Interested in posting new music you've composed?
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    It's common to search today for places to introduce your new music.

    To gain acceptance of your postings here, it would be prudent to follow the postings of others, get a true feeling about what kind of music might be welcomed here before posting your compositional efforts.. The group can be very helpful to composers but also extremely critical - why? Well, it may have a lot to do with the fact that most of the music people like here was written by dead people - many of them long-dead. It's not a requirement - to write music and die before posting - so don't even consider going to such bizarre lengths to get your music accepted here or any other place.

    Now, writing and then disappearing from the face of the earth or at least the internet might be a way to get some attention...hadn't thought of that until now.

    But this group is about spending life surrounded by glorious, proven music. A little of it new, but most of it old - very old.

    Not exactly an easy audience, eh? Think of us like art lovers. For we are.

    If you've written the next Miserere by Allegri - well, that'd be worth hearing. Some might think that we have impossibly high standards. We do not. But posting music drastically different from the accepted style of Sacred Music for the Liturgy will not do much for you.... Let's see what others in the group might suggest to you....
    Thanked by 1Casavant Organist
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    As a composer here on this forum (and I do not post ANYWHERE else except on my own website), I am always interested to see/hear new sacred music.
  • ZacPB189ZacPB189
    Posts: 70
    Well, it's not "new", but I've been wanting to get a few opinions. I'm an undergrad studying music, and one of the classes I had to take was an orchestration and arranging class. It was mostly instrumental, which is where I'm focused as a trumpet player, but we had to do three vocal arrangements (a 2-,3-, and 4-part arrangement of Adeste Fidelis), but the professor was okay with me sticking them all in one arrangement, which I did here. The first two verses are standard, and the third is one I found on the Wikipedia article. Anyway, this is the first vocal thing I've ever done (I've only composed instrumental music otherwise), so it's probably not the greatest, but I'm mostly pleased with it. I don't have a recording to offer because 1: I'm not a singer and 2: my Latin pronunciation is horrid. Basically, I'd love feedback from real Sacred-Music-minded vocalists before I try to compose something that could be used Liturgically.
    AdesteFidelisScore.pdf
    63K
    Thanked by 2noel jones, aago Heath
  • hilluminar
    Posts: 119
    I once was enamored with the music of the 16th century Spanish composer Father Tomas de Santa Maria. Here is one of his fugues for two voices to which I put biblical references to Holy Wisdom. I have put words to several of his fugues. This one is for the 32nd week in Ordinary Time, on Thursday of Year 1.
    Holy Wisdom.pdf
    858K
    Thanked by 2noel jones, aago ZacPB189
  • Heath
    Posts: 933
    Tons of stuff on this old thread . . .

    http://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/3734/cmaa-compositionsarrangements/p1
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    Well, it's not "new", but I've been wanting to get a few opinions. I'm an undergrad studying music, and one of the classes I had to take was an orchestration and arranging class. It was mostly instrumental, which is where I'm focused as a trumpet player, but we had to do three vocal arrangements (a 2-,3-, and 4-part arrangement of Adeste Fidelis), but the professor was okay with me sticking them all in one arrangement, which I did here. The first two verses are standard, and the third is one I found on the Wikipedia article. Anyway, this is the first vocal thing I've ever done (I've only composed instrumental music otherwise), so it's probably not the greatest, but I'm mostly pleased with it. I don't have a recording to offer because 1: I'm not a singer and 2: my Latin pronunciation is horrid. Basically, I'd love feedback from real Sacred-Music-minded vocalists before I try to compose something that could be used Liturgically.


    ZacPB189, this is charming! There are a couple spots that could use some touch-ups, but I think you've done lots of good work here.

    First, the open 5ths seem a little out of place by the time you get to the third verse - especially since the final chord has a third! If you're imitating (or at least hinting at) Renaissance treatment, it seems a little backwards to have the open sonorities internally in this verse and a full major chord at the end. (For this work, I would advocate avoiding open sonorities in the third verse completely.)

    Also, the chord on the downbeat of m. 29 struck me as a little out of style at first, but I see what you're trying to do.

    I also think you might want to work on finding a way to elide the juncture in mm. 34-36... too much dead time for the middle of a verse, when you elided the previous junctures so well (particularly the first verse into the second). Maybe in mm. 34-36, you could keep the S and/or T going with some melodic "filler" material - like the alto part in Palestrina's Sicut cervus as the B & T in that score begin the "Ita desiderat" - just a thought... there may be other better solutions.

    Anyway, just some initial feedback from my first read. If you continue to work on it, please let me see where it ends up!
    Thanked by 1ZacPB189
  • mrcoppermrcopper
    Posts: 653
    ZacPB, I liked your arrangement too for the most part. Some times, as at the very first note, I found the 'blockishness' of starting or restarting on a downbeat to be a bad choice.
    Thanked by 1ZacPB189
  • OlbashOlbash
    Posts: 314
    I thought you might be interested in a few recordings I just uploaded onto YouTube. My youth choir recorded some movements from my Mass in Honor of the BVM Star of the Sea, which we read through at the 2010 (I think?) colloquium. JMO just offered to post the scores on CC Watershed, so they will be available within a couple of weeks:

    Gloria:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYQ1fYikfZM

    Sanctus (with Preface):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWMF_Pj4cJ8

    And, while I'm sharing recordings, my choir also sang the Kyrie from Messe basse, with my 9 year old son Nicholas singing the solo:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY4vqTx2tzM
    Thanked by 2ZacPB189 CHGiffen
  • SkirpRSkirpR
    Posts: 854
    Some times, as at the very first note, I found the 'blockishness' of starting or restarting on a downbeat to be a bad choice.


    I think - particularly at the beginning- he was going for Renaissance style. They didn't really have barlines, so...
    Thanked by 1ZacPB189
  • ZacPB189ZacPB189
    Posts: 70
    Some times, as at the very first note, I found the 'blockishness' of starting or restarting on a downbeat to be a bad choice.

    I think - particularly at the beginning- he was going for Renaissance style. They didn't really have barlines, so...


    Yes, I was aiming for something Renaissance sounding, because I love the style, but have never written with it before (I'm usually better with late-romantic sounding textures), which is probably why all of the open and closed harmonies are probably out of place, and also why it sounds a bit blockish. Anyway, thanks very much for the input! I'll certainly look at it again, and see what I can do.
  • mrcoppermrcopper
    Posts: 653
    Olbash, good work. Your accompaniment reminds me of what I did once upon a time, and am now sorrowful about. No need to accompany, note for note, a vocal line that can be sung easily.

    Otherwise, nice work
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Most of my "composing" has been for responsorial psalms. I like to use the Dom Murray Psalm Tones, and I compose my own psalm responses. One day I'll gather them up into a collection.
    Thanked by 1Casavant Organist
  • Andrew Motyka
    Posts: 944
    ZacPB,

    I like what I'm seeing there. If I can nitpick, I'll point out that its "Adeste Fideles," not "Adeste Fidelis."

    Great arrangement!
    Thanked by 1ZacPB189
  • ZacPB189ZacPB189
    Posts: 70
    I like what I'm seeing there. If I can nitpick, I'll point out that its "Adeste Fideles," not "Adeste Fidelis."


    Spelling never was one of my stronger points, and I always seem to miss-spell that. Thankfully, that's an easy fix.
  • mrcoppermrcopper
    Posts: 653
    Here is a Lullaby, women's or children's chorus and piano.

    score

    and electronic recording

    0358_lullaby_ssa.pdf
    1M
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