Organ Tutorial Psalm 114: “When Israel came out of Egypt”

Psalm 114 is sung here to an ancient chant known as Tonus Peregrinus.
The chant is what’s known as a single (as opposed to double) chant, in that there are only two phrases of music, and each verse of the psalm is sung to the same chant.
Tonus Peregrinus used as an Anglican psalm chant is indeed based on a medieval plain chant, the so-called “wandering tone” (Tone 9) that was slightly out of the ordinary. The second half starts on a different note to the first half, which was not the convention otherwise. Tonus Peregrinus has an interesting progression (peregrination?) from a definite implication of F major in the first part, to D minor at the end.
Here the choir experiments with the question of whether to sing the chant in unison or in harmony. Ralph Allwood explains that he has always done it in unison, with some of the verses alternating between upper and lower voices, whereas organist Mark Shepherd on the other hand says that he has always done it in harmony.
The alternating unison version enables the deep voices to sing the more forbidding words, and the high voices the lighter text. Towards the end of the rehearsal, they compare the two and Mark decides he really likes the unison version, so the choir opts for that in the final performance.
Read more and watch the video here: viscountorgans.net/psalm-114-...
About this Organ Tutorial Series:
One of an organist’s most subtle and sensitive roles is in the accompaniment of psalms and church anthems. In such an accompanying role, one’s job is rarely to stand out as a performer but to create an underlying musical foundation on which the choir’s singing can build.
For this year’s offering, then, we present a series in which the renowned choir director Ralph Allwood teaches the Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir about psalm singing, with three lovely anthems thrown in to the bargain.
They’re accompanied ably by Mark Shepherd on the Viscount Regent 356 organ. You’ll hear Mark exercising all his artistic powers in support of the choir.
Crucially we don’t just show you a performance, but take you through the rehearsal process, during which Ralph explains the pieces, discusses word painting with the choir and organist, and leads everyone towards a good final performance.
For more information about this Organ Tutorial Series and more videos visit our website: viscountorgans.net/organ-tuto...

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Find out more about this tutorial and the series: viscountorgans.net/psalm-114-when-israel-came-out-of-egypt/

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11:33 Psalm 114 Starts

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11:33 PSALM 114 STARTS

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11:33 Psalm 114 starts