Research Point: Polyphonic Vocal Music

Thomas Tallis - If ye love me

This piece, like many Renaissance choral works, starts with a homophonic passage before Tallis introduces more polyphonic writing. This starts with the sopranos, followed by the tenors singing the same opening notes, but then a slightly altered melody to fit with the soprano line. He does the same with the alto and bass entries so all 4 parts are singing together; the polyphony creates a pulse or beat to the music that you couldn't feel in the opening homophonic passage. The tenors begin the next phrase, but this new pulse is slower than the previous phrase, as the melodies are based around minims rather than crochets. Tallis brings some parts in on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bars to create a syncopated feel to the music which is very effective.


William Byrd - Nunc Dimittis from the Great Service

This was the first piece of Byrd I ever sung and it has stuck with me ever since because of the sheer beauty of the writing and the way the different lines weave around each other, particularly in the amens; we sang this at an evensong with the Arvo Part 'Magnificat', so it provided quite a contrast!

There are some passages where one voice leads the others by a bar, but through the polyphony this is eventually resolved. It is also a useful way of introducing a new section or line in the text; one of the downsides of heavy polyphonic writing is that the text can get lost. The use of rising and descending scales really lifts a particular line out of the texture, particularly in the amens where the text isn't changing.


Claudio Monteverdi - Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610)

Whilst not an English Elizabethan composer, Monteverdi was composing in Italy around the time of Byrd and  Morley. His 1610 Vespers is a large work for SSATTBB soloists, double choir and orchestra. I bring this piece up as I'm performing it in a couple of weeks time so had a copy of it to hand.

Monteverdi uses a Cantus Firmus based on existing Gregorian chants for the text of most movements as the basis to build the choral writing around. He also combines large homophonic and polyphonic passages to great effect; these polyphonic passages can be built around up to 10 voice parts. He also uses the double choir to different effects, sometimes writing call and response passages between the 2 choirs and sometimes using all parts at once, either polyphonically or homophonically.

I think the most effective part of this piece is in his polyphonic writing where he uses syncopation to great effect; in many cases one voice part sing identical music to a different part but 1-2 beats later. When used in light, detached passages this is very effective.