For All the Saints (concertato arrangement?)
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    Friends, any suggestions for a well-crafted concertato arrangement of For All The Saints that you've used and loved? Anyone sitting on one that they've arranged themselves? Thanks!
  • francis
    Posts: 10,778
    The style developed in Venice in the late 16th century, mainly through the work of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, who were working in the unique acoustical space of St. Mark's Basilica. Different choirs or instrumental groupings occupied positions across the basilica from each other: because of the sound delay from one side to the other in the large and acoustically "live" space, a perfect unison was difficult, and composers found that a fantastically effective music could be composed with the choirs singing across to each other, in stereo as it were; all accompanied by organ or other groups of instruments placed in such a way that they could hear each group equally well. Music written there was quickly performed elsewhere, and compositions in the new "concertato" style quickly became popular elsewhere in Europe (first in northern Italy, then in Germany and the rest of Italy, and then gradually in other parts of the continent). Another term sometimes used for this antiphonal use of the choirs in St. Mark's was cori spezzati. See also Venetian polychoral style and Venetian School.
    Are you looking for something that has choirs from different balconies with the organ as the supporting instrument?
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    Wikipedia:

    The Hymn concertato is a genre of hymn arrangement for choir in which varied treatments of stanzas are written out, all based on the familiar tune, and almost always ending with a verse for the congregation to join on. Organ with brass instruments and/or tympani are the usual accompaniment.

    This is the more prominent definition in today's church circles.
  • I guess this is what happens when you enter the realm of early music nerds.

    My guess is OUP would have something worth looking at, since RWV was writing for the Church of England. Here’s what I could find https://global.oup.com/academic/product/for-all-the-saints-9780193802018?lang=en&cc=no
  • davido
    Posts: 922
    Did you look at the orchestral arrangement on IMSLP?
  • Splenda
    Posts: 12
    This arrangement doesn't have SATB parts- but if you have brass players available, it's lovely to use accompany the hymn congregationally, and you could always omit the brass and have the choir sing SATB for any verses you desired. It has worked well at my parish.

    https://conspiritomusic.com/for-all-the-saints-brass-organ-accomp/
    Thanked by 1cmb
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    Thanks, all!