Regnum Ejus Regnum sempiternum est
  • For the feast of Christ the King (Oct 31 this year, last Sunday of October in the EF, and last Sunday of the Year in the OF) It's the second antiphon at second Vespers, and part of me thinks it should be two equal voices, but ....

    comments welcome.
    Regnum ejus -- for 2 voices for Christ the King.pdf
    113K
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,199
    Range of a minor 9th for the tenor and a minor 16th for the bass (baritone?). Not a problem for me (bass-baritone), but...

    Otherwise, quite nice.
    Thanked by 1MichaelDickson
  • Charles,

    Can you see anywhere in which the part writing could solve the large range in the bass?
  • Thank you for sharing this composition. For the exact right two voices, it seems like it would work.

    I'm also bass-baritone, admittedly leaning bass, but the E and F will definitely have me singing with a slightly different tonality, though not undoable.

    It isn't obvious to me why the E-d-c-b in measure 7 (bass part) can't be an octave lower (though admittedly then there is a slightly awkward jump up of a 7th -- doesn't bother me).

    Similarly, it isn't obvious (to me, a non-composer) why the passage in measures 17-20 (perhaps until [edit: but not including] the G#) cannot be an octave lower.
  • First half of first beat measure 7 --- should the bass part just rest?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,199
    Bass m.7-8: E-d-c-b-A-G down an octave (leaving a min 7th leap from G to F).
    Bass m.17-21, down an octave through first three notes of m.21: a-c-b.

    These result in a bass part with a range of a major 11th (low G to middle C).
  • Next question: is that 16th an impossible interval for most basses?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,199
    It's the high F (and perhaps the E) that are a bit high for most basses. Pitched down a whole step might make it more accessible (low G to high E-flat).
  • That's a good thought. Thank you for the input.
  • After the wise thoughts of Charles Giffen and the practical comments of my own son Charles and Michael Dickson I've retooled this piece, in the bass part, to accommodate a larger group of basses.
    regnum ejus.pdf
    470K
    Thanked by 2tomjaw CHGiffen