With permission, I have dedicated this brief setting of Pie Jesu to Alexander Giffen, son of @CHGiffen, after rereading the thread Sad news, grief, and a hymn.
Free PDF and playback are available at the following link:
While it could be sung as a motet, the piece also aligns with the chant Dies Irae if that sequence starts on G (Fa = G). In that case, the Soprano's starting note would match where "Pie Jesu" falls in the chant and could potentially replace the final line.
Hi @achoyce91. Thank you for your feedback. From Finale, I selected instruments from Garritan Personal Orchestra that are supposed to approximate human voices on a vowel sound:
I too wish it were longer! The suggestion of singing it at the sequence sounds marvelous. To my ear the possibility exists to break the piece in the middle and repeat either just the last section or both the 1st and second half. I think that would add to the utility of the piece.
I think my choir would have a very difficult time holding the tuning in mm4-5, particularly the basses holding "Ti" for so long and with the tritone between the outer voices at m.5.
As for length, I confess that I appreciate its shortness, because it could reasonably sung in the ordinary form by a modest group. It's rare that I have a choir for our funerals, although we did have one instance just recently, and things like this would be perfect for in such circumstances.
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