paper about music. On singing and the vocal ensemble 1

For the written final project option, I have chosen a flexible writing assignment in response to listening to performances of Palestrina’s motet “Sicut cervus”, which is attached. The edition you are looking at has editorial accents on stressed syllables of text, FYI.

Psalm 42:1

Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum,
ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus.

As a hart longs for the flowing streams,
so longs my soul for thee, O God.

Please read the excerpt from Alexander Blachly’s article “On singing and the vocal ensemble 1” from A Performer’s Guide to Renaissance Music, ed. Jeffrey T. Kite-Powell (Schirmer 1994).

For your essay, please choose three issues that Blachly raises about interpretation (for example, ensemble, imitation, pronunciation, text expression, punctuation, etc.) and discuss how they are or are not implemented in the recording of Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus: New York Polyphony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUuaA8DKiQ. You will not be able to address the entire piece, but should focus on finding one or more specific examples of each issue (cite bar numbers, please).

Your concluding paragraph should address why you felt the performance was successful or unsuccessful overall. You should write using the first person perspective: “I think…”

search “Sicut cervus (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina) – New York Polyphony” copy it and paste it at youtube, you will see the video.