Double choir music

[vintage7512]

Anybody have a few titles of decent double choir music - especially if for Christmas, but anything good. We have a brass group playing the Pinkham Christmas Cantata and I would like to take advantage of having them all there for a couple other pieces. Thanks in advance for any good ideas.

[imperialbari]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_pian'_e_forte

Heinrich Schütz has a lot of compositions for two choirs, at least some of them also with basso continuo.

Praetorius' Enatus est Emanuel has call and response effects within a 4-part setting. Maybe had for free from my Yahoo-based download project.

Klaus

[imperialbari]

Several clefs and transpositions available. Here a screenshot of a sample page from the brass band style notation for brass quartet:

[LJLovegren]

Giovanni Gabrieli - Ch. 40 - Hodie Christus Natus Est is for two 5-part choirs.

MIDI at http://imslp.org/wiki/Hodie_Christus_na ... _Giovanni)

IMSLP has other Gabrieli MIDIs for lots of instruments but not Christmas themed.

I once heard a radio intereview with Robert "RIP" Posten of Annapolis Brass Quintet in which he said that most people think renaissance music sounds "like Christmas"

[imperialbari]

Good link!

This score is written in the old style of notation where surplus note values are held across the bar lines (where they are deducted from the beginning of that next bar. Makes reading a bit difficult for players only used to modern notation styles.

On a technical note:

I have been able to download the said MIDI-file. Only it won't open in any of my applications.

If technically versed TubeNetter's are able to get the file down in a useable format, please contact me via the email button to the right to arrange for a file transfer to me. NOT that I promise making a brass relevant version (and IF then no promise that it will be ready for this upcoming Christmas). But I need the file to consider whether a version is possible.

One potential problem is that there are so many male voices, four of them listed as basses. And then even the lowest of them may be too high for a contrabass tuba. Turning a bass line into a contrabass line isn't always possible in multi-choired music, where lines criss-cross so that a nominal bass line isn't always the true bass line (only true bass lines may be taken down an octave - and even that rule of thumb doesn't allow for a contrabass line in all situations).

Klaus

[imperialbari]

Eyed through the Hodie Christus natus est score. Thinking in 14-piece terms I believe it would be possible with

1st choir: 3 trumpets, tenor trombone, bass trombone

2nd choir: 3 horns, euphonium, bass or contrabass tuba (part isn't unduly high even for a BBb)

One trumpet. one horn, and two trombones as jokers for matters of endurance and reinforcement of important inner voice figurations.

Getting the MIDI-file would speed the process.

Klaus

[imperialbari]

Got the MIDI file converted myself via, of all things, an application on an iPad. Looks like **** when opened in Finale, but let's see what is doable.

Klaus

[LJLovegren]

I had started setting the Gabrieli - Hodie last year for recorders using Finale 2012.
I've tweaked it for generic brass.

Here are the ranges in key of B-flat:

Choir-1 Voice-1 G at top of treble clef down to 3rd line B (very narrow range)
Choir-1 Voice-2 Treble Clef 4th line D down to middle C
Choir-1 Voice-3 Treble Clef 3rd line Bflat down to A below middle C
Choir-1 Voice-4 G above middle C down to G below middle C
Choir-1 Voice-5 Middle C down to Bass Clef 2nd line Bflat

Choir-2 Voice-1 G above middle C down to G below middle C
Choir-2 Voice-2 D above middle C down to Bass Clef 2nd space C
Choir-2 Voice-3 Middle C down to Bass clef 1st line G
Choir-2 Voice-4 Bass clef 4th space G down to F immediately below staff
Choir-2 Voice-5 Bass clef 4th line F down to Bflat beneath two ledger lines

I'll gladly share it in Finale or MusicXML formats so you can tweak it.
OR, I can customize it for any ensemble at no charge.

[Roger Lewis]

Take a look at:

http://www.dorm40music.com" target="_blank

they have some great stuff listed for double brass quintet including:
Schoenberg's Transfigured Night
1st Tableau of Petruschka
Berceuse and Finale from Firebird
Main theme to Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein
Mars from the Planets
and Elsa's Procession and Kings Army Ensembles by Wagner

You can also get the entire Mahler Symphony 1 for brass quintet and a whole bunch of complete symphonies.

Disclaimer - I have not tried any of these arrangements -----yet.

Roger