Simple motets on the Eucharist
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    There's just one more Sunday before the "Eucharist" section--the four Sundays in Cycle B when the Gospel is taken from the Bread of Life discourse in John.

    My choir has been learning small, simple polyphonic pieces lately, e.g. If Ye Love Me and some smaller pieces of Victoria's. They are building confidence and I'd like to ask them to learn a couple of SATB pieces on the Eucharist that are not too hard, but beautiful. Suggestions?
  • G
    Posts: 1,401
    Remondi "O Sacrum Convivum," Issak "O Esca Viatorum", & Lambilotte "Panis Angelicus."

    And there's a very simple "Ecce Panis Angelorum" anonymous 17th (IIRC,) c. in a number of books the titles of which escape me at the moment (although one of them is a Carlo Rossini collection.)

    Save the Liturgy, Save the World
  • O Sacrum Convivium by Edward D'Evry.

    Choir is learning it Wednesday to sing at a wedding this Saturday.

    Score, piano audio and practice parts here.

    www.sjnmusic.com/OSACRUM.html
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,049
    Of course there's the "Ave Verum Corpus" of Josquin des Pres (SAT). I have sung it in "E-flat" - down a full tone. The first part makes a lovely motet by itself though it's worth learning the whole thing.

    http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/f/fa/Despres_ave_verum_full.pdf

    Sam Schmitt
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    I should have been more specific. Am especially interested in renaissance-era motets!
  • I prefer them too and thought that's what you were looking for, but found this one interesting...higher quality than much of that era.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    Thanks, everyone, this is a great help!
  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 236
    What about Tallis's "Verily, Verily"?

    I think it's fabulous.

    http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/tal-veri.pdf
  • Verily, Verily is a great piece, but actually rather difficult for amateur choirs because of the complex tuning (to 21st-century ears) of the accidentals/ficta.
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  • orourkebr
    Posts: 57
    Here's a beautiful one I stumbled upon.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzFhZ7VDxUg
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  • JamJam
    Posts: 636
    A very easy SATB piece I sang in an EF choir once was "Ave Verum Corpus" by Giacomo Carissimi (1604-1674). It's more of a hymn because all the words are in unison, but it's something that can be learned very fast, and it's pretty, too.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,983
    Jam, I am looking that one up. Thanks.
  • Hugh
    Posts: 198
    Kathy, too late I know, sorry, but here's a short, moving Ave Verum by Fransisco de Penalosa (1470 - 1528).
    I've altered the barring for performance purposes. Also it's only just over a minute at the measure I take it, so I like to lengthen it a bit by repeating from "O Clemens" ( a la Byrd) making the repeat more tender.
    pdf attached below
    For scorch, midi & mp3 versions see my website, top line. www.fidelitybooks.com.au/Hugh/

    Cheers,
    Hugh
  • Hugh
    Posts: 198
    Here's the pdf attachment
    AveVerum Penalosa.pdf
    33K
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    I'm glad this thread is up again . I've been trying to find music "O Sacrum Convivium" by Richard Farrant.

    Orourkebr Posted this earlier
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzFhZ7VDxUg

    Cannot find it anywhere, including cpdl.

    Does anyone know where I can find this beautiful music?
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,510
    Hugh, this is stunning! Thanks a lot! (And it's not too late at all.)
  • Hugh
    Posts: 198
    Mia, no direct help, but I've heard that sung as "Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy's Sake", again, by Farrant. That music is on CPDL.

    HH
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    THanks, Hugh. I saw that title under Farrant, but didn't know it was the same music. But I don't know why I can't find the score in latin.
  • There are actually three texts set to the Farrant...only discovered that last week. Has something to do with the Anglicans doing their own little inquisition at the time. Was not uncommon for composers to do this, if only to save their lives.
  • Hugh
    Posts: 198
    Thanks, Kathy.
    Mia, I've had a listen to the youtube Farrant version of O Sacrum, and FWIW here's a draft version I've done of it, adapted from the online versions of the English. Not sure of the tenor in some parts (round recolitur memoria) but it sounds OK. Corrections welcome.

    Hugh
    O Sacrum Convivium Farrant.pdf
    34K
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  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Oh, thank you sooo much, Hugh. I really appreciated it. I just printed it out and singing along each part. It's beautiful. (I know my schola will love this.)
    It's still a mystery to me that his English score is available but not the latin one.
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    I thought it had been proved that Richard Farrant is not actually the composer of 'Lord,for Thy tender mercy's sake'. Or am I wrong about that? If you have an old copy of the Oxford Easy Anthem book, there are several nice easy motets in there.

    Donna
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  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,983
    The Oxford is great. I have used it many times.
  • Farrant wrote 'Lord, for thy tender mercy's sake'.
    The work 'O sacrum convivium' is an arrangement of this work--a nice one, I should add.
    Farrant wrote no works with Latin texts.
  • orourkebr
    Posts: 57
    Much appreciated Hugh!
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    Lord, fttms is often attributed to Farrant, but there is no record of it among Farrant's few works to survive,and it is now believed to have been written by John Hilton

    I knew I was remembering that correctly.

    Donna
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,983
    John Hilton? Is this like the ongoing organist debate on the Purcell/Clarke voluntary? I will have to research Hilton. Did he write anything else familiar?
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    CharlesW LOLOL. And apparently there were two J Hiltons, father and son. The one to which 'LFTTMS' is believed to belong was more well-known for writing catches, one of which was entitled "Catch as catch can" His dates are 1599-1657. And also there was another composer in the 18th c whose surname was Farrants. So who knows? The musicologists are agreed that Richard F did not write the anthem under discussion. In fact, I think I remember seeing this info at the bottom of some edition of the anthem. It's a shame I can't remember where I left my car keys as well as I remember perfectly useless facts such as these.

    Donna
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    It's like the old joke about the Odyssey being written not by Homer, but by another Greek author by the same name...
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    And who cares who wrote it anyway? It's the first piece of music I ever taught my very first choir! What fond memories! St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Blytheville, Arkansas. What, you say? You never heard of Blytheville, Arkansas?

    Donna
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Well, this is all very interesting to me. Thanks for all the info.
  • NihilNominisNihilNominis
    Posts: 1,023
    I was just reading this thread -- a decade old.

    Had to step in and say, Donna, if you're still out there: I was BORN in Blytheville, Arkansas! :-D
  • Panis Angelicus by Casciolini is a nice easy one. My tiny and relatively inexperienced choir learned it in short order, and it's quite pretty.