And let this be said: taking the alto line above the melody and calling it a "descant" does not make it one. It is not a quicker path. It produces something that is ugly and completely void of artistic merit. In Canada we have far too many hymnals filled with these "not descants", which have nothing to recommend themselves over a free harmonization or even the unaltered tune in unison.

Properly prepared and harmonized descants, scarce as they may be, are in a class of their own.

Anna,

Somewhere hereabouts is a copy of a collection of descants I wrote.

Does anyone have a favourite GROSSER GOTT descant? I wrote one out but it needs some reworking to really pop.

https://youtu.be/E_nYjkZyyQY There was a power outage the day this recording was taken, and thus there is no organ and instead Piano with orchestra. I believe it was a Pentecost Sunday. It was the one and only time in my 17 years in the choir we sang with the piano. If you were interested in the recording I can send you the music when I get back to the office in a day or two.

Here is "Come Down, O Love Divine" from the 2011 Sacred Music Colloquium in Pittsburgh, the concluding hymn at the Votive Mass to the Holy Spirit. Having been a lurker at here at MusicaSacra for some time, I was blown away to discover that my double descants for this hymn were sung and recorded. I became active here shortly thereafter. Descant I is sung on the 2nd stanza, Descant II on the 3rd stanza, and both are sung on the final stanza. Although the 2nd descant was revised just at that time (but before I learned of this performance), this is one of my most treasured live recordings.

http://recordings.musicasacra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20110614M_14_-_Come_Down_O_Love_Divine.mp3

Charles, can you post the music for the descants for Come Down, O Love Divine?

Haha, you have all made me feel quite guilty. The last two weekends in which we had public Mass, as I was up prepping the Sunday music, I was writing descants at like 12:01am in preparation for the Mass...

Do take a look. These descants are hard to do without boy trebles but that's why I wrote them - because my descant person was a treble. Although, he did want to kill me for how high the range was and how much they jumped around.

I think that your descants are quite nice (though I might suggest a different rhythmic interest here and there), nor do they seem prohibitively high to me. There's certainly nothing particularly challenging about a few Gs and an A here and there for a boy treble. I don't think that your treble should complain. He certainly shouldn't kill you!

Here are some descants/arrangements that I have written. Some of them have been performed, others have not (yet) been sung.
Attached are:

O come, all ye faithful (Descant for Verse 3 and Last Verse) -- not yet performed
Once in royal David's city (Descant/Organ for Last Verse) -- performed
Hark! the Herald Angels sing (Descant/Organ for Last Verse) -- performed
Angels we have heard on high (Descant/Organ for Last Verse) -- not yet performed
The first nowell (Hymn arrangement (SSATB & Organ) -- not yet performed in entirety
I sing the mighty power of God (Descant for Last Verse) -- performed
Praise to the Lord, the almighty (Descant for Last Verse) -- performed
All my hope on God is founded (Descant for Last Verse) -- performed (Only the descant is given here, as the tune (MICHAEL) and harmonization are Copyright)

I also have descants for O come, divine Messiah, and Lo, he comes (HELMSLEY), which have been performed, but are still in MSS.

Indeed, ServiamScores, I've seen it - very nice, and thank you for posting the video.

And let this be said: taking the alto line above the melody and calling it a "descant" does not make it one. It is not a quicker path.

This is good advice, Schönbergian, since the alto part is typically not conceived nor composed as a viable part when taken up an octave as a descant. The results can indeed be horrible.

HOWEVER, IT IS POSSIBLE (sometimes JUST possible) that a composer/harmonizer can, with careful intention and attention from the outset, craft an alto part that will succeed as a descant.

Among other things, this involves attention to movement of the voice as a (semi)independent part, as well as avoidance of interactions with the melody line when the alto part is transposed up an octave. In particular, the original alto line should avoid pure parallel fourths with the melody part, so as to avoid pure parallel fifths with the melody part when the alto part is transposed up an octave as a descant.

I have set myself to addressing this issue with some of my own hymn tunes and, for a few of these efforts, have recommended the transposition of the alto part up an octave as an optional or alternative descant. These few seem (at least to me) to be reasonable, viable, and even successful. I considered the transposition possibility not as an afterthought but as a crucial consideration during the composition. It's not unlike (although quite different from) the challenges of writing canons in polyphony - plenty of thought and planning, for sure!

But don't think that transposing the alto part up an octave as a descant is at all likely to prove successful with the typical garden variety harmonization you find in a hymnal.

In the opening chorale of "Jesu meine Freude" BWV 227 has some parallel fourths between the soprano and alto ~~> parallel fifths if the alto part is transposed up an octave. Otherwise, it works pretty well as a descant.

For a lovely instrumental descant (shows up at 2:20 mark) that reveals what might be called the Apollonian model of contrapuntal descants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnDm5Ok2xOY

Another great descant, this one for Jesus Christ is Risen Today can be found here: https://youtu.be/HilvowoZwLs?t=128