Please turn to number 95 (Second Tune) and join with the clarinets in “At The Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”.
Number: 95
First Line: At The Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
Name: TICHFIELD.
Meter: 7 7, 7 7, D.
Tempo: In moderate time
Music: John Richardson, 1816-79
Text: Based on the Latin
Tr. Robert Campbell, 1814-68 a.
If you’ve been following the blog since last October, you may remember I recorded “Tichfield” under the name “Songs of Thankfulness“. Same tune used here for “At the Lamb’s High Feast we Sing”. In any case, this version is all clarinets, has a different feel, and includes a verse of “Hymnprovisation”.
Please turn to number 95 (First Tune), and join with the clarinets in “At The Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”.
Number: 95 (First Tune)
First Line: At The Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
Name: SALZBURG (ALLE MENSCHEN).
Meter: 7 7, 7 7. D.
Tempo: With Vigor
Music: Jakob Hintze, 1622-1702
Harm. by J. S. Bach, 1685-1750
Text: Based on the Latin
Tr. Robert Campbell, 1814-68 a.
It’s always a pleasure, and a bit of a challenge, to negotiate a J.S. Bach arrangement.
This one was particularly challenging, as the program I had been using to record audio, Audacity, started to act up inexplicably. Try as I might, I have not yet got it back to behaving normally.
So I had to learn a new “Digital Audio Workstation” program. The next step up from Audacity seems to be Apple’s limited version of Logic Pro X, which it calls “Garageband”.
However, moving from what is a very advanced audio editor to a full fledged DAW is a bit of a change of work flow. So it took me a while to get the hang of how to do things in Garageband.
Regarding the text of the hymn:
Campbell, Robert. Advocate, of Sherrington, Scotland, was born at Trochmig, Ayrshire, Dec. 19, 1814. When quite a boy he attended the University of Glasgow. Though showing from his earliest years a strong predilection for Theological studies, eventually he fixed upon the Scottish law as a profession. To this end he entered the Law Classes of the University of Edinburgh, and in due course entered upon the duties of an advocate. Originally a Presbyterian, at an early age he joined the Episcopal Church of Scotland. He became a zealous and devoted Churchman, directing his special attention to the education of the children of the poor. His classical attainments were good, and his general reading extensive. In 1848 he began a series of translations of Latin hymns. These he submitted to Dr. Neale, Dr. Mills of Ely, and other competent judges. In 1850, a selection therefrom, together with a few of his original hymns, and a limited number from other writers, was published as Hymns and Anthems for Use in the Holy Services of the Church within the United Diocese of St. Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane. Edinburgh, R. Lendrum & Co.
This collection, known as the St. Andrews Hymnal, received the special sanction of Bishop Torry, and was used throughout the Diocese for some years. Two years after its publication he joined the Roman Catholic Church. During the next sixteen years he devoted much time to the young and poor. He died at Edinburgh, Dec. 29, 1868.
From his collection of 1850, four translations were given in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1861, “At the Lamb’s high feast we sing;” “Come, pure hearts, in sweetest measures;” “Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem;” ” Ye servants of a martyr’d God” (altered). Attention was thereby directed to his translations. They are smooth, musical, and well sustained. A large number, not included in his 1850 collection, were left by him in manuscript. From these Mr. O.Shipley has printed several in his Annus Sanctus, 1884. (C. MSS.)
And the tune:
The tune SALZBURG, named after the Austrian city made famous by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was first published anonymously in the nineteenth edition of Praxis Pietatis Melica (1678); in that hymnbook’s twenty-fourth edition (1690) the tune was attributed to Jakob Hintze (b. Bernau, Germany, 1622; d. Berlin, Germany, 1702). Partly as a result of the Thirty Years’ War and partly to further his musical education, Hintze traveled widely as a youth, including trips to Sweden and Lithuania. In 1659 he settled in Berlin, where he served as court musician to the Elector of Brandenburg from 1666 to 1695. Hintze is known mainly for his editing of the later editions of Johann Crüger’s (PHH 42) Praxis Pietatis Melica, to which he contributed some sixty-five of his original tunes.
The harmonization by Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) is simplified from his setting in his Choralgesänge (Rejoice in the Lord [231] and The Hymna1 1982 [135] both contain Bach’s full harmonization). The tune is a rounded bar form (AABA) easily sung in harmony. But sing the refrain line in unison with full organ registration.
Please turn to number 94 (Second Tune) and join with the clarinets in “That Easter Day”.
Number: 94 (Second Tune)
First Line: That Easter Day
Name: CLARO PASCHALI GAUDIO.
Meter: 8.8.8.8.
Tempo: In unison. Brightly
Music: Plainsong, Mode VIII
Text: Latin hymn, IV or V cent.
Tr. John Mason Neale, 1818-66 a.
This is a more traditional, though less common, setting for this hymn. I believe the melody comes from the traditional “Liturgia Horarum” of the early Christians.
This hymn is from the 4th or 5th century and is often ascribed to St. Ambrose (340-397). Whether it really is his or not, it is certainly worthy of his name. The complete hymn is composed of 44 lines and is given below. In the Liturgy it is broken up in multiple hymns. In the past it was broken into three hymns, Aurora lucis rutilat, Tristes erant Apostoli, and Claro Paschali gaudio, which were altered by Pope Urban VIII to Aurora caelum purpurat (Lauds), Tristes erant Apostoli (Vespers and Matins for Apostles and Evangelists in Eastertide), and Paschale mundo gaudium (Lauds for Apostles and Evangelists in Eastertide). Today parts of it are in the hymn for Laudes.
In one sense it is interesting. Usually, the drone harmony parts precede the melody part in these older hymns. In this case, the melody precedes the harmony.
As a bonus, for anyone reading along this far, I include a part with some effects applied to my clarinets, ahem, more usually associated with “rock” guitar parts.
Please turn to number 94 (First Tune) and join with the clarinets on “That Easter Day”.
Number: 94 (First Tune)
First Line: That Easter Day
Name: PUER NOBILIS.
Meter: L.M.
Tempo: In unison. Brightly
Music: Plainsong Melody
Adapted by Michael Praetorius, 1571-1621
Harm. by George R. Woodward, 1848-1939
Text: Latin hymn, IV or V cent.
Tr. John Mason Neale, 1818-66 a.
I found this hymn to be very pleasant and powerful to play.
The tune for this one is very old:
PUER NOBIS is a melody from a fifteenth-century manuscript from Trier. However, the tune probably dates from an earlier time and may even have folk roots. PUER NOBIS was altered in Spangenberg’s Christliches GesangbUchlein (1568), in Petri’s famous Piae Cantiones (1582), and again in Praetorius’s (PHH 351) Musae Sioniae (Part VI, 1609), which is the basis for the triple-meter version used in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal. Another form of the tune in duple meter is usually called PUER NOBIS NASCITUR. The tune name is taken from the incipit of the original Latin Christmas text, which was translated into German by the mid-sixteenth century as “Uns ist geborn ein Kindelein,” and later in English as “Unto Us a Boy Is Born.” The harmonization is from the 1902 edition of George R. Woodward’s (PHH 403) Cowley Carol Book.
–Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
But the harmonies are relatively modern:
George Ratcliffe Woodward (27 December 1848 – 3 March 1934) was an English Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance. He sometimes harmonised these melodies himself, but usually left this to his frequent collaborator, composer Charles Wood.
Another fairly long hymn, making it a bit of a challenge for the “Hymnprovisation” section. I was actually not sure if it would work at all for “Hymprovisation”, but I’m pleased with how it came out. I also took it at a faster clip than usual, since it is mostly quarter notes. A decision I may have regretted after a few times through. Anyway, I took some liberties with the emphasis and interpretation of the sections of the tune.
St. Valentine’s Day is another of those holidays which seems nearly impossible to celebrate without drinking alcoholic beverages.
However, it is a “required” holiday for those of us in relationships, so you can’t just stay home. If you are non-drinker you do need something in your hands, and it would be nice if it wasn’t club soda with lime.
I thought I might try to rectify the situation by presenting a festive and delicious cocktail for non-drinkers to enjoy.
Spice 94 Valentine Fizz
1 1/2 oz Seedlip Spice 94*
3/4 oz Knudsen Just Sour Cherry Juice (or other unsweetened cherry juice)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Aquafaba**
1 Teaspoon Finely ground washed raw sugar (or to taste)***
Shake with ice and strain into an 8oz fizz glass. Top up with soda and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
*Seedlip Spice 94 is a flavored and distilled non-alcoholic mixer which will soon be introduced to the US markets along with its brother, Seedlip Garden. Seedlip Spice 94 is the bark, spice, and citrus forward expression. The aroma is very similar to Angostura bitters. The Seedlip company sent me samples in the hopes that I might help promote the brand for its impending release.
**”Aquafaba” is the trendy name for the liquid produced while cooking chick peas aka garbanzo beans. It creates a foam and texture similar to egg whites when added to cocktails, and, since it is made from legumes, is completely vegan & vegetarian (unless you cook your garbanzo beans with ham hocks.) The easiest way to get it is to buy a can of low sodium, organic chick peas and reserve the liquid. Do note that a small portion of the population of the world is, in fact, legitimately allergic to fava and garbanzo beans, so any use must be noted on your menus.
***Yeah, I still refuse to use refined sugar and I haven’t quite gotten to the point in restarting my drink making career where I am bothering to keep sugar syrup around. The easiest way to make super-fine sugar from washed raw or demarara sugar is just to put it in a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or blender and pulverize until it is super-fine. It will clump if it’s humid, but you could add a silica gel packet to the container.
1 Cup Echinacea tea, brewed.
1 Cup Cloudy Apple Juice or Cider (non-alcoholic).
1 Tablespoon Pok Pok Som Honey drinking vinegar (or to taste).
Serve warm, garnish with a squeezed lemon wedge.
I’ve been struggling with a cold/flu virus this week. Coincidentally, an internet contact sent me some Pok Pok Drinking Vinegars based on my recent explorations of non-alcoholic beverages.
Pok Pok Som full strength drinking vinegar is a sweet and tart fruit and vinegar based concentrate that makes a refreshing all natural soda alternative or a unique cocktail mixer. Drinking vinegar for health reasons is an age-old practice in many cultures around the world including here in the USA, dating back to colonial times when “shrubs” were a common tonic. While Pok Pok does not make any claims as to the health benefits of this product, it is a delicious and refreshing drink with a nice tartness coming from the vinegar and concentrated flavors of fruit and aromatics. These vinegars can be served with soda water as a soft drink and at full strength as a mixer in cocktails.
The honey drinking vinegar has a very strong honey flavor and strong sweet-tart character, making it perfect for a toddy.
This is the tastiest therapeutic beverage I’ve come up with!
Feeling better already, just thinking about having another one later today.
Please turn to number 92 and join with the clarinets in “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”
Number: 92
First Line: Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Name: EASTER HYMN (WORGAN).
Meter: 7 7, 7 7. With Alleluias.
Tempo: With dignity
Music: Lyra Davidica, 1708
Text: Latin, XIV cent.
Tr. Lyra Davidica, 1708
St. 4, Charles Wesley, 1707-88.
This is probably the most well known of traditional Easter hymns.
“Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” was first written in Latin titled “Surrexit Christus hodie”, as a Bohemian hymn in the 14th century by an unknown author on manuscripts written in Munich and Breslau.[2] In Latin, it had eleven verses.[2] It was first translated into English in 1708 by John Baptist Walsh to be included in his Lyra Davidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and Hymns. The verses of the hymn were revised in 1749 by John Arnold. Initially the hymn only had three verses translated with just the first verse being a direct translation;[2] in 1740 Charles Wesley (one of the founders of Methodism) added a fourth verse to the hymn as an alternative, which was later adopted into the hymn as part of it. The hymn is also noted for having Alleluia as a refrain after every line.[3]
The hymn is set to a piece of music entitled “Easter Hymn” which was composed in the Lyra Davidica for “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”. There was a later version of “Easter Hymn” composed by William Henry Monk which is also used for “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”. Some denominations of Christianity often just use one while some use both. The hymn is sometimes confused with “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today“, which was written by Wesley. This is because the wording is similar except that “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” uses Llanfair instead of “Easter Hymn”.[4]
I start with clarinet solo playing the melody. Then add 8 clarinets playing all the parts. The final time through, I double that for a total of 16 clarinet tracks. Wall of clarinets.
Please turn to number 91 and join with the clarinets in “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”.
Number: 91
First Line: Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Name: ST. GEORGE’S, WINDSOR.
Meter: 7 7, 7 7. D.
Tempo: With spirit
Music: George Joe Elvey, 1816-93
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-88
I had a hard time with the “hymnprovisation” section on this one. It’s a pretty long hymn, as they go, and it took me a while to find an entry. Eventually, I settled on using a piece of the rhythm as a way to tie it together.
Another Easter hymn, no “Alleluias” this time.
As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.
Please turn to number 90 and join with the clarinets in “The Strife is O’er”.
Number: 90
First Line: The Strife is O’er
Name: VICTORY.
Meter: 8 8 8. With Alleluias.
Tempo: Broadly, with dignity
Music: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrini, 1525-94
Adapted by William Henry Monk, 1823-89
Alleluias by William Henry Monk, 1823-89
Text: Latin, XVII cent.
Tr. Francis Pott, 1832-1909
Wow, William Henry Monk gets a special credit just for his “Alleluias” on this tune!
We’ve finished up with the delightfully minor hymns of Good Friday and are now moving on to Easter. Alleluias will abound.
Palestrina, on the other hand, was a very important composer of the Italian Renaissance.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525 – February 1594)[1] was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition.[2] He had a lasting influence on the development of church music, and his work has often been seen as the culmination of Renaissance polyphony.[2]
One of the hallmarks of Palestrina’s music is that dissonances are typically relegated to the “weak” beats in a measure.[9] This produced a smoother and more consonant type of polyphony which is now considered to be definitive of late Renaissance music, given Palestrina’s position as Europe’s leading composer (along with Orlande de Lassus) in the wake of Josquin des Prez (d. 1521). The “Palestrina style” now serves as a basis for college Renaissance counterpoint classes, thanks in large part to the efforts of the 18th-century composer and theorist Johann Joseph Fux, who, in a book called Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus, 1725), set about codifying Palestrina’s techniques as a pedagogical tool for students of composition. Fux applied the term “species counterpoint“, which entails a series of steps whereby students work out progressively more elaborate combinations of voices while adhering to certain strict rules. Fux did make a number of stylistic errors, however, which have been corrected by later authors (notably Knud Jeppesen and Morris). Palestrina’s own music contains ample instances in which his rules have been followed to the letter, as well as many where they are freely broken.
According to Fux, Palestrina had established and followed these basic guidelines:
The flow of music is dynamic, not rigid or static.
Melody should contain few leaps between notes. (Jeppesen: “The line is the starting point of Palestrina’s style.”)[9]
If a leap occurs, it must be small and immediately countered by stepwise motion in the opposite direction.
Dissonances are to be confined to passing notes and weak beats. If one falls on a strong beat, it is to be immediately resolved.
