A Quarantine Project: Harmony #2 — Stuttgart

SO WE'RE ALL STILL STUCK INSIDE

reharmonization: Stuttgart

Voices United #2 is "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus," set to the tune Stuttgart, from the Psalmodia Sacra of 1715. So, yes, very much in the public domain.

So here's a reharmonization. I went a little chromatic. This is not unusual for me.

So here's the thing I did.

Click here for a PDF of the same.

Next up... #3 is a French text that uses the tune, #4  is David Young's 1988 tune Whittlesey, and #5 is Alberto Taulé's 1972 self-named tune, so next up will be #6, which is Away in a Manger. While it is usually connected to a Christmas text, in this book it is not. So it's next!

This harmonization by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

A Quarantine Project: Harmony #1 — Veni Emmanuel

SO WE'RE ALL STUCK INSIDE...

but it's a chance to do some harmonizing.

So, I have this hymnal. These hymnals. Lots of them. Since Voices United was sitting nearby, it goes first. I'm going to harmonize, or re-harmonize, every public domain tune within the book, bit by bit. Minimum one a day.

So. Veni Emmanuel is Voices United hymn #1

And here's The Thing I Did.

Click here for a PDF of the harmonization

Next: Voices United #2: Stuttgart

This harmonization by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Fanfare and harmony: "Victory"

Well, it's about six weeks or so until Easter, just enough time to learn a new fanfare for an old tune. And a twisty sort of harmony for it.

The tune "Victory" comes from Palestrina, and the most common harmonization is by W. H. Monk. I somehow doubt that my rather... robust, chromatic harmonization will supplant it, but that's really not the point of the exercise. The fanfare is in 5/4 because, ah... because it is.

And here they are (PDF link)

More Easter music coming up!

Fanfare on 'Victory' and this reharmonization by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Prelude and Harmonization: O Welt, ich muß dich lassen

Seeing as I'm presently preparing several of Brahms' Eleven Choral Preludes for recital, this tune came up: "O World, Now I Must Leave Thee." It seems to be fairly uncommon; the only work I could find using the tune is a Bach four-part setting and the two Brahms preludes, #s 3 and 11.

So, seeing as I needed to come up with a harmony for my choir to sing at the recital anyway, why not, I figured, pull in the tune for a choral prelude of my own?

And this then became the Ostinato on "O Welt..." in which I borrow a page or two from Rheinberger and put the theme in the upper voices (see Meditations, Op. 167, #10), as well as have the theme constantly shifting key (Character pieces, Op. 156, #11).

So without further ado: Ostinato on, and reharmonization of, O Welt, ich muß dich lassen

Ostinato on O Welt, ich muß dich lassen, and this harmonization by Mike Cutler are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Prelude and Harmonization: O Waly Waly

Alright, so here's a favourite tune of mine, often presented in a form I greatly dislike - in four, rather than in three. The problem being that in order to make these nicely set bars of three in to bars of four, you have to elongate some of the notes and bog down all the forward momentum.

So I leave it in three. Only makes sense to do so if I don't like it in four.

I don't know what the original is, incidentally. I just know I like it in three, don't like it in four, and that I've talked too much about this.

O Waly Waly - prelude and reharmonization

Any ideas for what to work on next are welcome! Drop me a line if you have a thought. And a tip or donation along with that line or thought would always be appreciated!

Little Prelude on O Waly Waly and this harmonization of O Waly Waly by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Reharmonization: Wondrous Love

Not a lot to say about this one... a continuation of sorts from last week's prelude: a harmonization of the American hymn tune "Wondrous Love"

(link to the PDF)

This hymn harmonization by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!

Meditation on Wondrous Love - new project going slower than anticipated

All it took to get me back in to things was a donation. How about that?

Naw, I'm kidding. I've been busy with a bunch of other projects, mainly performing ones, and I just haven't been on the ball regarding my weekly writing plans. I'll get back to it eventually... I hope! I may even catch up on the few weeks I've missed.

So! first of all, I need to send out a gigantic Thank You to Carson Cooman, who

- gave generously to support my ongoing projects (third weekly prelude book starting soon!)

- suggested the tune to write a prelude on; and

- mentioned in passing an interest in single-manual, small-pedal-compass organs, providing an interesting creative challenge for writing this work.

So here, then, without further ado, is the Meditation on "Wondrous Love" (click for downloadable PDF) - just in time for Lent, no less!

So thanks again to Carson, and hopefully I'll have more in the pipeline shortly!

Mike

Meditation on Wondrous Love by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Your donations can help me keep writing these! Click to feed a composer!