Dear people, I've been reading the forum for a while and would like to ask you a question. I am a former assistant to the choirmaster at Antwerp Cathedral, Belgium. Together with some (former) trebles from Antwerp Cathedral Choir, we formed an all male vocal ensemble Voces Capituli (just tenors and basses). I am constantly looking for appropriate music for liturgy. I know the CPDL sites and so ... but are they people who could help me in finding music for male voices ? We sing polyphony and modern music, although not that much is written for male voices. If any composer would like to write us some music ... please get in touch ! Dirk Maes Artistic Leader Voces Capituli dirkmaespsy@hotmail.com
I teach at a seminary and have acquired quite a library of equal voices music over the years. Much of it is from Annie Bank in Holland. Is there anything you are looking for in particular?
Paul F. Ford, Ph.D. Professor of Theology and Liturgy St. John Seminary 5012 Seminary Road Camarillo, CA 93012-2598 E-mail: paulfford@stjohnsem.edu Website: http://www.paulfford.com/
CPDL currently lists 64 sacred TTB works and 174 sacred TTBB works. New works are always being added at CPDL.
To find, for example, the TTB works, click on "Multi-category sheet music search " on the CPDL Main page, and then when that search utility page opens up, select "Sacred" under "Genre", "3" for "Number of voices", and "TTB" for "Voicing". Then click "List works" button and the results will be displayed in the form of links to the works pages for the TTB Sacred works.
Depending upon the upper range of your tenors, some ATB and ATBB works might be appropriate, since many of these have an alto part that is conceived of as a high tenor part. CPDL lists 105 sacred ATB and 54 sacred ATBB works at the moment.
Dear Prof. Ford I am looking for mostly general music for liturgy (Laudate Dominum, Tantum Ergo, ... ) on the one hand, on the other hand masses. We sing each sunday so it is a challenge to sing the right music and alternate it enough ! Dirk Maes
Without looking at my files at the seminary (I am home), I know I have Antonio Lotti's Masses for two voices and for three voices. I can scan these so that you can look them over. I also have Flor Peeters's little gem, Missa in Honorem Reginae Pacis, for two voices. Give me a few days and I can compile a list of what you want scanned. Monday's are my heaviest days and I am playing hooky from work right now! Blessings, Paul
Dear Paul, I got the mass from Flor Peeters ! I even sang with him at the organ, when I was a treble at Antwerp Cathedral Choir, I sang his Missa Festiva with him playing the organ ... I would love to see the Lotti masses, didn't know he had a 2part one. Thanks, Dirk
Might you have the equal voices (or ssaa) version of the Annie Banks arrangement of Palestrina's Pueri Hebraeorum? I also sent you an email with this question. Many thanks.
Pardon me for not analyzing previous entries, but here is a bunch of what I have for men's or equal voices:
Anonymus Missa 3-Vocum Aequalium (1540) Annie Bank G.M. Asola Missa Sine Nomine I Annie Bank Hendrik Andriessen Missa Fiat Voluntas Tua -2 equal voices GIA Don Lorenzo Perosi Messa a Tre Voci D'uomo Orlande de Lassus Serve Bone - 2 equal voices GIA Anon XIII cent Czech Beati Qui Esuriunt WLSM Orlande de Lassus Sicut Rosa & Ipsa Te Cogat Pietas GIA G.M. Asola O Vos Omnes WLSM-Annie Bank Guillaume Dufay Ave Regina Coelorum (ATT or AAA) Mercury W.A. Mozart Ave Verum - TTBB GIA Russell Woolen Sancta Maria GIA J. Mitterer Hodie Christus Natus Est -TTBB McLaughlin & Reilly Gregor Aichinger Assumpta est Maria - 3 qqual voices GIA Henri Doyen Terra Tremuit - 3 equal voices F.X. Leroux
Perhaps I can duplicate something for you sometime.
Here is my 3-part Ave Maria setting, transposed for TTB. By omitting the Tenor 2 part, it may also be sung as a 2-part TB piece. The synthesized MP3 file gives some idea as to how the piece will sound.
Dear WGS, I would love to have a look at Russell Woolen Sancta Maria GIA J. Mitterer Hodie Christus Natus Est -TTBB McLaughlin & Reilly Henri Doyen Terra Tremuit - 3 equal voices F.X. Leroux Thanks ! Dirk
Dirk, Listen to Giffen. He is a great resource and a knowledgeable Roman. Yesterday, I posted a link here to our Compline Choir site which now has a free download of music for Compline Choir. The voicing is mostly ATBarB or ATTB, but there are a couple dozen tunes in there for TTBB. Of course all the realizations of Latin chant music will work with men. If you have some baritones that can sing falsetto, you might try it with our ATBarB voicing. I have almost everything published for TTBB, and there are some very good pieces there and a lot of junk. I need to make a list of them all with annotations. regards, as always, jefe In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum "Life is short. Compline is shorter. You can do both."
Some rep that I like: Three motets for TTBB by Martini, very nice (Cpdl) Motets and the Messe Basse by Faure Jexu Rex Admirabilis Palestrina I have many arrangements ask me if you need something.
Hilary, It's only been 4 years since you posted the link. Thanks for the link to SSA and SSAA liturgical tunes, which are short enough to be service music and Preces. Voces Angelorum can use many of these in their Compline. When was the original printing of these. They LOOK old enough to be out of copyright, but it's hard to tell when the collection was printed since I see no title page. My guess is circa 1905.
I do sell for just 1 euro each copy the following Requiem Mass for ATTB
Requiem Mass by Pedro de Escobar (ca. 1465 – post 1535) (ATTB) original. (Also contains preliminary study) Available in digital edition PDF files Price: 1 euro per copy*
Pedro Escobar composed this Requiem for the funeral of Isabel the Catholic and it was later performed at the funerals of Ferdinand the Catholic and Cardinal Cisneros. It is the first Mass of polyphonic Requiem composed in the Iberian Peninsula and whose manuscript is housed by the Cathedral of Tarazona. Pedro de Escobar from Portugal was one of the most important composers of the Iberian Peninsula in the generation of Josquin Desprez. His work includes the composition of several Masses, a collection of motets and hymns, carols and a number of particularly the Requiem Mass as a whole recorded only once and never published until now. The importance of the Requiem for 4 male voices is that of Pablo Escobar is the oldest known of any composer of the Iberian Peninsula and one of the first in Europe. The work includes the complete works, a biography of the author and the corresponding notes to the edition.
To order copies send us an email and we will indicate method of payment. * We only send copies according to the approximate number of members of the choir.you might need. If you just one copy to check it out, we send you a sampler pdf of the first part for free.
concursofidelio@gmail.com
With best wishes. Antonio Ruiz Asumendi (Director of Fidelio)
Pierre de la Rue almost exclusively composed for lower sonorities and his music, although more challenging than the usual Renaissance fare, is incredibly rewarding.
@VocesCapituli Would you be interested in a TBarB Latin Mass setting I'm writing in the style of the Renaissance? The Kyrie, Gloria, and Agnus Dei are finished with the rest being in progress.
If you don't mind considering the works of an amateur, a few years back I composed a setting of Tota Pulchra Es Maria for three male voices (TBarB) which is released under Creative Commons.
Dear Michael, it is lovely music. Would you mind me putting other words to it? The Tota pulchra text is hard to use at mass, and I love to piece that much, I would like to set 'alleluia' to it f.e. so I could use it more often.
How about this setting of the Communio Gustate et Videte for TBarB voices? It can be used for general use, not just for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost (EF) or 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (OF). There is also an English language version "O Taste and See". Also, both are available in other voicings.
VocesCapituli, thank you so much for the compliment. I am so honored that you like my composition and want to sing the piece often.
It is difficult for me to think of the piece with different words because I started with the text and added the music as a restatement of the text. As such, the music feels inseparable from those particular words in my mind. For this reason, I’d rather not have a variation with different lyrics. Perhaps that limits its use to just the Marian feasts of the year or to those days where a Marian hymn would be appropriate during Mass.
If your group sings any of my compositions, I would love to hear a recording, and I would be happy to link to you from my website as well.
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