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Views from the Choir Loft

“Easy Polyphonic Agnus Dei” • Part 1 of 3

Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2021

INGERS LOVE CANONS. And this canon by the great Nanino (d. 1607) is a masterpiece. I love how one voice is entirely “boring” notes—all half notes, a lot of stepwise motion, and so forth. But Nanino makes up for that in the other voices, which leap all over the place, use tons of different rhythmic values, and have a “thumpy” or “hammer” sound which contrasts with the top voice. It would seem Nanino was not a priest, but was very likely in minor orders (similar to Abbé Franz Liszt). In 1670, Pope Clement X ordered that all papal singers had to be tonsured within two years of their entrance into the choir or lose their pay.

Please don’t forget to check out the rehearsal videos for each individual voice:

*  PDF Download • AGNUS DEI (3 Voices)
—The bottom two voices are a perfect canon!

Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #64932.

Live Recording: On Sunday, we made our first attempt at singing this. I’m sure it will improve each time we sing it, but I’m happy with our first attempt. I tried everything I knew to get the singers to avoid saying “Pay”-ccata for the word Peccata (which is supposed to be “Peh”-ccata) but we’ll keep working on it. We’ve only had a few rehearsals so far, thanks to California’s Covid-19 restrictions:

*  Mp3 Download • LIVE RECORDING
—First attempt at singing this “Agnus Dei” recorded on 13 June 2021.

We actually connected it to this Agnus Dei for Two Voices by Father Guerrero, which is in the same “key.” It worked well.

Here’s a Live Recording from 27 June 2021 with the score.

Speaking Of Canons: I suppose everyone has a “pet peeve.” I personally hate when composers pretend something is a canon when it’s not. A perfect canon—a genuine one—is the most difficult thing to compose. When I see composers fibbing about canons, it reminds me of when I was in kindergarten. I would see Olympic skaters on television, and then I’d hop around saying: “Look mom, I’m doing the Olympics, too.” But saying something doesn’t make it so. If I can find the time, I’d like to write an article about people who write fake canons. I have an entire collection of fake canons by GIA Publications, and it’s disgusting. More on that fiasco when I have time…

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

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Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Easy Canons for Singers, Giovanni Maria Nanino, Piecemeal Agnus Dei, Piecemeal Polyphony, Polyphony For Three Voices Last Updated: February 26, 2022

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“After the Second Vatican Council, the impression arose that the pope really could do anything in liturgical matters, especially if he were acting on the mandate of an ecumenical council. Eventually, the idea of the givenness of the liturgy, the fact that one cannot do with it what one will, faded from the public consciousness of the West.”

— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

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