mainly for the pieces by William Bowie.
Bowie: Welcome Happy Morning
Bowie: Three Masts
Bowie: Faith
Tenor Note: there is a mistake in bar 20 - I failed to play the tenor part in beats 3 and 4 (on second thoughts this could be stage 2 - I play some of the notes, you fill in the blanks)
Britten: Antiphon
Gabrieli: Magnificat
Choir 2 soprano part only, but the sketch of the parts for Choir 1 and 3 provides some context which may be helpful to others. (Beware, however, of the blunder around bars 55-56.)
Other resources
There is a fabulous recording of the two Britten pieces, Jubilate Deo and Antiphon, by The Sixteen/Harry Christophers on CORO (COR 16006). However, there are other recording of these pieces too.
Ruth McCracken has identified the recordings of the two Renaissance pieces.
In pace by John Blitheman performed by Guildford Cathedral Choir is very much the ticket:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002S5CNSW/ref=dm_dp_trk4?ie=UTF8&qid=1263925437&sr=301-5
The recording of the Gabrieli Magnificat by Chanticleer is stylish, if extremely fast (I envisage a broader approach). Nevertheless it will give you an idea of the how the texture works. Unfortunately it is also performed a minor third lower so will not give you an accurate indication of how high or low your part lies - and indeed the inner parts are difficult to distinguish once everyone gets going together. All the same it is available if you want to take advantage of it:
Richard Seaton has found an open source practice version of the Gabrieli:
http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Andrea_Gabrieli
Unfortunately, however, as with the the Chanticleer recording, the pitch is lower and the approach to tempo radically different.
The William Bowie pieces have not been recorded commercially but I have made practice files which are available above.
Autumn 09
German pronunciation audio files
This recorded guide was prepared for rehearsals for earlier concerts but you may find it useful for the Bach and Schütz pieces we're singing this term, especially if you do not speak German or have not sung in German before.
This is the printed material which accompanies the audio guide.
Here are the files specific to this term's repertoire:
Schutz
Jauchzet dem Herren text and translation (Word document)
Jauchzet dem Herren audio (mp3)
Bach: Jesu, meine Freude
Jesu meine Freude text and translation (Word document)
Audio files (mp3):
- Movements 1 and 2
- Movements 3 and 4
- Movement 5
- Movement 6
- Movements 7 and 8
- Movement 9
- Movements 10 and 11
Help with note-learning
Bach: Jesu, meine Freude
Rehearsal CDs and cassettes of Jesu, meine Freude are available in the Choraline series. They cost £9.50 for a CD, £7.50 for a cassette (and come coupled with motet no.6). See the musicdynamics website www.musicdynamics.co.uk
Graham Healing has also identified some MP3 files of the Bach on the Internet which I think are rather good http://www.cyberbass.com/Major_Works/Bach_J_S/bach_js_motets.htm These are practice files which let you hear either the whole texture or the whole texture with your part highlighted. The pause marks in the chorales are treated literally (it’s an electronic realisation) and the parts afford no articulation of the phrasing, but even so the overall effect is remarkably pleasing as these things go. I recommend it, for instance, for appreciating the flow of movement 2, and clarifying any notes you are unsure of. The only snag is that it follows a system of continuous bar numbering whereas your score starts afresh for some movements. But I think that’s a problem you’ll easily get round.
Schütz: Jauchzet dem Herren
Graham has also found two sources for files of the Schütz: http://www.kunstderfuge.com/schutz.htm or if you want to bypass the directory and go straight to the page containing the music file: http://kdfmid.s3.amazonaws.com/midi/5/schuetz_jauchzet_dem_herren_%28c%29icking-archive.mid
The other is: directory page http://www.icking-music-archive.org/ByComposer/Schuetz.php and the page containing the MP3 version http://www.icking-music-archive.org/scores/schuetz/sch100ps.mid
These sound very similar to me. They are practice versions which give you all the parts at once without differentiation: unfortunately there's not even differentiation between the two choirs. However, they will give you a sense of the general feel of the piece. The only thing to watch out for is the occasional different editorial reading - sometimes e.g. C sharp where our edition has C natural: in other words, keep your critical ears open!
Recorded performances
Bach: Jesu, meine Freude
I know three recordings of Jesu, meine Freude which I would characterise as follows:
- La Petite Bande/Kuijken (Accent ACC 9287 D) is a rather affecting performance, with well-balanced emphasis between the movements, achieved in some instances by means of rather extreme speeds. It’s good for an overall sophisticated impression of the work but you might not find it particularly helpful for note-learning. Note that it also uses instruments to cover and support all parts – a somewhat controversial interpretation – whereas we shall be using only organ continuo.
- Trinity College Cambridge/Marlow (Conifer CDCF 158) is a less exaggerated performance and closer to the conditions and profile of ours, though making different choices about the 3-part movements than I had in mind. I think it’s just as brisk as Kuijken in the faster movements, though the texture is more transparent, just occasionally in danger of becoming too thin. Unfortunately this recording seems to be out of the catalogue at the moment, but it still receives an honourable mention in reviews.
- Thomanerchor Leipzig/Thomas (Berlin Classics 13292BC). This 1963 recording is of particular interest since there will be some emphasis in our programme on the St Thomas connection and this recording features the direct successor of Bach's own choir and may even have been recorded in the building for which he was writing. The chorales are treated surprisingly dramatically. However, the faster choral movements are taken more deliberately than either of the two above performances and with a clarity which sometimes becomes slightly mannered: nevertheless these very qualities might make it more accessible if you are listening for detail. I would have to warn, though, that you might find the recording quality of this disc becoming a little wearing after a while.
Several other recordings are currently available, which reviewers have received with varying degrees of enthusiasm. If anyone has fresher information than me please feel free to contribute to the discussion if you think it will be helpful to others.
On the CyberBass site mentioned above (under 'Help with note-learning'), if you click on 'Buy the CD' you'll be shown a wide choice available from Amazon.
Kuhnau: Tristis est anima mea
You can hear a performance of the Kuhnau on: http://www.esnips.com/doc/d0519b21-d067-4081-8516-ab854359e0e3/Choralis:-Kuhnau---Tristis-Est-Anima-Mea/nsprev It’s very beautiful and effective, if rather faster than I envisage.
And there's an even better one on a Hyperion CD of Kuhnau's sacred music by the King's Consort (CDA67059).
Translation of Kuhnau text
The score contains a singing translation which separates the sense from the Latin in places. Here is a literal translation, courtesy of Mike Street.
Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem: sustinete hic, et vigilate mecum:
Sad is my soul all the way to death: endure here and keep watch with me:
Jam videbitis turbam, quae circumdabit me: Vos fugam capietis, et ego vadam immolari pro vobis.
Soon you will see a crowd, which will surround me: You will take flight, and I shall go to be sacrificed for you.
Summer 09
In the beginning practice files
Here are practice files for this term's Willcocks piece. The soprano and alto lines were recorded when we were preparing the first performance in 2000. They were originally recorded on cassette and Allan, who did the transfer, has reported some deterioration in quality which 'manifests as a sort of ghostly version of what's already been heard and what's to come'. In fact, I think they're still perfectly serviceable for the purpose intended. The tenor and bass lines have been recorded afresh so any deficiencies in them are of more exclusively human origin! Nevertheless I think all could be helpful and I hope you will use them to compensate for the relatively short time we'll have in communal rehearsal this term.
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
German pronunciation audio files
Here are the files specific to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. There are two recordings of the words, one containing only the text the chorus sings and the other the full text.
Spring 09
Recordings of OU Choir's previous performances
Recordings are available of previous performances of several of the pieces we're preparing for this concert. Click on the title to access the audio file:
The recordings of 'Simpson' and 'OU!' were made shortly after the first performance. Both are very faithful both to the letter and the spirit of the pieces. Click on the title to access the audio file:
The 'Four Latin Inscriptions' record one of only two performances we have given of these pieces. You should be aware that, although they impart much of the spirit of each piece, some passages are not accurate in terms of notes while others suffer from poor intonation. So they will give you an idea how the pieces go but as a learning tool they need to be used with discrimination. Click on the title to access the audio file:
Autumn 08
Joseph Haydn's 'Creation' Mass (Schöpfungsmesse)
This is the penultimate setting Haydn made for the court of the Esterházy family, for the nameday of Marie Hermenegild, the beautiful wife of his dissolute patron Nicolaus II. It received its premiere on 13 September 1801 in the ornate rococo Bergkirche at Eisenstadt. Its nickname arises from a tiny self-quotation from Haydn’s oratorio The Creation which was deemed inappropriate at the time, to the extent that the Empress required him to change it in the copy he presented to her.
Scores
We will be working from the Bärenreiter edition (vocal score BA 4656a, ISMN M-006-45230-9). We will be hiring sufficient copies for everyone but if you wish to buy a copy (£12) it is perhaps easier to phone your order through on 01279 828930 rather than trying to negotiate Bärenreiter’s rather awkward website.
Pronunciation Guide
Bill has prepared a guide to help singers used to Italianate Latin to make a few basic accommodations appropriate for German settings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. View German Latin pronunciation guide
Commercial Recordings
The old Decca recording with John’s College, Cambridge and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by George Guest feels a little old-fashioned, especially in some of the soloists’ gestures (it’s now 30 years old). It’s quite ‘English cathedral’ in places and occasionally the trebles feel as if they might slip off their top notes. However, it’s still a good and accurate performance and would be a reliable guide to learn from as far as the choral parts are concerned. I have it on 448 518-2 which is the boxed set of the complete Haydn masses but it may be available separately as 448 520-2.
There’s a 1989 recording conducted by Neville Marriner which conversely is very continental and slightly operatic. Unfortunately the recording balance does not favour the choir (Rundfunkchor Leipzig) although there is some felicitous orchestral playing (Staatskapelle Dresden) and enjoyable solo singing. However, in the Benedictus the choir does suddenly come into its own rather dramatically. EMI Classics 5 86519 2 (with ‘Paukenmesse’ and the earlier, rarer but rather splendid Missa Cellensis).
More recent and in a rather different world interpretatively is the 2002 recording by John Eliot Gardiner (Philips 470 297-2 with ‘Harmoniemesse’ or apparently 470 822-2 separately). As always with his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists he gives a splendid and very accurate account. At first I thought that in a couple of movements this interpretation was just a shade too fast for the performers’ (and the listener’s?) comfort; however, I’ve now found that Marriner goes almost as fast but with less clarity, so there wouldn’t be much to choose between them if you wanted to use the recording as an aid to familiarisation.
I'm not surprised that the 1996 Richard Hickox recording ticks nearly all the boxes (Chandos CHAN 0599). It's more mellow than Gardiner, more accessibly accurate, in the choral parts at least, than Marriner, and more stylish than Guest. It certainly deserves the accolade of Editor's Choice it received from The Gramophone. The only downside perhaps is the coupling with the very early Missa 'rorate coeli desuper' which even the sleeve note (which incidentally is by OU tutor and examiner David Wyn Jones) admits is perfunctory.
But really, any of these recordings is worthy of attention, at the very least informative and in places all are illuminating.
Happy listening!
Practice Files
Margaret Wright has found these midi files for the Creation Mass on the internet [2].
(Note we are providing here a deep link straight to the appropriate page on the site. It is good practice - and it might be helpful generally - to visit the site's home page [3].)
I've listened to the Kyrie and the beginning of the Gloria for each part. They seem to comprise the vocal score in the edition we're using, with the appropriate voice part highlighted using a more prominent instrumental timbre. I think it could be a useful learning aid.
The soprano line seems to me to come off less well than the others because the timbre used for it is less distinct from the surrounding sound. It might actually be just as easy to pick this line out from an ordinary recording of the performance because the words tell you when they have entered. On the other hand, you may feel this is much better than nothing, and certainly cheaper than buying. With the lower parts it's another matter: the bass line in particular is picked out in quite a dramatic way and quite easy to follow.
One disadvantage with all the files, however, is that it's hard to make out leads in other parts - everything other than your part is homogenised into one fairly uniform electronic mass, so the perspective of the texture is lost. Another reservation might be that it’s a very mechanical rendering and being over-exposed to its rigidity might carry dangers. So I wouldn't like anyone to be relying on it exclusively while getting acquainted with the piece.
Do listen critically when using the files. I didn't notice any discrepancies from the Bärenreiter edition in the sections I listened to. However, other editions of this work do vary in small details (the occasional rhythm or pitch), so don't take what you hear as gospel.
Let me know how you get on and especially if you spot any problems.
Spring 08
Fauré, Duruflé and Poulenc
Note from Bill
We have provided some audio recordings and texts of this term's pieces to help you with the French Latin pronunciation. The audio files have been recorded by Marie-Noëlle Lamy in FELS and represent a compromise between what academic researchers think Fauré’s singers in the 1890s would have sung and the Italianate pronunciation which is now more generally followed.
My reading around the subject revealed that the pronunciation of Latin in French churches was fairly static for about 350 years up until 1903 when the Vatican tried to standardise pronunciation internationally according to ‘Roman’ practice (Harold Copeman: Singing in Latin). However there was a certain Gallic resistance and the old pronunciation persisted in Paris at least up until the Second World War.
Fauré’s Requiem was first recorded in 1930 (only 6 years after his death) by Gustave Bret, a musician whom the composer apparently admired. This recording has in turn been used by Philippe Herreweghe as the basis for the pronunciation in his most recent, and very admirable, recording (harmonia mundi HMC 901771), and the results seem to be consistent with the principles Copeman details. However, such a project is too complex for us to emulate in the time available, so I have persuaded Marie-Noëlle to give us a rendering based on the pronunciation she was taught in school, which has also been informed, I’m sure, by her subsequent expertise as a linguist. I’m certain this is the best strategy to adopt in the circumstances. I hope it will give our performance a genuinely French flavour even if our pronunciation is not strictly accurate in every detail.
I think the best way to use these files is simply to immerse yourself in the sound as much as you can. Marie-Noëlle has put each movement on a separate file for ease of access. I suggest listening several times to the movements that are coming up at each rehearsal. Even if you don’t think you can catch or emulate all the nuances when you first listen, you’ll be surprised how infectious it becomes even after two or three hearings. And above all, I hope you will enjoy it.
Pronunciation Guide
Fauré’s Requiem
Choral sections (numbered as in the score)
2. Offertory
3. Sanctus
5. Agnus Dei
6. Libera me
7. In Paradisum
Duruflé
Poulenc
Texts
Fauré, Duruflé and Poulenc texts
Poulenc audio files
Remember, it really goes much faster than this!
The bit where sopranos split into three
Poulenc - commercial recordings
The Gramophone website lists several recordings of Poulenc's Exultate Deo, and recommends some of them highly. The only recording I know is an impressive one by John Rutter on CSCD 506 but that no longer seems to be in the catalogue.
New College Choir Oxford/Higginbottom. AV2084. 'performed so well'
Joyful Company of Singers/Broadbent. ASV CD CDDCA1067. 'The Exutate Deo...is less tidy'
Berln RIAS Chamber Choir/Marcus Creed. Harmonia Mundi HMC90 1588. 'A first-class disc'
St John's College/Academy of St Martin/George Guest. Decca New CD 436 486-2DF2. Very highly regarded older recordings - double CD at medium price but you get the entire rest of our current programme too.
Westminster Cathedral Choir/James O'Donnell. Hyperion CDA66664. Robust youthful interpretations
The Sixteen/Harry Christophers. Virgin Classics CD 759311-2. 'Exultate Deo...properly jubilant...only just containable'
Durufle - free download
You can hear Durufle's Tu es Petrus and and good part of his Tantum Ergo on Amazon (courtesy of Nick Watson):
Autumn 07
Haydn's Theresienmesse
This is the fourth of the six late masses Haydn wrote in the final phase of his creative career for his young new patron, Nikolaus II. Chronologically it comes after 'Heiligmesse' which we performed last year, Missa in tempore belli and the 'Nelson Mass'.
Although it shares many features with its immediate predecessors its distinctive characteristics are, vocally, the close integration of the soloists, especially as a quartet but also in relation to the chorus; and orchestrally, the choice of clarinets to the exclusion of oboes, which gives the instrumental sound a more mellow timbre.
If anyone wants to buy a copy of the score, you will need to know that we'll be working from the Barenreiter edition BA 4661a.
Recordings
As far as recordings are concerned I can unreservedly recommend Richard Hickox on Chandos CHAN 0592, while the perfectly respectable Decca boxed set of the complete masses 448 518-2 has St John's Colege, Cambridge conducted by George Guest. If you can keep up with Bruno Weil's sprinting pace he is on Sony SB2K90379.
Pronunciation guide
Bill has prepared a guide to help singers used to Italianate Latin to make a few basic accommodations appropriate for German settings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. View German Latin pronunciation guide
06/07 season
Spring 07
Rehearsal recordings
Bill and Richard have produced these recordings to help your rehearsals at home.
(This web site has a file size limit, so I had to chop the files in half, convert to mono, etc. They should still work fine.--Tim)
Translation document
Here is the translation document distributed at first rehearsal this term. This includes the German and Latin translations and the bar numbers for the Palestrina. View translation document.
German pronunciation audio files
These recordings were produced for rehearsals for an earlier concert but you may find them useful for this term's music.
Recordings:some recommendations from Bill
Several people have asked me whether I can recommend recordings of the pieces in this term's programme. The answer is that I can pass on what I know, but I can't offer a comprehensive survey of all the options available at the moment, especially with works recorded as frequently as the Palestrina Stabat Mater and the Bach motets.
Palestrina
I have and can commend the recording by the Tallis Scholars 'Live in Rome' (Gimell CDGIM 994). If anyone has or wants to buy the video recording of this concert it will be interesting because it was given in Santa Maria Maggiore, the church in which Palestrina was trained and later employed.
However there are at least 7 other recordings currently in the catalogue, nearly all of them well reviewed in Gramofile, so if you come across any of those listed below you probably won't be wasting your money - especially on the bargain-price Naxos:
- Cardinall's Music/Carwood
- New College, Oxford/Higginbottom
- Vasari Singer/Backhouse
- Pro Cantione Antiqua/Brown
- Oxford Schola Cantorum/Summerley (Naxos)
- Musica Contexta/Ravens
Bach
I know three recordings of Furchte dich nicht which I would characterise as follows:
- La Petite Bande/Kuijken (Accent ACC 9287 D) is a stylistically aware performance unfortunately slightly spoiled by over-rapid delivery.
- Thomanerchor Leipzig/Thomas (Berlin Classics 13292BC). This 1963 recording of the choir of Bach's own church seems rather staid by comparison with current performance practice. However the cautious approach makes all the notes clear, so perhaps it would make a good aid to note-learning.
- Trinity College Cambridge/Marlow (Conifer CDCF 158) has speed and lightness without sacrificing clarity - a good performance in the best English university tradition. This would be my first choice, at least for this particular motet. Unfortunately this recording seems to be out of the catalogue at the moment, but it still receives an honourable mention in reviews.
There are several other recordings currently available, which reviewers have received with varying degrees of enthusiasm. If anyone has fresher information than me please feel free to contribute to the discussion if you think it will be helpful to others.
Brahms
First of all, you need to know that Opus 109 goes under the collective title 'Fest- und Dedankspruche' which is unaccountably omitted from at least the Peters score.
I have a fine recording by the North German Radio Chorus but it is on a boxed set of LPs of the complete unaccompanied choral music which is no longer available.
Gramofile lists 3 CDs as currently available, and is fairly enthusiastic about the performances on all of them. Again the Naxos one is a bargain.
- Trinitas Kantori/Per Enevold
- St Bride's Church Choir/Robert Jones (Naxos)
- Berlin RIAS Chamber Choir/Marcus Creed
However, the reviews of two of these make very favourable mention of recordings by the Corydon Singers (presumably under Matthew Best) and Trinity College under Richard Marlow, which are evidently no longer available (but it might be worth looking out for them just in case).
Bill
