Printing out the refrain page twice may be desirable if there is not room for three sheets of paper on your organ stand. For a suggestion on how to layout a 4-page Chabanel psalm in an organ binder (being that most of them are 4 pages) please view these two steps:
STEP 1 • STEP 2(interactive button: mouse over it)
The organist then must do several things:
(1) Decide which of the various refrain melodies will be sung. The different melodies are usually named after saints.
(2) Decide which harmonizations go where. The different letters (A, B, C, etc.) are different harmonizations of the refrain. A model to follow might be that a "full-sounding" harmonization serves as the introduction. Then, a light harmonization is played softly as the cantor sings the melody, followed by a basic, full-sounding, louder accompaniment when all present repeat the refrain and try to master the tune. Then, as the congregation continues repeating the refrain after each verse, "wilder" (that is, more interesting) accompaniments can safely be used. If a harmonization strikes one as harmonically "odd," one might find it artistically satisfying to use that harmonization as an instrumental introduction.
(3) Choose a key. Depending on the voice(s) of the singer(s), the melody might need to be transposed. Higher voices will probably prefer the melody to be raised a whole step, and lower voices will doubtless prefer a lower key. For organists lacking transposition dials (or who cannot transpose at sight), the melodies can be E-mailed to you at a different pitch level if you contact the editor.
(4) Determine Picardy thirds. At the end of the Psalm, it usually makes sense to add a Picardy third (if the piece is in a minor key) or choose a harmonization (for the final refrain) that ends on a major chord. This is one reason why many of the Chabanel psalms favor the minor modes: so that the Picardy third at the end (or the major chord) will bring the whole piece to an agreeable conclusion.
(5) Look at suspensions. Adding suspensions to the Psalm verses can be very effective, but due to the complexity of notating this, it is left to the organist.
Here is an audio example of Chabanel Psalm #3001. The cantor on verses 1, 3, and 4 is Ms. Ashley Gonzalez. The cantor on verse 2 is Ms. Erika Fuentes. Both young ladies are high school students at John Paul II High School in Corpus Christi, TX.
There is one thing that could not be notated in the Chabanel Psalm scores: the pauses required during the Psalm verses.
In general, it will be found that the chord should be played first, after which the singer should enter. [ In Chabanel Psalm 4035, an attempt was made to notate this (by means of rests in the singer's part). However, because this might cause the organist to neglect playing the soprano note (before the singer sings it), this method was discontinued. ]
To remedy this situation, the following audio example is provided, whose pauses (it is recommended) be imitated throughout all the psalms (always tempered, of course, by the particular psalm tone in question, the size of the room, choice of cantor, etc.):
It should also be mentioned that the ideal way to perform the Chabanel Psalms is to have a choir chanting the verses. Here is a live audio example of how this works:
However, having the cantor alone sing each verse is also perfectly acceptable (and often times more practical).
From the same source in Knoxville (St. John Neumann Church), here are two more examples of the Chabanel Psalms in a parish setting (recorded live on the first Sunday of Advent in 2007):
Many of the Chabanel Psalm refrains sound excellent with voice parts. One example is given above (EX.2). Musicians who can read music will have no problem "adapting" the scores to this method. Also, many of the Chabanel Psalms can be sung without organ. This example illustrates both of these facts:
Below (EX.6 & EX.7) is an example of the Chabanel Psalm "I will praise Your name" sung in harmony. Remember that this is but one of the many harmonizations possible. For most of the Chabanel Psalms, multiple harmonizations are given of the Refrain (usually eight or nine different harmonizations) and any one of these is acceptable for singing in parts. Even young children can learn to do this. Here is an example which shows 4-5 children under the age of nine joining in singing a Chabanel Psalm in parts:
However, in the composer's experience, adding parts in a parish setting merely confuses the congregation. I would only advise it if the congregation knows the melody really well (which is only possible when Chabanel Seasonal Psalms are employed).
Here is a final example of how the Chabanel Psalms sound with organ and voice parts (this Kyrie was adapted to be a Chabanel refrain, note for note).
NOTES TO SINGERS
Often, “vocal tricks” about pronouncing the sungEnglish language yield a great harvest.
For example, when singing words like REJOICE, REMEMBER, DESIRE, RESOUND, REFRESHING, BELOW, RENEW, RETURN, and DELIVER pronounce the first syllable as "ih" not "eee" (i.e. how one would speak those words).
The result is so pleasant: RIH-joice instead of REE-joice, RIH-member instead of REE-member, BIH-low instead of BEE-low, etc.
The British flip their R's when singing English, and we could learn from them here, since this solves a lot of problems. In any event, a prominent "American" R sound is to be avoided. For example, do not sing "Lord" with a prominent R. Instead, pronounce it in song more as "Lawd." The words "choir" and "rigor" (to name but two examples) should also be so adjusted.
In general, sing English as one speaks it. When singing "angel," sing ain-JUHL (not ain-JELL) because one does not say ain-JELL when speaking. When singing "merciful," sing merr-CIH-ful (not merr-SEE-full) because one does not say merr-SEE-full when speaking.
Another example is how to sustain a long "i" sound. In Chabanel Psalm 2990 (from the Nativity of St. John the Baptist) there occurs this response: “I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.” The vowel sound of “i” should be a long “ahh” and then diphthong should be added at the last second. This makes a tremendous sonic difference.
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