The Vocalstration of my choral works, especially the Te Deum - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The ‘Vocalstration’ of my choral works, especially the Te Deum(2010-11)

A Little on the Te Deum

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The Te Deum is part of the office on Morning Prayer in the Anglican Church, derived post- reformation from the earlier Catholic service on Matins.

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Various canticles (songs) and other liturgical texts are used, but the most prominent are the Te Deum and Jubilate.

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The Morning Service was once one of the most important choral services in the Anglican Church, but (for various reasons) it is now only celebrated in full-choral services in a handful of cathedrals and churches.

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Both the Te Deum and the Jubilate have lives outside the Morning Service – the jubilant text of the Jubilate (Psalm 100) means it works as a church anthem or sacred setting – the Te Deum with it’s long hymn of praise is often reserved for ceremonial and important services and state occasions (such as William Walton’s Coronation Te Deum).

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My setting of the Morning Service was commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral, London for their female voice choir, Aurora Nova.

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The first performance of the Te Deum was given on the 02 January 2011 at St Paul’s Cathedral, the first performance of the Jubilate was given on the 22 April 2012 in the same venue.

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I arranged the two pieces for SATB choir in 2011 and they were recorded by the Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge on the 13 January 2013.

Te Deum

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The Te Deum (also known as the Ambrosian Hymn) is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered as ‘We praise thee, O God’.

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The hymn remains in regular use in the Catholic Church in the Office of Readings found in the Liturgy of the Hours, and in thanksgiving to God for a special blessing such as the election of a pope, the consecration of a bishop, the canonization of a saint, a religious profession, the publication of a treaty of peace, a royal coronation, etc. It is sung either after Mass or the Divine Office or as a separate religious ceremony. The hymn also remains in use in the Anglican Communion and some Lutheran Churches in similar settings.

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Authorship is traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine, on the occasion of the latter's baptism by the former in AD 387.

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The petitions at the end of the hymn (beginning Salvum fac populum tuum) are a selection of verses from the book of Psalms, appended subsequently to the original hymn.

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The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles' Creed, mixing a poetic vision of the heavenly liturgy with its declaration of faith. Calling on the name of God immediately, the hymn proceeds to name all those who praise and venerate God, from the hierarchy of heavenly creatures to those Christian faithful already in heaven to the Church spread throughout the world. The hymn then returns to its credal formula, naming Christ and recalling his birth, suffering and death, his resurrection and

• glorification. At this point the hymn turns to the subjects declaiming the praise, both the universal

Church and the singer in particular, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and the hoped-for reunification with the elect.

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It’s long. Unwieldy. And dull.

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It’s a composer’s worst nightmare.

Te Deum - Text

We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim : continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :

• f thy glory.

The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee; The Father : of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true : and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter. Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death : thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants : whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting. O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine heritage. Govern them : and lift them up for ever. Day by day : we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name : ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded. Book of Common Prayer

On writing a Te Deum...

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A hugely difficult text to set, to try and convey all that information in a way that is easily understandable, audible and interesting to both worshipper and listener.

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The commission had some added intricacies – it had to be performable on one 30 minute rehearsal (admittedly, the choir were of the highest standard – many sung regularly with The Sixteen, BBC Singers etc).

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What to do first? Where to go?

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I know...I’ll write a blog...canvas opinion:

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http://www.phillipcooke.com/on-writing-a-te-deum/

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Settings of the Te Deum seem to fit into two camps – the liturgical settings (Purcell, Handel, Howells, Britten etc); and the concert settings (Verdi, Bruckner, Rutter, Pärt, Penderecki etc).

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Britten, Festival Te Deum (1944):

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyIRqroOZR0

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Penderecki, Te Deum (1980):

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sCAQH3kQLY

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Walton, Coronation Te Deum (1953):

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lfKdAHgGw

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Worry about the old adage – ‘More tedium than Te Deum’...

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How to write the best piece utilising such little rehearsal time?

Formal Scheme of Te Deum

We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim : continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :

• f thy glory.

The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee; The Father : of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true : and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter. Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death : thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants : whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting. O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine heritage. Govern them : and lift them up for ever. Day by day : we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name : ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded.

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Repetition!!!

A B C D E F

Harmonic Design

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The main underpinning harmonic material is based on this scale, basically a Lydian mode with an added flattened seventh – much favoured by the composer Herbert Howells (1892 – 1983).

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I also used this scale in The Hazel Wood (2012) and some satellite works.

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Te Deum, bars 1-5, soprano

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It occurs throughout, much like a tonic key in a traditional tonal work.

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Te Deum, bars 111 – 116, Tenor solo

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Te Deum, bars 140 – 143, full choir and organ

Closely related ‘key’ areas

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Rather than move to direct transpositions of the scale or mode, closely related ‘key’ areas are derived from the initial scale:

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G minor (#6):

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Te Deum, bars 16 – 19, full choir

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B minor:

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Te Deum, bars 33 – 35, full choir

A ‘key’ change

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The very middle of the work (section F) moves to a modal C# Minor.

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This is for necessary harmonic contrast, but is also the most reflective moment of the piece, both in terms of the text (‘When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death’), and the musical material.

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Although awash with added notes, it is a simple harmonic progression of i – iv – v – VII.

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VII then moves by semi-tone to C major for the next section.

Harmonic ‘shifts’

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A harmonic device that I use in many pieces is the idea of harmonic ‘shifts’, i.e. using a particular note as a pivot to move to a different key area that shares that particular note. This is somewhat related to the idea of a pivot chord in a traditional tonal modulation (i.e. a chord that is common in both the home key and the key to modulate to) and is a way of moving tonality without adhering to the traditional tonic/dominant hierarchy.

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Te Deum, bars 45-48, full choir and organ

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The Hazel Wood, bars 91-94, brass and organ

A Closer Look...Vocalstrationally...

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Section A (bars 1-19)

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We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim : continually do cry,

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More than in any other work of mine, unison (and octaves) are present throughout. This is partly due to the lack of rehearsal time, the length of the text, but also to the strident, bold nature of the praising text (having looked through my entire choral oeuvre, there is only one other moment where I write for unison voices - a four bar phrase in the partsong I Stood on a Tower, 2008).

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Unison sections return throughout, and the final dramatic material is for unison voices.

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Also, the opening unison section is ‘shadowed’ by the organ at an entirely different register, leading to cluster chords formed from the vocal pitches. I use this technique (for want of a better word) in many pieces – it is a more unusual accompaniment sound, enhances the vocal line and creates a distinctive textural effect.

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Te Deum, bars 1 – 5, full choir and organ

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Following a short cluster on the words ‘the Father everlasting’ a new idea is introduced with some imitative, stretto, entries.

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Te Deum, bars 11 – 15, SA only

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The vast majority of my work is homophonic (as is much contemporary choral music) but I do really enjoy listening to polyphonic choral music (especially high Renaissance polyphonic music) and I do actually quite like the challenge of writing polyphonic music.

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I have written few, purely polyphonic pieces (the motet O Salutaris Hostia, 2008, is an exception) but

• ften sections of my works will break into polyphonic sections for contrast, or to enhance a certain

section of text.

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The opening of The Hazel Wood (2012) with the line ‘I went out to the hazel wood’ I set in a highly imitative, contrapuntal fashion to add to the idea of being lost (both figuratively and literally):

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The Hazel Wood, bars 17 – 19, full choir

Section B (bars 20 – 35)

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Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :

• f thy glory.

The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.

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There is a little harmonic ‘blurring’ taking place on the word ‘holy’ – leading to a little antiphony between the divided sopranos and altos – this gives the effect of a delayed resolution to the A major chord.

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There is also a long tenor solo, initially below the tessiatura of the female voices, but increasingly moving into the same register. I use solo voices in virtually all my choral works, sometimes in duos or quartets, but mainly as solos. I particularly like the effect of a hushed choir accompanying a solo voice.

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As with the beginning, the solo is shadowed by the organ – now two octaves higher.

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For the first time, the music moves to a solid key – this time cadencing in B minor (bar 35).

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Te Deum, bars 20-28, full choir and organ

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A similar effect is in the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ of the Evening Service (2009)

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Evening Service (2009), Nunc Dimittis, bars 12-18, full choir, bass solo and organ

Section C (bars 36 – 40)

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The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee;

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A brief transition section, introducing initial chromatic material (‘The holy church’) before a short three bar phrase which initially looks to cadence in B minor, but avoids this and moves to a form of A minor for the next section:

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Te Deum, bars 37-40, full choir and organ

Section D (bars 41 – 54)

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The Father : of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true : and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.

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The voices are in unison (or octaves) for this whole section. This again relates to the amount of text to convey and to the amount of rehearsal time, but also to this more strident material which would not necessarily require a more filigree vocal texture.

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Again the vocal line is shadowed by the organ, this time in the pedals.

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The organ has a repeated semi-quaver rhythm which propels this section – it is really just an elaboration of a held chord, but it gives the section added impetus.

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As mentioned earlier – common notes provide harmonic shifts.

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Te Deum, bars 45-48, full choir and organ

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The A minor is returned to and acts as a form or relative minor to a C major for the next section.

Section E (bars 55 – 66)

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Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.

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For this most majestic and triumphant section I used full choir homophony, oscillating between tonic (C major) and relative minor – this small chord progression (hardly Schoenberg) is used throughout my work, often accompanied by multiple appogiaturas.

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The end of each line introduces an unrelated minor chord (firstly F# minor, then C# minor) – this provides a necessary new harmonic area, as well as being hugely dramatic (perhaps overly dramatic..).

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The C# minor is then continued into a new key area, with associated key change for the reflective middle section of the work.

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Te Deum, bars 64 – 68, full choir and organ

Section F (bars 67 – 77)

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When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death : thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.

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Again, solo voices come to the fore – this time two pairs of female soloists (soprano then alto). There is much use of diatonic dissonance in this section (as there is in much of my music) – it is also one of the few times where individual parts move from one dissonance to another, I very rarely do this.

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Te Deum, bars 69 – 72, soloists and organ

Section F (bars 67 – 77) (cont.)

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As the music crescendos, so the texture thickens, both with the addtion of voices and with non- harmony notes leading to a cluster at the apex of the line ‘thou didst open the kingdom of Heaven to all believers’.

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The ‘enhanced’ B major chord that finishes this section then moves by semitone to the C major chord

• f the next.

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Te Deum, bars 73 – 78, full choir and organ

Section E1 (bars 78 – 89)

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Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.

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This section is a reprise of the first E section with oscillating C major / A minor chords and unrealted minor triads at the end of phrases.

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The final line (‘to be our judge’) finishes on an E minor triad (with additions), this being within the given key.

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Te Deum, bars 86 – 90, full choir and organ

Section C1 (bars 90 – 94)

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We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :

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A return to the material of C, but now for male voices only.

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Helps to reinforce the E minor tonality.

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Te Deum, bars 92 – 94, male voices and organ

Section D1 (bars 95 – 112)

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whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.

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A return to the unison voices of the C section, though now in a notional E minor rather than A minor.

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On the line ‘in glory everlasting’ the crescendo is accompanied by the choir splitting into 3, 4 then 6 part harmony before coalescing for the final chord. The organ then erupts to the first great crescendo

• f the work:

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Te Deum, bars 108 – 110, full choir and organ

Section B1 (bars 113 – 131)

O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine heritage. Govern them : and lift them up for ever. Day by day : we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name : ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.

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This is an almost direct repetition of the first part of section B (with different words...), though now the tenor solo (with organ shadow) reaches it’s highest notes on the words ‘lift them up forever’:

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Te Deum, bars 117 – 121, tenor solo

Section B1 (bars 113 – 131) (cont.)

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Bars 125 – 131 are a variation of the musical texture in bars 27 – 35 – where initially we had tenor solo with accompanying choir and organ, now we have choral homophony with a solo organ recollecting the tenor solo from earlier:

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Te Deum, bars 127 – 130, full choir and organ

Section A1 (bars 132 – 153)

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O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded.

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I have labelled this section A1, though it is not a repetition of the material or the motives of the first section, rather a full return to the harmony and tonality that are stated.

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For the first time since the opening, the ‘Howells’ scale is stated unadulterated (well, not strictly true, there is a F# in bar 138...), both in the unison voices and dramatic organ accompaniment.

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The repeated organ figure is hugely dramatic and powerful and is one of the most gestural figures in the whole piece.

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Te Deum, bars 132 – 135, full choir and organ

Section A1 (bars 132 – 153) (cont.)

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The organ crescendos to its loudest for a hugely dramatic and declamatory moment.

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Out of this comes a hummed chord (outlining the overall harmony), this is then punctuated by a softly intoned soprano solo with the words ‘O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.’

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As the choir and soloist fade a low F/G dyad in the organ pedals add a note of doubt which is, perhaps, only finally resolved in the finale of the Jubilate.

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Te Deum, bars 144 – 147, choir and soprano solo

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A similar idea is expressed in The Hazel Wood:

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The Hazel Wood, bars 162 – 169, full choir and organ pedals

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Jubilate, bars 72 – 77, full choir and organ

Some particular vocalstrations...

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A few other vocalstration ideas that are prevalent in my music (mannerisms?):

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My earliest exposure to choral music was through amateur (very amateur) choirs in Cumbria – these would often consist of many basses and altos, and few sopranos and tenors – I think this has coloured my music ever since.

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I often divide the altos and basses, but rarely the others.

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I think this has also affected my ideas of range – I rarely ‘push’ voices outside of their usual range – it is only now (with exposure to composers such as Paul Mealor and Ed Jones, and other singers) that I am beginning to explore the lowers ranges of the bass and alto. I still don’t like high sopranos...

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Parts rarely cross, and there is a designated strata of voices throughout.

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I always try to keep the texture to as few voices as possible – every piece is designed as a 4 part texture – this is the norm, and thicker textures grow from this. This doesn’t always happen.