Recommendations for post-communion serene/angelic motets for 3 voices
  • dtanguyen
    Posts: 3
    Hi all, our small choir recently came upon Andre Caplet's O Salutaris from his Messe a Trois Voix and immediately fell in love with its calming and angelic nature. It was an easy to choice to sing it after communion on Corpus Christi.

    Now we're searching for other similar motets that could be sung with 3 voices after communion. Emphasis on relatively low tempo, less intricate/"busy", calming pieces that would help encourage holy prayer and reflection. We already found Giammateo Asola's O vos omnes (which hopefully we can sing some time during Holy Week next year).

    Wondering if anyone has any recommendations for other similar motets. Even better if written for SAT or SABaritone, but honestly we'd be motivated to make anything work. (After all, the O Salutaris piece mentioned above was technically SSA/TTB). We'd even consider SATB motets that could still be considered "sufficiently robust" even without the bass part (e.g., we're looking at Marco Ingegneri's O Bone Jesu as a potential example of this).

    (We already have "The Parish Book of Motets for Three Voices" and "THE KWASNIEWSKI COLLECTION" (pdf) that's been posted on here.)

    Thanks and God bless!
    Thanked by 1AdteBeateJoseph3
  • Xopheros
    Posts: 145
    Asola's collection "Missae duo decemque sacre laudes" (1588) contains more three part pieces in the same style as the "O vos omnes" (which is from a different collection of which I do not have a facsimile). The original part books contain only very few ligaturae, so it might be feasible to directly sing from the facsimile. For your purpose, "Gustate & videte" might be fitting.

    Concerning SATB pieces that can be sung with three parts (e.g. by accompanying it with an intabulation on the organ), Isaac's most famous piece, "Innsbruck ich muss dich lassen", is often sung with the text underlay "O esca viatorum" ("O food of men wayfaring"). And if an English edition of my SAT setting of "Aller Augen warten auf Dich Herre" (Ps 145,15f: German edition, international edition) might be useful, please let me know (but only if you actually plan to sing it, so that the trouble would be worthwhile).
    Thanked by 1dtanguyen
  • dtanguyen
    Posts: 3
    Thanks for your reply! We'll add Gustate et Videte to the list!

    For posterity's sake, I thought I'd share the remainder of our list of the short and sweet 3-voice motets we've identified with similar serene vibes (some of these might require singing at a lower tempo to attain that vibe). Some of these have been listed in other threads, albeit in different contexts.

    -- Ravanello - Ave Maria
    -- Palestrina - Bonus est Dominus
    -- Palestrina - Esurientes implevit bonis
    -- Menegali - Jesu Salvator Mundi
    -- Martini - In Monte Oliveti
    -- Palestrina - Jesu Rex Admirabilis
    -- Anerio - O Jesu, mi dulcissime
    -- Allen - O Sacrum Convivium
    -- Casciolini - Panis Angelicus
    -- Palestrina - Tua Jesu Dilectio
    -- Muelas - Vox Clamantis in Deserto
  • AdteBeateJoseph3
    Posts: 85
    I have just written this Ave Verum Corpus for Equal voices: https://emmanuelmusicasacra.com/b/aveverumcorpus

    I am planning to write a few more small equal voice motets (which can also be sung SAB). will keep you posted on those when they come out.
    Thanked by 1dtanguyen
  • Xopheros
    Posts: 145
    From your selection, I conclude that you exclusively sing Latin motets. In that case, you might not only like the listed piece by Kevin Allen, but the entire volume of his 12 eucharistic motets: Motectae trium vocum. Moreover, the SSA edition of my very simple Ave verum corpus might be of interest, too.
    Thanked by 1dtanguyen
  • CGM
    Posts: 812
    There's a beautiful setting of the "Anima Christi" for three voices (SAB) by Paul M. Weber. You might drop him an email to ask whether he'd send you a copy or point you where to purchase a score.
    Thanked by 1dtanguyen
  • dtanguyen
    Posts: 3
    @CGM, thanks for the recommendation! I found another thread on this forum where (with Paul Weber's permission) the sheet music was shared.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,308
    You might give my "Gustate et videte" a try, for MzABar voices. The antiphon is a serene 3-part canon, and the verses are set to a 3-part harmonized Mode III chant. The final cadence at the end of the last iteration of the antiphon is particularly uplifting.

    There is also an edition (transposed up a minor third) for SABar voices, available on request.
    Giffen-Gustate et videte MzABar-rev.pdf
    96K
    Giffen-Gustate et videte MzABar-192kbps.mp3
    5M
    Thanked by 2dtanguyen Andrew_Malton
  • CGM
    Posts: 812
    @dtanguyen, very interesting. That's a setting for men's voices (TBB) that I'd not seen before. It's very similar, in its alternation of chant and fauxbourdon, to the SAB setting I have seen, but the mode is different as is the tessitura.

    I'd still recommend dropping him an email and seeing if he'd send you the SAB composition, if that's what would best fit your voices. Its dedication is "For the Latin Mass choir of St. Martin's Church, Louisville, KY."
  • Drake
    Posts: 241
    There are around twenty sacred pieces I composed for the women's choir at my TLM parish. Most are polyphonic and in three parts. The links below list the SSA and SAA compositions, and you can select a particular piece from there. The pieces are available for use under a creative commons license, with downloadable PDFs at the bottom of each post. For SAT or SAB, some might work by dropping the middle voice down an octave.

    A few highlights for Communion are Ego Sum Panis Vivus, Ave Sanguis Christi, Oculus non Vidit, and Ubi Caritas. I also have an O Vos Omnes.

    - https://www.catholicliving.net/tag/ssa/ (currently 2 pages of results)
    - https://www.catholicliving.net/tag/saa/

    I hope some of these might be of use.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen OMagnumMysterium
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