A part song (or part-song) is a form of choral music which consists of a secular song which has been written or arranged for several vocal parts. Usually the arrangement is homophonic, with the highest part carries the melody with the other voices supplying the accompanying harmonies, rather than one which is contrapuntal like a madrigal. They are often sung unaccompanied. Arrangements may be for SATB choir, or for an all-male or all-female ensemble.[1]
The original text and melody often originate in traditional folk song; in the British choral repertoire, composers have often drawn on the rich folk traditions of the Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, arranging traditional melodies for choir in a contemporary style.
Composers and works
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn all contributed to the genre, but the part song gained popularity in Britain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with the growth of choral societies.[2] Works by composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, Arnold Bax and Peter Warlock are typical examples of the part-song repertoire.
Examples
- Lay a garland - Pearsall
- Three Shakespeare Songs - text by William Shakespeare, set to music by Vaughan Williams
- Loch Lomond - traditional Scottish, arr. Vaughan Williams
- Greensleeves - traditional English, arr. Vaughan Williams
- I Love my Love - traditional English, arr. Holst
References
- ^ Baker (2007). A Dictionary of Musical Terms. Read Books. ISBN 140676292X.
- ^ Russell, Dave (1987). Popular Music in England, 1840-1914. McGill-Queen's Press. pp. 217–8. ISBN 0773505415.
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