Over the last couple of years I have been asked to write two Christmas musicals and one Easter musical for the Lillenas Publishing Company. The company has assigned me to the Senior Adult market or the Traditional Choir category, meaning classic four-part harmony with real bass notes in a restricted range. the music is also written to be accessible to those who do not read music fluently, yet it is not designed to be looked at once and then performed. (There is certainly nothing wrong with writing that way and it serves a great service, but I am not trying to be that restrictive) I do not write repeats so you can't get lost. As John Jennings from Lillenas describes it, "It's NASCAR music...all left turns no right turns."
I would REALLY love to have feed back from directors. Tell me what you like, don't like, wish you could have, hate what we currently do, etc. I am not trying to create "art." If you do not like it, I have failed. It does not degrade me to write with restrictions. It does not limit my creativity to write with limits. I had a chart I wrote for Christ Church Choir and orchestra. I needed a section with a key change that went to F#. I made the key change with the orchestra up a half step, we sang a chorus a cappella in F#, and modulated to G when the orchestra came back in. It sounded very creative and nobody knew I was just avoiding the key of F# for the musicians.
Let me hear from you directors. I sincerely seek your guidance.
A lot of what you described is what I look for, real bass parts, four part harmony (not two parts in octaves), not super easy, but not moderately difficult (a full cantata like that takes too long to learn), reasonable ranges (ideally basses not past middle C unless singing unison with tenors), tenors not above an F# above middle C, altos preferably not above an A, but certainly not higher than B or so unless singing unison with the sopranos and sopranos not above an F# Lack of repeats is good. Rhythms that aren't totally straight and boring, but not a lot of real difficult syncopation.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the ones you've mentioned yet. You have me interested though. Other things that are good are accompaniment and rehearsal tracks available.
Lillenas has a full compliment of tracks, split tracks, rehearsal tracks etc. My first musical sold double of what they expected, it was title Star of Bethlehem. The new Christmas musical for this year is titled Come and Adore Him, the title song by Rebecca Peck. Very traditional with some new songs. The Easter musical is not yet released but is titled O What a Savior and features that classic gospel song.
ReplyDeleteI write 4 basic notes with occasional 2 part but not much. I write NO solos, though you can take a verse as a solo. Choirs are tired of singing backup to the soloist. I write for the CHOIR. I add extra notes as cue notes. If I want an F# on the end for the sopranos, it is a cue note. A choir of 20 can sing my musicals with 4 parts, yet a choir of 100 can still sing my musicals and fill out the chords with the cue notes. Check it out at the Lillenas Publishing website under Senior Adult Choir.
I would love to hear back from you after you hear and see some of the music.