CHORALINKS and the NEIL WEBSTER MUSIC TRUST
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News, Comments, Reports
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This website welcomes contributions to this page, but publication will have to depend on availability of space and possible editing. Contributions (not over 250 words, please !) may be emailed to [email protected]
The Internet can be useful to choirs in various ways . . . .
First, If you want to see how other choirs treat a song (especially a reasonably well-known one), Google its [title]+youtube. You may be able to see in how many different ways it can be interpreted or treated. You can note what varieties of arrangement, of tempo, of presentation, other choirs apply. You may be encouraged to slow down the tempo of a song you already know - or to speed it up a little. You may note how sometimes little quirks in the interpretation can improve a performance - or how they can spoil it (some over-clever interpretations can be very distracting !) You can compare different treatments, and decide which of them most appeals to you, or seems likely to be suitable for your own choir. Secondly, you may, in your random searching, be able to spot other, similar (or different) attractive pieces that you might otherwise never have heard of. And thirdly, look up information about songs you sing - where and when were they written, and who by ? Where does a particular song originate ? Who wrote the music ? Who wrote the words ? If (for instance a folk song) has its text or lyrics in a foreign language, what does it mean ? There are many lovely songs in the musical traditions of most countries. They are worth discovering. Another addition to our publications list
We can now offer sheets of Ludovico Grossi's (known as Viadana) Exsultate Justi in Domino, a lively 17th century anthem of 76 bars for four voices. Viadana was a Franciscan monk, and director of music at the cathedrals of Mantua and Venice. He also wrote a few secular pieces. This Exsultate can be heard in various renderings, (varying considerably in tempo and quality !) on YouTube. Our edition is based on a manuscript copy given a few years ago by a member of an Italian choir to an English visitor. £1.49 per copy: these are copyright of the Neil Webster Music Trust, so not, please, to be photocopied. |
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