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Views from the Choir Loft

Three part motet for the Assumption by Ravanello

Veronica Brandt · August 8, 2015

The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Chartres Cathedral The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Chartres Cathedral HEN I AGREED TO WRITE FOR this blog, little did I know how much I would learn along the way!

I hadn’t heard of Oreste Ravanello until Jeff posted his Ave Maria. Turns out Ravanello wrote a whole book of three part motets. It looks like he composed about half of them and collected similar short pieces from other composers.

Browsing through in an optimistic sort of way, I found an Offertory Antiphon in three parts. I tried tapping out the notes on the piano. It looked promising. I tried getting someone to sing with me. That’s always a challenge! So I turned to my laptop to type it up so I could listen to the midi output.

      * *  Here is the PDF of Assumpta Est Maria by Oreste Ravanello for three voices (SSA) and here is the computer generated audio in MP3 for: all voices, top voice, middle voice and bottom voice.

The next part of the adventure came in response to Jeff’s Easiest Way to Teach Polyphony. He recommends annotating the score with solfege syllables and mastering those first before moving on to the real words.

I thought maybe there was a shortcut to annotating a score and found this repository of solfeged scores in Lilypond.

      * *  Here is the PDF of Assumpta est Maria with solfege syllables replacing the text.

It is not as handy as Jeff’s little red annotations as the solfege sheet and the lyrics are on separate versions, but being computer generated from something I already typed up is handy for the one preparing the score.

As a side note, it was interesting singing the solfege syllables – being more aware of where “do” is. I had a go with a piece I was more familiar with and was surprised how tricky it becomes when the key shifts (modulation?) and my ear was confused between the “do” on the page and the “do” which my ear had switched to. A related question is how to handle minor keys, whether to start the scale on “la” or “do”.

I have so much to learn!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Polyphony For Three Voices Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

Yet, with all its advantages, the new Missal was published as if it were a work put together by professors, not a phase in a continual growth process. Such a thing never happened before. It is absolutely contrary to the laws of liturgical growth, and it has resulted in the nonsensical notion that Trent and Pius V had “produced” a Missal four hundred years ago.

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (1986)

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