2 or 3-part music for male voices
  • ryandryand
    Posts: 1,640
    I am starting a new ensemble at my parish. So far we have 5 guys, but I'm planning on mostly doing 2-3 parts because rarely will we have all 5 present (plus 5 parts won't really fit into the typical male vocal range).

    The other fellows are all middle-aged, and not operatic tenors or anything, just some decent "church voices" ... so nothing too high!

    I'm also anticipating that I'll have to do a lot of arranging for this group, so I will post any material that I write for this ensemble.
  • Have you ever seen Eugene Lindusky's collection, Tricinia Sacra, from the old World Library of Sacred Music? I have quite a library of TTB music.
  • WGS
    Posts: 297
    There is a string of entries on this subject at:
    Choral Matters - Liturgic Music for TTB or TTBB.
    Perhaps someone can post a link to it.
  • I've been nibbling at an Italian manuscript from 1755 which is available on Internet culturale (http://www.internetculturale.it/opencms/opencms/it/main/esplora/arti/musica/) It's entirely for 3 men's voices (without continuo), and consists of works by Francesco Feroci, his student Bonaventura Matucci, and the mysterious A.M.D. The works are free motets, hymns, introits and graduals (few offertories or communions, which are what I'm looking for), masses, etc. I have 2 of the Feroci settings up on cpdl. He was the chief organist at florence Cathedral 1719-1750 (succeeding his teacher G.M. Casini, succeeded by Matucci). The works are 2 parts in tenor clef and one in bass. The 2 tenor lines are generally the same range (up to f', so not so high), but the 2nd part definitely has a lower tessitura. They're attractive, well-made works in the Baroque prima prattica style. I'll be editing more of these as I find time. If you do a search for all music manuscripts, these pop up at the pages in the 350 range and again at the 490s, or do an author search.
  • ryandryand
    Posts: 1,640
    Paul_O,

    That's exactly what I was looking for.
    Anything like that in English? (I have no issue with Latin ... but we all know that the pastor gets the final say...)
  • There are collections of music for 3 equal voices out there, but they are often very difficult to find.
  • ryand --

    I have a copy of "Missa Emmanuel" -- Theodore Marier, scored for 2 equal voices (with occasional divisi). This Mass was published in 1945 by McLaughlin @ Reilly, and is long out of print. M&R closed in 1969. Let me know if you're interested in a copy.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    CPDL currently has the following 66 works classified as Sacred music for TTB voices:

    A solis ortus cardine a 3 (Gilles Binchois)
    Adoramus te (Oreste Ravanello)
    Adoramus te, Christe (Giovanni Battista Martini)
    Adoramus te, Christe a 3 (Orlando di Lasso)
    Amor potest - Ad amorem (Anonymous)
    An Wasserflüssen Babylon (Michael Praetorius)
    Angelus ad pastores ait (Claudio Monteverdi)
    Anima mea liquefacta est (Guillaume Dufay)
    Ave Maria (Claudio Monteverdi)
    Ave verum corpus (Christoph Dalitz)
    Ay, Santa Maria (Anonymous)
    Beata viscera - Corsican chant (Anonymous)
    Christus factus est a 3 (Giovanni Matteo Asola)
    Danket dem Herren (Andreas Rauch)
    Deutsche Messe (Johann Michael Haydn)
    Dextera Domini (Francesco Feroci)
    Dixi confitebor (Orlando di Lasso)
    Ecce sacerdos magnus (Francesco Feroci)
    Eripe me a 3 (Orlando di Lasso)
    Es ist das Heil (Michael Praetorius)
    Gabriel angelus (Mathias)
    Gloria (Guillaume Dufay)
    Gloria laus (Guilio Bas)
    Gustate et videte (Giovanni Matteo Asola)
    Gustate et videte (Giovanni Paolo Cima)
    Hodie apparuit in Israel (Orlando di Lasso)
    Hoquetus David (Guillaume de Machaut)
    How can I keep from singing? (Patrick O'Shea)
    Huic ut - Huic ut (Anonymous)
    Huron Carol - Jesous Ahatonhia (Traditional)
    Ich bin die Auferstehung, SWV 324 (Heinrich Schütz)
    Ihr unsre neuen Leiter, K 484 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
    Im Anfang war das Wort (Markus Pfandler)
    In monte Oliveti (Giovanni Battista Martini)
    In quacumque die (Orlando di Lasso)
    Introitus: Requiem aeternam (from 'Messa da Requiem') (Lorenzo Perosi)
    Little Lamb (George Whitefield Chadwick)
    Longe mi Jesu (Claudio Monteverdi)
    Magnificat (Alessandro Grandi)
    Magnificat Sexti Toni a 3 (Christoph Dalitz)
    Mass for Three Voices (Antonio Lotti)
    Messe brève (Charles Gounod)
    Messe brève en Sol (Théodore Dubois)
    Miserere - Corsican chant (Anonymous)
    Missa I in A Minor (Antonio Lotti)
    Missa in F&C (Karl Kempter)
    Missa pro defunctis (Giovanni Matteo Asola)
    Missa tribus vocibus (Christoph Dalitz)
    Nihil tibi (Francesco Soriano)
    O amantissime Iesu (Francesco della Porta)
    O felix anima (Giacomo Carissimi)
    O quam tu pulchra es a 3 (Alessandro Grandi)
    O sacramentum pietatis H 260 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)
    Panis angelicus (Lorenzo Donati)
    Plange quasi virgo (Oreste Ravanello)
    Pues que no puedo olvidarte (Ginés de Morata)
    Salve festa dies (Christoph Dalitz)
    Salve Regina a 3 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)
    Sophia Nasci Fertur - O Quam Pulchra Racio - Magi Videntes Stellam (Anonymous)
    Tantum ergo (Antonio Bergamo)
    Tantum ergo (Giuseppe Tartini)
    Tristis est anima mea (Giovanni Battista Martini)
    Veni Emanuel (anonymus) (Christoph Dalitz)
    Verbum caro (Orlando di Lasso)
    Volsvi, Persidstii tsarie (Znamenny chant)
    Voskresni Bozhe (Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov)
    Thanked by 2ryand irishtenor
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    And the following 26 Sacred music works for TBB voices:

    Annue Christe (Anonymous)
    Ave Maria (Andrea Maria Ottavini)
    Cantate Domino (Michel-Richard de Lalande)
    Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 (Gabriel Fauré)
    Conditor alme siderum (Guillaume Dufay)
    Congaudeant catholici (Anonymous)
    Ei mein Perle, du werte Kron (Michael Praetorius)
    Ezekiel saw the wheel (Traditional)
    Heaven is a wonderful place (Traditional)
    His foot on the Treetop (Michael Gray)
    Ihesu redemptor (Anonymous)
    In natali Domini (Anonymous)
    Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit (Sebastian Göring)
    Mater patris et filia (Antoine Brumel)
    Missa in A (Franz Köstner)
    Missa in F&C (Karl Kempter)
    Nobis est natus (Anonymous)
    Pascha nostrum (Kodex des Magister Nicolaus Leopold) (Anonymous)
    Relegentur ab area (Anonymous)
    Sanctus (Magister Andreas)
    Sanctus (Petrus de Domarto)
    Si iniquitates observaveris (Samuel Wesley)
    Somerset Carol (Traditional)
    Sweet hour of prayer (William Batchelder Bradbury)
    Thy mercy, Jehovah (Benedetto Marcello)
    Tota pulchra es (John Plummer)
    Thanked by 2ryand irishtenor
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    CMAA member Matt Williams just composed a new Mass setting for his three-part boys choir. Perhaps he would be willing to share it with you.
  • Wow, I would be interested in that new Mass setting for my vocal ensemble as well ! And ryand, I have a all male ensemble, 7 voices, we sing mass every sunday. We exist 10 years this year, so I have a whole load of music for male voices !
    Dirk Maes
    Voces Capituli
  • ryandryand
    Posts: 1,640
    Do you have any digital copies that can be (legally) shared?
  • These scores are all arranged in treble clef, but you could transpose them if you particularly liked any.

    http://sacredmusicfortreblevoices.wordpress.com/
  • It would be difficult (perhaps, even, presumptuous,) to better CHG's lists, so I shant even try. One should, though, be aware of the superb set of twelve Cantiones Duarum Vocum, by Orlando Lassus, which contains rather short (two-page) motets for two equal voices. The texts vary from prophecy, proverbs, psalms, plus, some of them extol the virtuous life and one (Sicut rosa) is an exquisite Marian motet. My edition is Mercury, which I got decades ago. Someone should still have them in print. They are priceless as smaller repertory for weddings and such, or for 'fillers' in a liturgy with multiple repertorial needs. Several are even appropriate for funerary or requiem needs, the spiritual life, and stewardship.

    Being for two equal voices, they should be sung by 2 trebles, or 2 altos, tenors, or basses. They may be sung at a pitch convenient for the performers.

    There is, of course, numerous other literature for 2 or 3 vv. by composers such as Carissimi, Monteverdi, and others. Schutz has a superb collection of solo and continuo Geistliche Konzerte with may be had from Peters and others. These are psalm-based and are valuable as anthems to grace that special spot for which nothing else could do.

    Oh! And don't be ashamed to do rounds and canons once in a while. Some of them are quite challenging, and are sophisticated enough that they could very well be fit at some point to grace the liturgy. There is a list of hymns that work in canon in the back of The Hymnal 1982 - and there are others.

    If you are not afraid of highly distilled artistry and craftsmanship, there is very much in the late mediaeval or early renaissance era which requires but two or three voices: Dunstaple, des Pres, Binchois, et al. Too, Oxford has several anthologies of SSA or TTB, or other combinations of three and two voices

    If you have any compositional or harmonising skill you could arrange some hymns that you like as 3 voiced anthems.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    The twelve Cantiones Duarum Vocum by Lassus cited by MJO are available at CPDL:
          Twelve Sacred Duets (Orlando di Lasso)

    They are also available at IMSLP (scan of the 1604 Nicolai Henrici edition):
          Cantiones Duum Vocum (Lassus, Orlande de)

    These also appear in a collection of Bicinia transcibed from the Musica Alamire facsimile of the 1609 edition of the anthology printed by Petrus Phalesius.

    The Sicut Rosa from this collection that Jackson mentions is a personal favorite of mine.
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • Hugh
    Posts: 198
    FWIW I've just prepared "Peccantum Me" by Crecquillon for our choir for this Sunday (pdf attached). It's SAB, but can be worked around.
    Peccantum Me mp3 here
  • Dear Ryand, yes of course ! Just send me a list of the type of music you are looking for !
    dirkmaespsy@hotmail.com
  • jj_catholicjj_catholic
    Posts: 10
    hi Ryand,
    do you still need a new mass setting in english?
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,295
    Do you have one, jj_catholic? I'd love to see it--and hear it!

    [Please be aware that you are adding to a discussion that has been idle from May 2013 to June 2014. --admin]