I suspect the distinction of "folk" or "non-folk" for sixteenth-century
choral music may be unhelpful. After all, the greatest of both the German
and English choral composers of the period followed the most approved
writing techniques of the Renaissance--simple melodic lines with mostly
step-wise progressions, small ranges, very little dissonance except on
passing tones, and emphasis on being able to understand the words. After
that, it's up to the inspiration of the individual composer. It seems to
me that the union of comprehensibility (a la Claude Goudimel, for example)
and the more open sonorities of English composition from the fifteenth
century created the most moving music ever written. De gustibus non
disputandum est. But I just want to note that my not-very-good church
choir sang a Christopher Tye anthem last Sunday. The congregation gave us
the gift of full attention, and afterward a woman said to me that it made
her cry. Every choir I've sung in, Episcopal and now Lutheran, has done a
lot of Tudor music, because it's so singable and so accessible to the
ordinary listener. And, sixteen years ago, I converted to Christianity
while listening to Gibbons' Nunc Dimittis.
Phyllis
Phyllis G. Jestice
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