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Abendlied

Ne0Wolf7

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Just yesterday, I sang my final all county concert. All the groups were amazing, and the mixed choir conductor (my conductor) was absolutely superb. That being said, even though it was certainly the best concert I've ever sung, one song from last year really remains with me. That song is Abendied by Joeseph Reinberger.
It's based off a simple but lovely verse from a German translation of the Bible:

Bleib bei uns,
denn es will Abend werden,
und der Tag hat sich geneiget.

Which translates to:
Bide with us,
for evening shadows darken,
And the day will soon be over.


The piece is full of beautiful harmonies and dissonances, and he wrote it at the age of 15. Sadly, being a baritone, I can't sing the soprano part, but I do have an alto and tenor saxophone, which is (almost) enough to cover the entire range of the choir in this song (not quite low enough). Abendied is in the public domain now, so I found the notes online, transposed them accordingly, and gave the first part a sightread today.
Here is my first take and the score I created if you decide you like it enough to play it too. Do excuse my intonation with alto, I need to work on that, and yes, I edited out a beat at some point.:p Also, this is a wonderful choir singing it.
I'll revisit this eventually with a recording of everything being played to the best of my ability.
 
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I think I have a full Sax Ensemble Chart.
Yes, a beautiful composition.
 
I’ve sung it. It’s in 7 parts SSAATTB
IMG_9523.JPG
 
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I only see six, the alto isn't split. Do you have a different arrangement you were thinking of?
I also sang it as part of a choir, under the direction of a local college professor. It's my favorite piece I've sung.
 
Sorry, yes altos not split. It's OK - it's "of its time", but taste is personal. I prefer some of the works by Stanford or Parry which are of the same era, or later by John Ireland. Overall, I prefer Renaissance so Lassus, Victoria, Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis, Shepherd, Parsons etc. The Ave Maria by Parsons is a fantastic piece which I love singing:
View: https://youtu.be/v3pDIz9RLfg
 
Don't wish to appear precocious but it's "Abendlied".
In German words are very often written together and combined as one.
In English this would translate to Evening Song -
Abend = Evening,
Lied = Song.

I don't know why Jonathan Rutter chose to call it "Bide With Us" as he's just translating the first three words.
Nevertheless ;) an uplifting rendering. Thankyou.
 
Sorry, yes altos not split. It's OK - it's "of its time", but taste is personal. I prefer some of the works by Stanford or Parry which are of the same era, or later by John Ireland. Overall, I prefer Renaissance so Lassus, Victoria, Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis, Shepherd, Parsons etc. The Ave Maria by Parsons is a fantastic piece which I love singing:
View: https://youtu.be/v3pDIz9RLfg
Oh my goodness, that's incredible! I haven't heard that one before, only the Bach/Gounod and Rachmaninoff ones. Thank you for showing it
 
Don't wish to appear precocious but it's "Abendlied".
In German words are very often written together and combined as one.
In English this would translate to Evening Song -
Abend = Evening,
Lied = Song.

I don't know why Jonathan Rutter chose to call it "Bide With Us" as he's just translating the first three words.
Nevertheless ;) an uplifting rendering. Thankyou.

And maybe presumptuous is the better word ;)
 
Don't wish to appear precocious but it's "Abendlied".
In German words are very often written together and combined as one.
In English this would translate to Evening Song -
Abend = Evening,
Lied = Song.

I don't know why Jonathan Rutter chose to call it "Bide With Us" as he's just translating the first three words.
Nevertheless ;) an uplifting rendering. Thankyou.
I know it as 'Evening Song', Abendlied as you say
 
@tenorviol - Have you tried making a setting of the Parsons Ave Maria for Saxophones?
 
@nigeld not yet... but that would be a good plan as the range of each voice is not to large and would probably sit in a nice register on all instruments. I have the music.
 
Oh, I thought you were of venerable age

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~Chili Davis

"The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball" ~Doug Larsen

;) :old:
 
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw
 
Not wishing to go off topic but my use of the word precocious has been questioned ;)

Got another George Bernard for you - not sure if I've got it right:
Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime it is to waste it on children.
 
I use audacity.
I started by generating a rhythm track that was simply a metronome with thee extra measures for me to step in front of the mic during.
I then added another track and recorded myself playing a part (I like starting with the lowest part and building up).
I added new tracks for each part (6 for this song) and recorded listening to both the metronome and the other tracks (I wear earphones when I record).
Once I had each part, I mixed as necessary (I didn't end up mixing at all this time, chiefly because I'm not too good at it) and mute the metronome track before exporting as an MP3.
 
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