Cantate Domino

This is a very first draft of my latest work for four solo male voices

or men's choir entitled Cantate Domino. In this piece I tried playing

with many ideas, such as very rich very modern harmonies, not relying on

melody to much, and really getting into non-english text.

Like I said, this piece is still in its first draft form so much is to

be changed before its performance ready. There are many things I would

like to change but I would like a second opinion before I do that. Your

input would be invaluable to me.

Thanks in Advance,

Tyler

Cantate Domino canticum novum:

cantate Domino omnis terra.

Cantate Domino, et benedicite nomini ejus:

Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi; (miserere) dona nobis pacem

Te Deum laudamus,

Cantate Domino canticum novum, alleluia.

Amen

Sing unto the Lord a new song:

Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord, bless His name;

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, (have mercy) grant us peace.

We praise you, O God!

Sing to the Lord a new song, alleluia!

Amen.

Cantate Domino

I liked it.

I have two questions: the "ejus" sounded like "jesus", is that intentional?

And the fastpaced "dona nobis paces" sounded too rushed to me. Maybe the text is asking for something slower...

Wow, are those real voices or sampled? Sounds pretty good. I don't have the sufficient level to critique very well, so I'll give it a thumbs up for what you have.

I liked it.

I have two questions: the "ejus" sounded like "jesus", is that intentional?

And the fastpaced "dona nobis paces" sounded too rushed to me. Maybe the text is asking for something slower...

I think to some extent both of those question can be explained at once, this recording was a little rushed. In an effort to disseminate this music out for critics in a timely fashion I learned to sing all the parts and recorded everything, so I might have messed up some pronunciations (especially in the tenor where their was vowel modifications in the upper range). That might be the case for the "ejus".

As far as a dona nobis paces, I set that a at fast pace because of the percussivness of that phrase and less about this meaning. I was more interested in how it sounded I guess lol.

Wow, are those real voices or sampled? Sounds pretty good. I don't have the sufficient level to critique very well, so I'll give it a thumbs up for what you have. <img src="http://network.youngcomposers.com/elgg/ipb/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif" alt=":D" />

thanks for you comments

yes those are real voices,

Great piece! It's good that you recorded it, because even if it was rushed, it's great to hear it with the text instead of horrible sample "ahs".

I think maybe a bit more melody would help. The melodic static-ness dragged the piece down unnecessarily, and you can still have those modern harmonies with melody. Hearing the flat lines in imitation isn't that exciting.

I really like the choral bit at measure 19. Also around 43 the "alleluia"s where cool.

To me, the text didn't really come through in the music. The text seems like a joyful call to song, while the relatively little amount of melodic motion seemed to undermine that. Maybe that's the point, but I don't think it's clear enough if it is.

Still overall, very enjoyable.

As far as a dona nobis paces, I set that a at fast pace because of the percussivness of that phrase and less about this meaning. I was more interested in how it sounded I guess lol.

OK. I think it is interesting that you did it this way. The music gives the text some hasty anxious unrest, which is not the regular way it is depicted, but it makes sense to ask for "pacem" if one does not have it. So interesting choice :)

This is a very good work. My only comments, and this could be the intonation of the singer, is that I heard a couple of slides or glissandi in the voice parts. I actually like them but didn't see them in your score. Was this intentional?

This is a very good work. My only comments, and this could be the intonation of the singer, is that I heard a couple of slides or glissandi in the voice parts. I actually like them but didn't see them in your score. Was this intentional?

they are not in the score. The reason you hear them might be due to a few things. Like I said, this is rushed and, despite the fact that I had written the music, I was still sight-reading as I was recording. So there might be a few instances of hitting a note I was unsure of.

The other reason is my vocal training. My vocal training included a being taught to scope into a note, especially notes that were in the upper part of my range. It is a technique that is not really agreed upon among vocal teachers, and is often interpreted as sliding.

Usually, this style of choral writing doesn't really do much for me-- I find the style of staggered block chords, often moving in parallel, to be a bit tiresome and overused. So I was ready to not like this piece.

But, listening to it, I found myself enjoying it thoroughly. The harmonic language was sufficiently varied throughout-- in particular, I like how you use dissonance not only to build tension, but as a kind of "anti-cadence" (mm. 12-13, not to mention the ending, which I found absolutely delightful).

Men's choral music, too, I often find tiring, but both the performance and the writing provided a lot of textural interest to break up the somewhat homogenous nature of the chosen ensemble. I did not find the dona nobis section rushed compositionally-- in your effort to produce this recording, I feel you might have rushed in the performance of it (who could blame you?), but a sufficiently advanced ensemble should be able to pull it off in a sensible and diction-proper manner.

MM. 13-15 was my favorite section-- the rhythmic "e-jus/no-vum" was really neat, and I really found myself enjoying that section. Nice work.

Good use of range-- I often find myself writing somewhat dicey bass lines, but your vocal writing seemed quite idiomatic throughout.

My criticisms:

A personal irritant of mine is when people choose to notate 4/4 as common time when switching between time signatures quickly. Why not 4/4 (most notably in m. 8). This isn't necessarily a criticism at a technical mistake, but if you're going to be moving between different time signatures (especially when the eighth is going to be the primary pulse), consider not using shorthand like "c", because it isn't the most precise and clear way of letting the performer see the beat pattern quickly.

I do believe that e-jus is pronounced incorrectly in the recording. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

There are some minor typographical issues in the score. Notably you have a typo in the lyics at m. 9 in the T2 part, where you've put "Cantate co-min-no" as the lyrics. Tiny nitpick, but I didn't even seen it until the 3rd time through, so I figured you might have missed it.

There is also a typo in the penultimate measure in the bass part-- since it is tied, the F does not need to be sharped again, and if it is, it should be a cautionary accidental.

There is no indicated tempo at the beginning of the score.

At mm. 43-45, your performance seems to indicate that you might want to place break-marks between each "Al-le-lu-ia" to ensure that they are separated. Either a breathing comma or the traditional "railroad tracks" would make your intentions clearer-- if that's what you want. You do not sing this part in time, and I think indicating that to future ensembles would be considerate.

All in all, anything negative I have to say about the piece is overshadowed by its really great qualities. As I'm sure you've noticed, almost everything I've criticized is largely a nitpick-- I certainly nothing negative to say about the overall tone or structure of the piece. It is truly a really lovely work, and I'd be the first to congratulate you on a really successful execution, both as a composer and a performer. (Thank you for the recording, it was very helpful in reviewing the score-- and lovely performance, you have a very versatile voice and display excellent vocal technique in the recording).

Wonderful job.

Usually, this style of choral writing doesn't really do much for me-- I find the style of staggered block chords, often moving in parallel, to be a bit tiresome and overused. So I was ready to not like this piece.

That's how I felt, too... after the first couple measures, i thought I knew what it would be, but something kept me listening, and I'm glad it did! This was lovely! I like it a lot! I LOVE men's choirs, too, and it's so nice to hear and see music for a men's choir! :D