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Rvw Mystical Songs


David Coram

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Just on the offchance that anybody here has done the 5 Mystical Songs with a large group, I need to lay my hands on about 50 copies for a youth choir which doesn't have the resources to spend a fortune. Does anyone here have these copies to lend (from now til September)? I will take personal responsibility for replacing damaged or missing ones and can collect.

 

Many thanks

 

David

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My choral society The Silurian Choir are rehearsing the work at the moment for perforance on April 5th. We have copies on loan through the county music library. Our loan copies will be going back immediately after this date and would be available through the library system after that date. I guess most performances are around the Easter period so it should not be too difficult to get hold of copies for September.

 

On a related query, I'm due to play the Antiphon (Let all the world in every corner sing) for the first time in Salisbury Cathedral in a few weeks and would be interested to receive any advice from others as to how best to adapt the accompaniment from the vocal score for organ. How much use is generally made of the pedals?

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My choral society The Silurian Choir are rehearsing the work at the moment for perforance on April 5th. We have copies on loan through the county music library. Our loan copies will be going back immediately after this date and would be available through the library system after that date. I guess most performances are around the Easter period so it should not be too difficult to get hold of copies for September.

 

On a related query, I'm due to play the Antiphon (Let all the world in every corner sing) for the first time in Salisbury Cathedral in a few weeks and would be interested to receive any advice from others as to how best to adapt the accompaniment from the vocal score for organ. How much use is generally made of the pedals?

 

There is an organ arrangement of it. I can't remember who by, or anything else useful for that matter, but I played it in a concert about 15 years ago. I vaguely remember it was very much easier than trying to juggle the accompaniment reduction in the vocal score.

P.

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There is an organ arrangement of it. I can't remember who by, or anything else useful for that matter, but I played it in a concert about 15 years ago. I vaguely remember it was very much easier than trying to juggle the accompaniment reduction in the vocal score.

P.

 

Hi,

There is an arrangement in an RSCM Festival Service Book (Purple cover I think ) No. 8 . The organ arrangement is by Francis Jackson.

See: an old review which mentions this

http://www.jstor.org/view/00274666/ap030880/03a00430/0

 

Best wishes

Philip

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On a related query, I'm due to play the Antiphon (Let all the world in every corner sing) for the first time in Salisbury Cathedral in a few weeks and would be interested to receive any advice from others as to how best to adapt the accompaniment from the vocal score for organ. How much use is generally made of the pedals?

I don't know Dr Jackson's arrangement in detail, but I have seen it and I am fairly sure it is the one I once heard televised by King's Cambridge (what the programme was I don't remember). I was surprised, to say the least. While it is a practical solution for the average organist it is far from ideal IMNSHO, not least for the way the long, sustained pedal D detracts from the necessary energy and sheer "oomph" the piece needs.

 

The way I play it is as follows:

 

Opening A on the pedals, but otherwise manuals only until the forte in line 2.

At the forte and in the following bar play the first quaver only on the pedals. Then (at the bar before "A") pedal all the quavers.

At the fortissimo, pedal the quavers and keep bicycling away until the piano 2 bars after "C" (where you play just the first A in the pedals to end the phrase).

Manuals only until the bar before F, where you do as before.

At the piano two bars before "H", again the pedal plays only the first A, then it's manuals only.

Start bicycling again at the forte Bass entry four bars before "K".

At the pianissimo (on page 32 of the Stainer & Bell score) I play the first G on the pedals, but manuals only for the rest of that bar and the whole of the next. Personally I pedal the quavers in the next bar (at the lower octave) while continuing to open the box, but that's probably overkill.

Definitely pedals at the fortissimo though and for the ensuing scales (lower octave, doubled by LH the octave higher).

Final page also pedals throughout. As DHM pointed out to me, in the last line it's better to pedal the upper notes of the octaves so that the plummeting bass line has the proper shape.

 

Hope this helps.

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I don't know Dr Jackson's arrangement in detail, but I have seen it and I am fairly sure it is the one I once heard televised by King's Cambridge (what the programme was I don't remember). I was surprised, to say the least. While it is a practical solution for the average organist it is far from ideal IMNSHO, not least for the way the long, sustained pedal D detracts from the necessary energy and sheer "oomph" the piece needs.

 

The way I play it is as follows:

 

Opening A on the pedals, but otherwise manuals only until the forte in line 2.

At the forte and in the following bar play the first quaver only on the pedals. Then (at the bar before "A") pedal all the quavers.

At the fortissimo, pedal the quavers and keep bicycling away until the piano 2 bars after "C" (where you play just the first A in the pedals to end the phrase).

Manuals only until the bar before F, where you do as before.

At the piano two bars before "H", again the pedal plays only the first A, then it's manuals only.

Start bicycling again at the forte Bass entry four bars before "K".

At the pianissimo (on page 32 of the Stainer & Bell score) I play the first G on the pedals, but manuals only for the rest of that bar and the whole of the next. Personally I pedal the quavers in the next bar (at the lower octave) while continuing to open the box, but that's probably overkill.

Definitely pedals at the fortissimo though and for the ensuing scales (lower octave, doubled by LH the octave higher).

Final page also pedals throughout. As DHM pointed out to me, in the last line it's better to pedal the upper notes of the octaves so that the plummeting bass line has the proper shape.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Sounds like lots of fun. I did my usual 'nothing better to do' trick of comparing the Jackson with the full score and marking out the orchestral entries in order to bring out flute, horns etc. As well as the above points, there are several (don't have either score to hand) where the orchestra ought to be playing semiquavers and if you've a good enough action this is possible.

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