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Chamber Choir Notes

by Arthur Bragg — last modified 2007-10-19 05:36

Rocky Mountain Chorale Chamber Choir Fall 2007 - Notes

Laudate Dominum

Translation

Praise the Lord, all nations; praise him, all peoples.

Certain is his love and mercy for us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever

General Comments

Sing full value of notes followed by rests

Elide all consonants

Ejus pronounced more like ehus

Measure	Who	Beat	What
1	T		Eflats!
2	ST	1	hold full quarter
3	S2A	1	no breath
4	S1S2T	1	two full beats, s on rest
6	A	2	catch breath with comma
7	A	.5	no breath
8	T	4.5	solid D on the entrance
9,10,11	All		Catch breath with comma between um and lau
11	T	2.75	Eb
11	All		Dim a bit before new idea in 12
12+	All		Articulate o-mnes, but still elide the s
12, 13, 14	All		Catch breath 1/16 rest on comma where you have populi,omnes. If rest after “li” then full value
15	B	1	Make that a rest – it makes the most sense to me. I don’t think the cadence would end on a second inversion chord
15	S1S2AT	1,2	Let’s try a quarter note and quarter rest on “li” so that you cut off right on the bass entrance
16-21	All		Carry through from quoniam to confirmata
16-21	All		1/16 rest catch breath on comma when you have “est,con”. If you have a rest after “est,” give full value and put consonant on rest.
21	All		Dim before tenor entrance
21	S1S2AB		Full value on “est” consonant on downbeat of 22
21	T	4	Strong entrance
23	S1AT	4	Catch breath 1/16 on comma
24	S2	1	1/8 rest catch breath
24	B	4	Mark in 1/8 rest catch breath. Strong entrance on top of next page!
24	All		Dim in preparation for next bas entrance, ms 25
25	S1AT	1	1/8 note and 1/8 rest
26	All	3	Carry through from “est” to “super”
27	All		Cresc to support sopranos
28	All		Full value on “jus”
28	S2AT	4.5	mf entrance. Elide all “s”s
29-34	All		When you have “ni,et” catch breath on the comma. If “ni” followed by rest full value.
32			S2A Articulate 32^nd notes
36	S2B	3,4	Full value on “num”
34	All		Let it grow till 35 beat 4
35	All		dim
37	S1AT	4.5	mf entrance
36-44			Almost exact repeat of 29-26
47	A	3,4	Emphasize rhythm.

If Ye Love Me

General

In 4. Not too fast.

Rolled “r” in pray!

Rolled “r” in truth!

Measure	Who	Beat	What
1	All		Start mp
2-3	All		Carry through the comma
4,5	All		Put “ts” of commandments exactly on the rest
5-9	All		Lots of shape to “and I will pray the father”. Swell through “pray” then dim
13	All		All break together on “er”.
14	All		Let the note on “he” swell and dim (messa di voce). Then come back down for other parts to be heard.
16+	All		Observe editorial breath marks that go with the commas.
26	All		First ending – all parts have half note on “truth”. We all cutoff together as if we were coing in with the tenors.

Laudate nomen Domini

MIDI Files

http://www.users.on.net/~algernon/laudate/index.html

Translation

Praise his holy name, ye servants of the Lord,
From early morn to setting sun
His laws are just, and glad the heart;
Praise God ye princes and all people

General

Watch latin vowels

All consonants elided

Measure	Who	Beat	What
1	All		mf first time, mp second time
8	SAB		Full value
8	T		¼ note and ¼ test on “ni”
8 - 18			Let it grow, then dim back in last two measures
14-15	SAB		Carry the phrase through. Watch the vowel glide between “usque” and “ad”.
17-18			eHus – minimal glide. No sliding between notes!!!!
19			mp both times
23			Carry through from “sunt” to “et”
26	B	1-4	Whole note on “rant”
27	SAB		“t” of “rant” goes on the rest
27	All		Let it grow then dim last two measures
			End mp

Jesu Dulcis Memoria

Translation

Jesus, sweet remembrance,

Granting the heart its true joys,

But above honey and all things

Is His sweet presence

General

In 4

1/8 note breaths on commas

Measure	Who	Beat	What
1	All		Start p
1-4	A		Altos have the really cool line her (really!). Build the tension until ms 4 beat one.
4	SAB		Catch breath 1/8 note between “moria” and “dans”
5	B		Should be no “,” after vera (carry through the phrase)
9	SAT		Catch breath 1/8 on the comma
11	All		Dim to p as if this were an ending
16	All		Dim to measure 18
18	SAT		“Ejus” is pp
20-21	All		Cresc through ms 21 beat 3. Then dim till end.

Here is the guide I use for ecclesiastical latin pronunciation. Please read through and apply to the text if you have any question.

Ecclesiastical Latin

Ecclesiastical Latin refers to the pronunciation and usages of Latin by the Catholic Church. In some respects, such as pronunciation, it differs from the Latin spoken by Caesar, Seneca and Cicero, called Classical Latin. Classical Latin is what classics departments in major universities teach, and is also the Latin taught on language tapes, unless Ecclesiastical Latin is specified. A characteristic difference would be the pronunciation of regina coeli. In Classical Latin the "g" is hard and the "c" sounds like "k". In Ecclesiastical Latin, which is defined as Latin spoken as Italian would be pronounced in Rome, the "g" is soft and the c has a "ch" sound.

The following pronunciation table is adapted from the Liber Usalis, one of the former chant books for Mass and Office. Its introduction to Gregorian Chant is also invaluable.

Vowels

A	A is pronounced as in the word Father, never as in the word can. We must be careful to get this open, warm sound, especially when A is followed by M or N as in Sanctus, Nam, etc.
E	E is pronounced as in Red, men, met; never with the suspicion of a second sound as in Ray.
I	I is pronounced as ee in Feet, never as i in milk or tin.
O	O is pronounced as in For, never as in go.
U	U is pronounced as oo in Moon, never as in custom.
Y	Y is pronounced and treated as the Latin I. (see above)
	The pronunciation given for i, o, u, gives the approximate quality of the sounds, which may be long or short; care must be taken to bring out the accent of the word. e.g. mártyr = márteer.
Double Vowels	As a general rule when two vowels come together each keeps its own sound and constitutes a separate syllable. e.g. diéi is di-é-i ; fílii is fíl-i-i ; eórum is e-ó-rum.
OU AI	The rule of each keeping its own sound applies to OU and AI. e.g. prout is pro-oot ; coutúntur = co-oo-toón-toor ; áit is ah-eet.
AE OE	However, AE and OE are pronounced as one sound, like E above. e.g. caelum
AU EU AY	The two vowels form one syllable but both vowels must be distinctly heard. The principle emphasis and interest belongs to the first which must be sounded purely. If on such a syllable several notes are sung, the vocalization is entirely on the first vowel, the second being heard only on the last note at the moment of passing to the following syllable.
EI	EI is similarly treated only when it occurs in the interjection: Hei = Hei , otherwise, Mei = mé-i, etc.
QU NGU	U preceded by Q or NG and followed by another vowel as in words like qui and sanguis, keeps its normal sound and is uttered as one syllable with the vowel which follows : qui, quae, quod, quam, sanguis. But notice that cui forms two syllables, and is pronounced as koo-ee. In certain hymns, on account of the metre, this word can be treated as one syllable.

Consonants

C	C coming before e, ae, oe, i, y is pronounced like ch in Church e.g. caelum = che-loom ; Cecília = che-cheé-lee-a
	CC before the same vowels is pronounced T-ch. e.g. ecce = et-che ; síccitas = seét-chee-tas.
	SC before the same vowels is pronounced like Sh in shed e.g. descendit = de-shén-deet
	Except for these cases C is always pronounced like the English K e.g. cáritas = káh-ree-tas
	CH is always like K (even before E or I) e.g. Cham = Kam, máchina = má-kee-na
G	G before e, ae, i, y, is soft as in generous e.g. mági , génitor , Regína
G	GN has the softened sound given to those letters in French and Italian. e.g. (French) agneau , signor , monsignor The nearest English equivalent would be N followed by y. e.g. Regnum = Reh-nyoom ; Magnificat = Mah-nyeé-fee-caht
H	H is pronounced K in the two words nihil (nee-keel) and mihi (mee-kee) and their compounds. In ancient books these words are often written nichil and michi. In all other cases H is mute.
J	J, often written as I (e.g. juris or iurus), is treated as Y, forming one sound with the vowel which follows it. e.g. jam, iam = yam ; alleluia = allelóoya ; major = ma-yor
R	When with another consonant, care must be taken not to omit this sound. It must be slightly rolled on the tongue (carnis). Care must be taken not to modify the quality of the vowel in the syllable preceding the R. e.g. Kyrie: Say Kée-ree-e not Kear-ee-e sapere: Say sáh-pe-re not sah-per-e diligere: Say dee-lée-ge-re not dee-lee-ger-e
S	S is hard as in the English word sea, but is slightly softened when coming between two vowels. e.g. misericórdia
T	T is like the English T, except as below.
	TI standing before a vowel and following any letter (except S, X, T) is pronounced tsee. e.g. patientia = pa-tsee-én-tsee-a gratia = grá-tsee-a constitutio = con-stee-tú-tsee-o laetitia = lae-tée-tsee-a
	TH is always simply T. e.g. Thomas, catholicam
X	X is pronounced ks, slightly softened when coming between vowels. e.g. exércitus
	XC before a, ae, oe, i, y = KSH. e.g. excélsis = ek-shél-sees
	Before other vowels XC has the ordinary hard sound of the letters composing it. e.g. excussorum = eks-koos-só-room
Y	A Latin vowel, pronounced like I.
Z	Z is pronounced dz. zizánia.
B, D, F, K, L, M, N, P, Q and V: Pronounced as in English
Double consonants must be clearly sounded. bello = bel-lo ; terra = ter-ra

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