Search found 254 matches
- Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:43 pm
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
Tips for composing and arranging
Here are a couple of useful devices I am trying out for the forthcoming 7th Sunday in ordinary time (C): (1) Communion Antiphon. My parish priest, who chooses all our hymns, wants to have the 'hymn' 'O Sacrament Most Holy' sung at communion. It has only one verse; so, as it stands, if you want to ex...
- Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:44 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: So why do we hate choirs then?
- Replies: 36
- Views: 23144
So why do we hate choirs then?
Picking up on the role of choirs exercising a liturgical ministry: It is worth noting that this can separate choirs from congregations. Certainly, this was what happened in the nineteenth century, both in the Catholic and Anglican churches. Note too that the 1958 Instruction by the Sacred Congregati...
- Fri Feb 02, 2007 11:45 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: So why do we hate choirs then?
- Replies: 36
- Views: 23144
So why do we hate choirs then?
It might be worth noting that 'choirs' come in all shapes and sizes; and their modus operandi can therefore be very varied. Before we accept or reject what they do, we perhaps need to be clear about what sort of 'choir' we are referring to. Here are some basic distinctions: but I am sure many more c...
- Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:05 pm
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: Folk Group
- Replies: 39
- Views: 22123
Folk group
Personally, I am not too concerned about definitions. However, I note that amongst many Catholics (and members of other Christian denominations) 'folk groups' have very negative connotations. The reasons for this seem to be twofold: (1) Complaints about the style of what they call 'happy clappy' mus...
- Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:06 pm
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
Tips for composing and arranging music
Possible (new) composition technique/exercise for responsorial psalms/gospel acclamations using Gelineau type psalmody. Take the melody/motif used in your response and build it into the accompaniment (or instrumental descant) of your chant chord sequence as a piece of counterpoint. I tried this rece...
- Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:59 pm
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
Tips for composing and arranging music
Arranging music for instruments: some notational tips: slurs, articulations, and phrase marks. When scoring music for instruments, it is worth noting that slur and articulation marks mean different things with different instruments and, for that matter, voices. Here are some useful pointers: (1) If ...
- Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:10 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: James MacMillan's thoughts on Bind Us Together
- Replies: 11
- Views: 8890
James Macmillan's thoughts on Bind Us Together
I note that the thrust of many comments here focus on the quality of performance and arrangement of music. In other words, perceptions of the worth of such music are in part determined by how effectively it is executed. If that is so, you might be interested in looking at and - better still - adding...
- Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:43 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: Qui bene cantat bis orat
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3685
Qui bene cantat bis orat
Can someone please tell me who originally said this, and if so, where/when? I once heard that it was attributed to St Augustine.
Thomas (Muir)
Thomas (Muir)
- Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:21 am
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
Tips for composing and arranging music
Some (possibly) useful odds and ends. (1) The second article about composing music by Alan Smith is out in the latest issue of 'Music and Liturgy'. (2) Useful technical exercises I sometimes have to do. Try rearranging an accompaniment designed for piano (or at any rate a keyboard with a sustaining ...
- Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:09 am
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
tips for composing and arranging music
Writing for Upper Voices Here is something I recently picked up from a friend of mine. Apparently most women have the 'break' in their voice at roughly the same point. Consequently, those who can reach above an e or f (10-11 notes above middle C) can usually only manage this if they use vibrato. Tho...
- Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:23 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: BBC Radio 3 The Choir
- Replies: 40
- Views: 27877
BBC Radio3 The Choir
If you are concerned about the quality of music composed for the Catholic Church, why not add some concrete technical suggestions to the thread 'tips for composers'? Better still, come along to meetings of the composers group - next one at Clifton Cathedral (Oct 14th). You might also find the first ...
- Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:47 am
- Forum: Sounds Off
- Topic: Tips for composing and arranging music
- Replies: 37
- Views: 78987
Tips for composing and arranging music
You might note some useful tips about the use of Sibelius software in the 'Sibelius Software and instant Responsorial Psalms' thread. Personally, I like to work out material on manuscript paper and then transcribe it onto my Sibelius programme. Observe, though, that some of the ranges it gives for i...
- Tue Aug 08, 2006 2:25 pm
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: Latin II
- Replies: 41
- Views: 30626
Latin II
Many thanks for this example, which I can confirm is quite correct. However, in this case, other readers might note that such results were only achieved in the context of compulsory weekly practices conducted in a ruthlessly efficient - and highly impressive - manner. It also built on a long traditi...
- Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:13 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: Latin II
- Replies: 41
- Views: 30626
Latin II
Just a little bit of history concerning the linkage between plainchant and the Latin liturgy. Plainchant in the Gallican Liturgies (many still in Latin) of C18th France was promoted as something for congregational singing. This theme was taken up by plainchant protagonists in the nineteenth century....
- Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:45 am
- Forum: Liturgy Matters
- Topic: Use of Latin
- Replies: 46
- Views: 57598
Use of Latin
Picking up on one or two remarks about singing in mining villages, I just to correct a misconception. When I wrote about the attitudes of the congregation I work with, I was referring not to Durham, but to the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. I am afraid I have no first hand knowledge of miners singing....