Main divisions of ch 3<\/p>\n
Writing for the voice
\nSetting words to music
\nRecitative vs Aria
\nMusical form and the text
\nComposing for choir<\/p>\n
Personal reflections on ch 3<\/strong><\/p>\n I was a member of a Lutheran church choir for about 15 years. During this time I composed a 20-min piece for soloists, choir, and instruments called “Cantata for Lent”. A cantata is a sung piece, usually religious in nature. It resembles an opera, but without costumes or physical action.It includes characters who play different roles, with sung monologues, dialogues, and reactions from a group. Some sections are like opera recitative, in the form of exposition — “Here’s what’s going to happen”.\u00a0 Other sections are like aria, expressing emotion –“Here’s how I feel about what is happening”.<\/p>\n In my cantata, most of the lyrics were taken from a modern translation of Psalms and other passages from the Bible, written in familiar, natural prose. The melodies I used followed the rhythms of normal speech. I often used “word painting” (voice raises in pitch when joyful, lowers in pitch for grief), and changes in texture to indicate emotion.<\/p>\n I had already been a member of this choir for several years while working on the composition, and so I knew what the choir was comfortable with. For example, splitting the choir into male and female sections singing an octave apart was a lovely way to change the timbre without taking up a lot of rehearsal time.<\/p>\n I used a variety of textures: The composition was sung by choir and four soloists: While writing the parts, I conferred with the soloists and changed things to suit their voices.<\/p>\n I feel very grateful to have been given the opportunity and to have received so much support from my choir director. The “Cantata for Lent” performance took place during the busy pre-Easter season, and she was working with limited rehearsal time and a very inexperienced composer! For me the experience was terrifying, and joyful, and included moments of skin-crawling humiliation which I still shudder to recall.<\/p>\n Afterward I was completely burned out and did a 180 degree turn away from church music. One day while wandering at a Rennaisance fair, I was attracted to a booth with beautiful bamboo flutes. It turned out that these flutes were made by a master musician, Peter Olwell. This led to several years of exploring Irish Trad music. But that’s another story \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Main divisions of ch 3 Writing for the voice Setting words to music Recitative vs Aria Musical form and the text Composing for choir Personal reflections on ch 3 I was a member of a Lutheran church choir for about … Continue reading
\nsolo voice
\nunison choir
\nunison in octaves (women, men)
\n3 groups — soprano & alto, male
\n4 groups, homophonic texture (different pitches but same rhythm)
\nrarely — 4 groups, polyphonic texture (independent pitches and rhythm)<\/p>\n
\n“Wisdom” — a “matronly” alto
\nProphetic voice — a soprano with a dramatic timbre
\nThe Devil — a spoken role
\nJesus — a tenor<\/p>\n
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