Ascension Communio: Psallite Domino (Charles H. Giffen), SSA & ATB with Gregorian cantus firmus.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    As promised elsewhere, I'm attaching my new composition Psallite Domino, for SSA voices a cappella. After an opening "Alleluia" the Gregorian melody of the Antiphon appears in the Mezzo-Soprano part, in a tapestry of wordless Soprano and Alto harmonies. The Psalm verses are set, simply, using the usual Gregorian Tone I chant, but with an added lower (alto) part.

    In the attached MP3 sound file, the Antiphon appears with the ending intended to precede verses, followed by the two-part harmonized psalm tone, and a repeat of the Antiphon with the final ending.

    Except for the opening Alleluia, I have (at least until now) left the Soprano and Alto parts wordless and recommend that they be sung using either "Ah" or "Ooh" – the emphasis is on the Gregorian chant and its text underlay.

    Edit: Here and in a post further down, I have uploaded a revised version (texted), which swaps the Mezzo-Soprano and Alto parts in the Alleluia following the text of the Antiphon.
    Giffen-Psallite Domino.mp3
    4M
    Giffen-Psallite Domino-revised.pdf
    124K
    Thanked by 4PMulholland tomboysuze Ben Darcy
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    Oh that's lovely. Thank you.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Heath
    Posts: 933
    Beautiful, Charles! Thanks for sharing.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    In response to some requests for a "texted" version of the Antiphon, I'm attaching a PDF score with optional "alleluias" in the soprano and alto parts (where the mezzo-sopranos are singing "Psallite Domino, ... ") of the Antiphon.

    Edit: Uploaded revised version (2012-07-14).
    Giffen-Psallite Domino-revised.pdf
    124K
    Thanked by 3miacoyne PMulholland tomboysuze
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Thank you for the dedication. It's beautiful.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen tomboysuze
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Gorgeous and holy. Next year f'sure! Thank you, Chuck. sDg!
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen tomboysuze
  • tomboysuzetomboysuze
    Posts: 289
    I was so moved by Chuck's kindness in dedicating this to my son, Thomas. The text is particularly significant to us, for when he died in a car accident (at 18) many priests (who as seminarians hung out at our house and became very close with our children) flew to our aid from all over the world. One of my best friends, a very wise young priest saved my sanity by immediately directing us to orient ourselves to the east, with the church who, in her wisdom looks toward the rising sun and lives in hope. He gently admonished us to orient ourselves to our son's new life and not his death. We have lived "ad orientum" ever since - and this orientation has literally saved our life as a family - forever missing a beloved son and brother. Chuck had no way of knowing this except through the movement of the Holy Spirit. To him I offer my deep gratitude for a memorial of great beauty to my beautiful boy. Deo gratias, dear friend.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    The score files above have been replaced by a minor revision which swaps the Mezzo-Soprano and Alto parts for the Alleluia which follows the Antiphon text. The result is more singable for those two parts, since the chant melody lies below the other two parts towards the end.

    In addition, I have prepared an ATBar transposition of this work, down a perfect fifth from the original, for used by mixed choirs. The score and sound files for this work are attached here.
    Giffen-Psallite Domino-ATB-revised.pdf
    122K
    Giffen-Psallite Domino-ATB-revised.mp3
    2M
  • Ruth Lapeyre
    Posts: 341
    This us very nice, how can I get my hands on the SSA version?
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    The PDF and MP3 sound files for the SSA version are in the first post of this thread.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,150
    (bumping for Ascension)
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