I am starting a new ensemble at my parish. So far we have 5 guys, but I'm planning on mostly doing 2-3 parts because rarely will we have all 5 present (plus 5 parts won't really fit into the typical male vocal range).
The other fellows are all middle-aged, and not operatic tenors or anything, just some decent "church voices" ... so nothing too high!
I'm also anticipating that I'll have to do a lot of arranging for this group, so I will post any material that I write for this ensemble.
I've been nibbling at an Italian manuscript from 1755 which is available on Internet culturale (http://www.internetculturale.it/opencms/opencms/it/main/esplora/arti/musica/) It's entirely for 3 men's voices (without continuo), and consists of works by Francesco Feroci, his student Bonaventura Matucci, and the mysterious A.M.D. The works are free motets, hymns, introits and graduals (few offertories or communions, which are what I'm looking for), masses, etc. I have 2 of the Feroci settings up on cpdl. He was the chief organist at florence Cathedral 1719-1750 (succeeding his teacher G.M. Casini, succeeded by Matucci). The works are 2 parts in tenor clef and one in bass. The 2 tenor lines are generally the same range (up to f', so not so high), but the 2nd part definitely has a lower tessitura. They're attractive, well-made works in the Baroque prima prattica style. I'll be editing more of these as I find time. If you do a search for all music manuscripts, these pop up at the pages in the 350 range and again at the 490s, or do an author search.
That's exactly what I was looking for. Anything like that in English? (I have no issue with Latin ... but we all know that the pastor gets the final say...)
I have a copy of "Missa Emmanuel" -- Theodore Marier, scored for 2 equal voices (with occasional divisi). This Mass was published in 1945 by McLaughlin @ Reilly, and is long out of print. M&R closed in 1969. Let me know if you're interested in a copy.
CPDL currently has the following 66 works classified as Sacred music for TTB voices:
A solis ortus cardine a 3 (Gilles Binchois) Adoramus te (Oreste Ravanello) Adoramus te, Christe (Giovanni Battista Martini) Adoramus te, Christe a 3 (Orlando di Lasso) Amor potest - Ad amorem (Anonymous) An Wasserflüssen Babylon (Michael Praetorius) Angelus ad pastores ait (Claudio Monteverdi) Anima mea liquefacta est (Guillaume Dufay) Ave Maria (Claudio Monteverdi) Ave verum corpus (Christoph Dalitz) Ay, Santa Maria (Anonymous) Beata viscera - Corsican chant (Anonymous) Christus factus est a 3 (Giovanni Matteo Asola) Danket dem Herren (Andreas Rauch) Deutsche Messe (Johann Michael Haydn) Dextera Domini (Francesco Feroci) Dixi confitebor (Orlando di Lasso) Ecce sacerdos magnus (Francesco Feroci) Eripe me a 3 (Orlando di Lasso) Es ist das Heil (Michael Praetorius) Gabriel angelus (Mathias) Gloria (Guillaume Dufay) Gloria laus (Guilio Bas) Gustate et videte (Giovanni Matteo Asola) Gustate et videte (Giovanni Paolo Cima) Hodie apparuit in Israel (Orlando di Lasso) Hoquetus David (Guillaume de Machaut) How can I keep from singing? (Patrick O'Shea) Huic ut - Huic ut (Anonymous) Huron Carol - Jesous Ahatonhia (Traditional) Ich bin die Auferstehung, SWV 324 (Heinrich Schütz) Ihr unsre neuen Leiter, K 484 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Im Anfang war das Wort (Markus Pfandler) In monte Oliveti (Giovanni Battista Martini) In quacumque die (Orlando di Lasso) Introitus: Requiem aeternam (from 'Messa da Requiem') (Lorenzo Perosi) Little Lamb (George Whitefield Chadwick) Longe mi Jesu (Claudio Monteverdi) Magnificat (Alessandro Grandi) Magnificat Sexti Toni a 3 (Christoph Dalitz) Mass for Three Voices (Antonio Lotti) Messe brève (Charles Gounod) Messe brève en Sol (Théodore Dubois) Miserere - Corsican chant (Anonymous) Missa I in A Minor (Antonio Lotti) Missa in F&C (Karl Kempter) Missa pro defunctis (Giovanni Matteo Asola) Missa tribus vocibus (Christoph Dalitz) Nihil tibi (Francesco Soriano) O amantissime Iesu (Francesco della Porta) O felix anima (Giacomo Carissimi) O quam tu pulchra es a 3 (Alessandro Grandi) O sacramentum pietatis H 260 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier) Panis angelicus (Lorenzo Donati) Plange quasi virgo (Oreste Ravanello) Pues que no puedo olvidarte (Ginés de Morata) Salve festa dies (Christoph Dalitz) Salve Regina a 3 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier) Sophia Nasci Fertur - O Quam Pulchra Racio - Magi Videntes Stellam (Anonymous) Tantum ergo (Antonio Bergamo) Tantum ergo (Giuseppe Tartini) Tristis est anima mea (Giovanni Battista Martini) Veni Emanuel (anonymus) (Christoph Dalitz) Verbum caro (Orlando di Lasso) Volsvi, Persidstii tsarie (Znamenny chant) Voskresni Bozhe (Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov)
And the following 26 Sacred music works for TBB voices:
Annue Christe (Anonymous) Ave Maria (Andrea Maria Ottavini) Cantate Domino (Michel-Richard de Lalande) Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 (Gabriel Fauré) Conditor alme siderum (Guillaume Dufay) Congaudeant catholici (Anonymous) Ei mein Perle, du werte Kron (Michael Praetorius) Ezekiel saw the wheel (Traditional) Heaven is a wonderful place (Traditional) His foot on the Treetop (Michael Gray) Ihesu redemptor (Anonymous) In natali Domini (Anonymous) Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit (Sebastian Göring) Mater patris et filia (Antoine Brumel) Missa in A (Franz Köstner) Missa in F&C (Karl Kempter) Nobis est natus (Anonymous) Pascha nostrum (Kodex des Magister Nicolaus Leopold) (Anonymous) Relegentur ab area (Anonymous) Sanctus (Magister Andreas) Sanctus (Petrus de Domarto) Si iniquitates observaveris (Samuel Wesley) Somerset Carol (Traditional) Sweet hour of prayer (William Batchelder Bradbury) Thy mercy, Jehovah (Benedetto Marcello) Tota pulchra es (John Plummer)
Wow, I would be interested in that new Mass setting for my vocal ensemble as well ! And ryand, I have a all male ensemble, 7 voices, we sing mass every sunday. We exist 10 years this year, so I have a whole load of music for male voices ! Dirk Maes Voces Capituli
It would be difficult (perhaps, even, presumptuous,) to better CHG's lists, so I shant even try. One should, though, be aware of the superb set of twelve Cantiones Duarum Vocum, by Orlando Lassus, which contains rather short (two-page) motets for two equal voices. The texts vary from prophecy, proverbs, psalms, plus, some of them extol the virtuous life and one (Sicut rosa) is an exquisite Marian motet. My edition is Mercury, which I got decades ago. Someone should still have them in print. They are priceless as smaller repertory for weddings and such, or for 'fillers' in a liturgy with multiple repertorial needs. Several are even appropriate for funerary or requiem needs, the spiritual life, and stewardship.
Being for two equal voices, they should be sung by 2 trebles, or 2 altos, tenors, or basses. They may be sung at a pitch convenient for the performers.
There is, of course, numerous other literature for 2 or 3 vv. by composers such as Carissimi, Monteverdi, and others. Schutz has a superb collection of solo and continuo Geistliche Konzerte with may be had from Peters and others. These are psalm-based and are valuable as anthems to grace that special spot for which nothing else could do.
Oh! And don't be ashamed to do rounds and canons once in a while. Some of them are quite challenging, and are sophisticated enough that they could very well be fit at some point to grace the liturgy. There is a list of hymns that work in canon in the back of The Hymnal 1982 - and there are others.
If you are not afraid of highly distilled artistry and craftsmanship, there is very much in the late mediaeval or early renaissance era which requires but two or three voices: Dunstaple, des Pres, Binchois, et al. Too, Oxford has several anthologies of SSA or TTB, or other combinations of three and two voices
If you have any compositional or harmonising skill you could arrange some hymns that you like as 3 voiced anthems.
These also appear in a collection of Bicinia transcibed from the Musica Alamire facsimile of the 1609 edition of the anthology printed by Petrus Phalesius.
The Sicut Rosa from this collection that Jackson mentions is a personal favorite of mine.
FWIW I've just prepared "Peccantum Me" by Crecquillon for our choir for this Sunday (pdf attached). It's SAB, but can be worked around. Peccantum Me mp3 here
To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.