Multitrack of Machaut's Kyrie from Messe de Notre Dame - FREE DOWNLOAD!
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Hi everyone!

    http://www.filedropper.com/machautkyrie

    Please listen to this recording and tell me what you think. My website, www.chanttracks.com, will soon contain more of these multitrack polyphonic recordings. If you need something recorded for your choir, please email me at mjcurtis323@gmail.com. I can record pretty much anything for you. It can save a lot of time taken in rehearsal learning notes.

    Thanks for your time!

    Matt Curtis
  • Carl DCarl D
    Posts: 992
    Well done!
  • Chris AllenChris Allen
    Posts: 150
    Matt, that was beautiful! Any chance of getting it as an MP3, though?
  • francis
    Posts: 10,806
    cool! what app is that!

    Would you consider doing the Sanctus in my Mass in C major? The choir did a wonderful job on the premiere, but the Sanctus was a bit shaky.

    http://romancatholicsacredmusic.com/seehear/massInCMaj/4.html
  • francis
    Posts: 10,806
    mj... please contact me at my email address asap.
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Francis, is this your email?

    francis@romancatholicsacredmusic.com
  • francis
    Posts: 10,806
    yep!
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    mp3 link:

    http://www.filedropper.com/machautkyrie_1
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Does anyone here have a parish that would stand still for eight minutes while the Schola sings this Kyrie? Not to mention the 11-minute Gloria (obviously not during Lent).
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Here is Matt's LINK

    In case you've not listened to this...you need to.

    Stunning beyond belief. Probably the greatest thing I've ever heard.

    image


    My criticism is that no choir will ever sound this good.
  • mhjell
    Posts: 32
    This composition blew me away when we I encountered it in a college Music History class. I wasn't well catechized at that age and wasn't going to Mass. This and other settings by great composers primed me for when I returned.

    Beautiful, but sounds "skippy" in the Christe eleison. Or am I imagining it?
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    I think "hiccupy" would be the more appropriate term (i.e. hoquetus).

    What do you think, Jeff - does this live performance from our "Miracle of Guadalupe" concert come close? You have to imagine, of course, being seated between the choir and the schola, and that the latter has just processed past you singing Salve sancta Parens.
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Frankly I don't think a choir *should* sing this piece. It works much better with one voice per part, and it seems unlikely to me that it was intended otherwise. And this is a much more musically satisfying rendition than the one I have on a commercial CD.

    This is a beautiful rendering, by the way. Matt's falsetto singing is marvelous.
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Sorry, meant to add that the "hiccup" effect is pretty consistent with historical performance practice. A quick glance at the score would invite the question -- how else is he supposed to execute those freaky melismata?

    Brilliant job all around. Congratulations!
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Thanks guys. It is a great piece.

    I like the recording incantu. I prefer a little quicker tempo, which adds to the "skippy" effect. Yes, it would be very difficult to perform with any more than a few on a part.
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    mj, I forwarded your recording to my esteemed colleague with whom I collaborated on the above performance and he wondered if you had used some sort of pitch correction software to make your recording. I guessed probably not, and I see that you do not refute Yurodivi's compliment on the falsetto. What about the lowest parts?

    (btw, thanks for your e-mail about NDV... I will get back to you soon!)
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Yes, I use the program Melodyne studio. I sing everything at pitch, but use the software to clean some things up. Therefore, that was my falsetto. Anything lower than an A in the bass and higher than a high A in soprano is out of my range and would require me to artificially put a pitch in. This Machaut has a very manageable range for all the parts, however.

    Melodyne is a fantastic program. Of course, I would never approve of a professional ensemble using it in a recording, but it is a great tool in making learning tracks. This track was the first one that I have ever done. In the future I would take the pitch correction that I did from 90% to something a little lower to make it a little more "human" if you will. As with other pitch correcting tools, if you don't sing it at pitch and try to move it up a fifth or whatever, it sounds quite artificial.
  • Pes
    Posts: 623
    Matt, that is incredibly impressive.

    By the way, its ID3 tag identifies the Kyrie's genre as "Rock."

    But then, it does, in fact, rock.
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    So, when do we get the Gloria with all the other melismatic "jubili?"

    Also thanks for not doing pretentious medieval Old High French-style Latin pronunciation. Vatican rules rule, in my opinion. And let's face it, it's a lot easier to get a nice vowel out of Italian pronunciation than French.

    BTW I have never heard of Melodyne. I use SONAR, and that comes with some pitch correction software, but my voice has too much vibrato to make that sound decent. It always sounds fake when I use it, so I just try to sing close to the right pitch (with mixed success - I studied operatic singing, after all).
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Yeah, you should check out Melodyne. It is pretty reasonably priced. It can take the vibrato out of your voice with a natural sound if you choose to. I studied opera all last year in the Twin Cities, so I can relate. I personally don't do any vibrato control with it, but the option is there if I need it.

    As for the Gloria, that is definitely not on my list. As for Vatican rules, they are good for most choirs that don't have a whole lot of time to rehearse. However, in Chanticleer, we do use different Latin "dialects" if you will. Our current tour program has a Dufay piece and Janequin piece in Old High French Style Latin. It is definitely more professional in my opinion if executed well. However, I respect the Vatican approach a lot as well.

    Matt
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    For church, it should definitely be Vatican rules because, well, they're the rules. Besides, why affect French pronunciation (especially the Ü, if you will)? If we follow the reasoning that the composer was French, we should also perform "Wuthering Heights" with a southern accent, since Carlisle Floyd is from Latta.

    I had this argument a hundred times with choral directors and singers when I was in Germany. My eventual question was, "Also stammten die Römer aus Deutschland?" None of them ever had a satisfactory answer other than "nee, doch haben wir sie endlich besiegt."

    I am not convinced that the French pronounced Latin in this way in the first place. It's a different language from French, and I doubt anyone would learn another language with the assumption that everything is pronounced the same in both. I guess I would have to see the research to back up the practice; that is not my specialty. However, the vowels in the Vatican rules produce a better choral sound in my opinion. And you only have to listen to some Solesmes recordings for a good example of why *not* to use French pronunciation.

    Melodyne sounds pretty good. SONAR is frustrating at times, but I'm pretty invested at this point -- I've been using it for six or seven years now. If I switch, it's going to be to a Mac, but I would have to win the Lotto first!
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    one might have fun comparing to this recording
  • Pes
    Posts: 623
    It's great to have Matt posting here. Matt, best of luck to you and Chanticleer. Great to hear you're all involved in educational efforts, too:

    http://sfchanticleer.blogspot.com/

    *applause*

    I'm going to start a thread about choral life in Europe. I'd love to hear more about it.
  • mjcurtis
    Posts: 62
    Here's the problem I have with the Vatican rules. In my experience, an average European choral singer will be pronouncing Latin in their own dialect just because that is the way it has always been done. Vatican rules most closely align to Italian Latin, althoughmany priests and those who speak Latin have a problem with "Vatican rules" because it is even different than spoken Latin. (treatment of closed vs open e's and silent h for example) I agree with you that it is a good guide for church choirs to follow but is certainly not widely used or promoted in the choral world.

    Chanticleer was founded on performing in a historically accurate way for the most part and we put a TON of time and even disagreement into language treatment. Composers set word stress in a certain way that might not always agree with Vatican rules. As we perform in Europe every year, audiences don't necessarily expect it a certain way, but they are definitly used to Latin in their dialect for the most part. I would also disagree that Vatican Latin contains better singing vowels. Again this is true for most American choirs but not necessarily so for singers who have done a lot if language work and European choirs. Anyway, that's just my experience. Vatican rules are great but a little narrow-minded when considering choral music and music history as a whole.

    @ Pes - It is my pleasure! I was brought up in sacred music. Chanticleer does a ton of educational work. Thanks for posting that link. In fact, we are hosting a high school national choral workshop next month with 450 kids, and I'll be teaching a beginners chant class. Also, all singers/ educators should check out Chanticleer in Sonoma Summer Workshop to be held in summer of 2011. Info at chanticleer.org.

    Matt
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