Need Magnificat in English set to Anglican Chant "Tonus Peregrinus"
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I am beginning to pull together pieces for an Organ recital, helping to celebrate the Centenary of the choir I direct. It will be a recital exclusively of Liturgical organ music which will alternate with the chant that it is derived from. One of the pieces I that will be included is Buxtehude's "Magnificat Noni Toni", and I would like to alternate it (for the sake of variety) with the English Magnificat (Preferably the traditional Cranmer/Coverdale BCP translation) set to one of the Anglican Chant adaptations of Tonus Peregrinus (the "ninth tone"), rather than simply the chant. Does anyone have a copy on hand that they can send my way?

    Thanks,
    Henry.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    Never wishing to discourage the spread of Anglican chant, I really wonder why you would want to alternate AC with Buxtehude's Magnificat. If, in fact, this work was written for alternatim performance (which doesn't seem likely: see Kerala J. Snyder's definitive Buxtehude biography) a Gregorian tone would have been used at Lubeck. There are a number of structural realities that mitigate against an alternatim performance of either of B's Magnificats. Too, it is certain that in the services at B's church, the Marienkirche, the language for vespers would have been, if not German, then Latin. Thus, though I am loathe to discourage the spread of the BCP's translations, it makes little sense to use them in connexion with Buxtehude's (or any other German's) work.

    It would be interesting to know how you resolve this matter.
    Also interesting to know the entire program, which I hope is a great success!

  • Chris_McAvoyChris_McAvoy
    Posts: 389
    I don't know if I understand the conversation, I've never heard of Buxtehude, but I do know and love my fauxbourdons in the 8 , in this case 9th modes.

    Do with it what you will, though perhaps this is not "anglican chant"..(William Byrd was after all a Roman Catholic :-)

    http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/2/2f/ByrdTones.pdf

    Someone should adapt this to latin or german...if it doesnt already exist somewhere.
    I trust that whatever mixing and matching you're doing it's going to sound better than anything in OCP's "Breaking Bread" book. ;-)
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    Jackson,

    Good point about the incongruity of Anglican Chant with North German Lutheran music, didn't think about it when I posted the original question! I was mainly thinking that it might add some variety, but in retrospect, Plainchant would be better (mensural, of course) and in Latin.

    I personally wouldn't rule out alternatim though. The edition of Buxtehude that I have was edited by Philipp Spitta and Max Seiffert. At the "Magnificat noni toni" (BuxWV 205) they label the first section "a", the next section "b Versus", and the next section "c Versus 5 alla duodecima". (In each section the measure numbering restarts at '1'.) I took this to mean that it was performed in Alternatim with the plainchant, however, I don't know if this was just an editrial addition are if it is something that appears in the original MS. (The "Magnificat primi toni" (BuxWV 204) is one toccata to set the pitch for the singers.)

    Needless to say, I would still find the music requested in the OP very useful.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    Salieri -
    Thanks for reminding me of the 'other' Magnificat Primi Toni (the small one), about which you are right. I had in mind, though, the lengthy multi-sectional one which has tone one embedded throughout. What with its plurality of sections plus bridge sections, it can't work alternatim, though some have tried to make it. The Hedar edition places it with chorale fantasias, which may be an accurate assessment. What its liturgical role is/was, if any, is a question mark. Perhaps to set the pitch? More likely, an academic exercise.

    The problem with the noni toni is that there are only three versets, not enough to fill out an alternatim scheme. Of course, one can sing multiple successive verses to make up the difference, but whether this is what would have been done at B's church is speculative.

    Do share your solution to this problem.
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