The Sweelinck "Gaudete Omnes" improves week by week. Last evening we worked on the elaborate syncopation in the piece and addressed some remaining note issues. The next step deals with interpretation and becoming familiar enough with our own parts so that we can know and anticipate other parts. Half the battle is comprehending how the piece should sound in individual parts, together, and as an overall statement. Should it be bright, speedy, and vigorous, or more stately and prayerful? As with most music from this period, the answer is not dictated by the form itself, but must be discovered in the course of rehearsal and then adjusted according to the dictates of time and place. In this respect, everyone is pleased to have access to this very nice MP3 from the Manhattan Choral Ensemble, singing the Gaudete at a more realistic pace than we had aspired to. It sounds more liturgical this way too--or that is the current state of things. No matter how it ends up, optimism abounds that we will be ready for Gaudete Sunday.

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As we continue to work on Sweelinck (we've made it all the way through, and we are focussing now on rhythm!), we put together a Tallis-centric liturgy for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), in celebration of the 500th anniversary of his birth. There are five Tallis Motets in this liturgy.

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