Anthem for Sunday, 22 September 2013: “O Come, Ye Servants of the Lord," by Christopher Tye

On Sunday, 22 September 2013 (Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time), our choir will sing the anthem "O Come, Ye Servants of the Lord,” by English composer Christopher Tye. Tye was chapel organist for both King Henry VIII and Catholic Queen Mary, so his choral compositions include both English and Latin works.

Tye may have been music tutor to
Edward VI, son of Henry VII.

Greatly admired by Henry, who said of him, “England hath one God, one truth, one doctor hath for music's art, and that is Doctor Tye, admired for skill in music's harmony,” Tye was reportedly a difficult, ill-tempered man. Once when Queen Elizabeth complained of his playing that it was out of tune and “contained much musick, but little of delight to the ear,” Tye responded that her ears were out of Tune.“ Fortunately, the  polyphonic anthem we will be singing is quite tuneful and not at all difficult.

Here is a nice performance of “O Come Ye Servants of the Lord” by a quartet at Grace Episcopal Church in Weslaco, Texas. Each vocal part is clearly distinguishable. If you need a copy of the score, you can download one here. There is also a MIDI file that you may download.

Practice Files for Fauré Requiem Concert, Sunday, 27 October 2013

On Sunday, 27 October 2013, those of us who are willing and able will join others to present a concert performance of Gabriel Fauré's beautiful Requiem mass, under the direction of Vivian Rentowski in Desoto, Texas.

Gabriel Fauré, 1907

Fauré spent years composing and revising his Requiem and said of the work, "Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest." He told an interviewer, "It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience." Certainly, this Requiem is a joy to sing.

Here is a lovely performance of the Requiem by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of Piérre Boulanger.

To help everyone get up to speed on their parts, I've compiled separate YouTube playlists of practice files for each voice: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. On movements where the tenor and bass voices split, both upper and lower parts are included in the playlist.

September 8: Palestrina's O Crux Ave

This Sunday our anthem will be Palestrina's O Crux Ave, which I believe is a new addition to our repertoire. Here is a performance of the piece, by the Madrigal Choir of Bucharest, conducted by Marin Constantin.

Click here to download a MIDI file. And if you need a copy of the vocal score, click here to download a PDF.  Happy practicing!