Choralis Constantinus - Communios
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 501
    Has anyone had any success coupling the above with the appropriate psalm tones?

    I’ve not taken a close look as yet and was wondering whether the collection lent itself to alternation with verses (either in plainchant or falsobordone) of the communion psalm verses.
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,908
    We do this a lot of the time, including today, with the Amen dico vobis.

    Most of the Communions are short so they lend themselves to singing in the following manner,

    Issac setting
    Psalm verse
    Chant Communion
    Psalm verse
    Issac setting
    Repeat as needed

    For the longer ones we sometimes

    Issac setting to begin
    2 Psalm verses
    Chant Communion
    2 psalm verses
    etc.
    Isaac setting to end

    We use the Psalm verses as set in the following,
    https://media.churchmusicassociation.org/pdf/psalmorum.pdf

    Do watch out that Issac was setting music for the Constance Gradual and not the Graduale Romanum, so sometimes the texts are not the same! Certain Roman Communions were not in the Constance books so there are no settings.

    Also for Epiphany III the Communion 'Mirabuntur Omnes, has two chant settings, Issac used the setting and mode not found in the Graduale Romanum.
    http://gregorianik.uni-regensburg.de/gr/#id/683
    and
    http://gregorianik.uni-regensburg.de/gr/#id/685
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Palestrina
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 501
    Thanks, tomjaw.

    What I meant (and should have been clearer about) to ask was whether the pitch ranges in the psalm verses relative to the polyphonically-set antiphons are practical.

    I have been 'snookered' before by nice polyphonic settings of things that alternate plainchant and polyphony, where the polphony is terrific but then requires terribly high-pitched chant around it... and tranposing the polyphony down then isn't possible because of the pitch ranges for each voice (usually to do with the alto).

    Also, does anyone know whether Isaac did any falsobordone settings of the psalms?
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,908
    @Palestrina,

    Issac based his settings on the chant, so we regularly find the chant melody buried in the Polyphony. For the intonation it does vary what voice part is used for the Amen dico Vobis, it is Soprano, for others it is Alto or Tenor.

    We do set the pitch of the psalm verse, to fit to the polyphony. We have found that sometimes (We have sung over 20 of these Communions!) it is really too high to sing comfortably, but most of the time we have no problem. We usually have the men singing the psalm verses.

    We worked with the wonderful @CCooze so the settings on CPDL are sometimes produced for and used by us.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Xopheros
    Posts: 71
    If the chant is too high for the tenors, why don't the altos sing it?
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,908
    We have strong and experienced Tenor and Base lines, our Contralto is less experienced with psalm tones.
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