Te Deum concert

Modernized Renaissance Partbooks

My doctoral dissertation is titled, “Achieving an Historically Informed Performance of Renaissance Polyphony: a Qualitative Study of the Use of Modernized Partbooks.” The compositional and theoretical processes of the Renaissance era differ greatly from those of later centuries. Consequently, modern editions translate the musical language of Renaissance polyphony into an anachronistic syntax, increasing the challenge of properly understanding and performing the compositions. My research explores the value of using my newly created modernized partbooks with choral ensembles to teach the skills and understanding needed to execute the expressive musical qualities of sixteenth-century polyphony.

The goal of these modernized editions is to retain what I consider the two key ingredients of Renaissance polyphony while modernizing all other elements to make these editions accessible to the widest population of choral singers. The two ingredients are 1.) the horizontality of line, which is supported by singing from a partbook, rather than a full score; and 2.) musical phrasing based on melodic shape and text stress, rather than metric stress, which is supported by the exclusion of barlines. Each score below includes a list of editorial decisions specific to that score. At the bottom of this page is an overview of the decisions made for these modernized editions.


SCORES


Byrd – Ave Verum Corpus (G aeolian)

 

Clemens non Papa – Ego Flos Campi (F Ionian)

 

Clemens non Papa – Ego Flos Campi (Ab Ionian)

 

Hassler – Cantate Domino – SATB (Bb Ionian)

 

Hassler – Cantate Domino – SATB (D Ionian)

*Soprano 1 part updated Aug. 29, 2023

 

Hassler – Cantate Domino – SSAA (F Ionian)

 

Hassler – Cantate Domino – TTBB (F Ionian)

 

Palestrina – Sanctus from Missa Ut Re Mi Fa So La (C Ionian)

 

 Tallis – If Ye Love Me (F Ionian)

 

Tallis – Lamentations of Jeremiah I (E phrygian)

***if you find an error in the score or parts that needs addressing, please reach out. I am more than happy to correct and send out a new parts.***

 


Editorial Decisions


 

Bar Lines

Note Length

Slurs and Beams

Mensuration

Latin Text

Chromatic Notes

Rehearsal Letters