This is one of those things that make me ambivalent about English choirs, and especially the would-be English choirs one hears on the Prairie Home Companion. Hymn tunes have their own phrasing and need to breathe; the farthest I've been willing to go to accommodate meaning is rehearsing "O God, our help" (ST ANNE) so we don't get 'as forgotten as a dream'The idea is to sing the text just as if one were reading a poem... observing every punctuation and eliding lines when there isn't punctuation, just as one would in reading poetry
They fly forgotten || as a dream_
dies at the op'ning day.
Then there are the aging singers who have to breathe at every fourth word. I don't have a solution for that. Although it does surprise me that otherwise healthy people are willing to let their lung capacity diminish and do nothing about it.
Come, Holy Ghost,| Creator blest,| and in our hearts take up thy rest...
Come, Holy Gho----st, [gasp!] Crreeatorrrr Ble----st, [gasp] ... &c.
Before one worries too much about commas, perhaps one should first learn to use apostrophes correctly.
Corrected!Before one worries too much about commas, perhaps one should first learn to use apostrophes correctly.
Actually, it's from the Gather Hymnal and the harmony is by Richard Proulx and the harmony is yucky-poo (IMHO)(I presume the tune is LAMBILLOTTE?) at a pace of roughly 'quarter = 20', necessitating a breath after ev'ry four notes:
Come with the strength I lack,
bring vision clear Of human need;
oh, give me eyes to see Fulfillment of my life in love outpoured:
My life in you, O Christ;
your love in me.
Come with the vision and the strength I need
To serve my God,[no breath] and all humanity;
That's very well put ;-) The best suggestion we can make is that you begin trying to observe where conductors (especially your own!) indicate a breath, or breathe themselves, and make a study of your favorite art song singers.Is there a consensuses
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