61-669: Collegium Regale is a collection of choral settings by the English composer Herbert Howells of the canticles for the Anglican services of Mattins , Holy Communion and Evening Prayer . Scored for four-part choir , solo tenor and organ , the pieces were written between 1944 and 1956 "for the King's College, Cambridge " ( Collegium Regale in Latin). The first of the pieces were first published by Novello in 1947, and they have become
122-558: A Requiem . Dynamics (music) In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases . Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation , often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending on the musical context: a specific marking may correspond to a different volume between pieces or even sections of one piece. The execution of dynamics also extends beyond loudness to include changes in timbre and sometimes tempo rubato . Dynamics are one of
183-495: A demonstration in the concert hall from a hostile critic. Howells, always over-sensitive to criticism, withdrew the work and produced few significant compositions for several years. Howells' friend and fellow composer, Martin Sumpter, encouraged this temporary hiatus from composing large-scale works. One exception was Lambert's Clavichord (1928), a rare example of a composition by a 20th-century composer for that instrument. It
244-519: A family holiday, dying in London three days later. Michael was buried in the churchyard of St Matthew's Church in Twigworth , Gloucestershire. Howells was deeply affected and continued to commemorate the event until the end of his life. At the suggestion of his daughter Ursula he sought to channel his grief into music, and over the next three years composed much of the large-scale choral work which
305-430: A gradual reduction in both dynamics and tempo. For pronounced dynamic shifts, cresc. molto and dim. molto are commonly used, with molto meaning "much". Conversely, poco cresc. and poco dim. indicate gentler changes, with "poco" translating to a little , or alternatively poco a poco meaning "little by little". Sudden dynamic changes are often indicated by prefixing or suffixing subito (meaning "suddenly") to
366-410: A grand piano has a much greater volume range than a recorder. The introduction of modern recording techniques has provided alternative ways to control the dynamics of music. Dynamic range compression is used to control the dynamic range of a recording, or a single instrument. This can affect loudness variations, both at the micro- and macro scale. In many contexts, the meaning of the term dynamics
427-683: A grant from the Carnegie Trust, which paid for Howells to assist R. R. Terry in editing the Latin Tudor repertoire that Terry and his choir were reviving at Westminster Cathedral . The work was to lead to a multi-volume edition of Tudor Church Music by Oxford University Press in the 1920s. It provided Howells with a comfortable income and enabled him to absorb the English Renaissance style which he loved and would evoke in his own music. His first significant works for choir,
488-506: A larger number of elements (usually in a ratio of 2:1 or more) to increase the mass of sound. This practice was pivotal to the structuring of instrumental forms such as the concerto grosso and the solo concerto , where a few or one instrument, supported by harmonic basso continuo instruments (organ, lute , theorbo , harpsichord , lirone , and low register strings, such as cello or viola da gamba , often used together) variously alternate or join to create greater contrasts. This practice
549-572: A particular favourite of the composer's, recalled his formative experience of Vaughan Williams' Tallis Fantasia . A set of Four Anthems , originally titled In Time of War and including the popular O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and Like as the Hart , followed in early 1941. In August of that year, Howells was invited to serve as acting organist of St John's College, Cambridge , replacing Robin Orr who
610-615: A popular piece of music in the Anglican church music repertoire. The text of the first service setting for the daily service of Mattins in the Anglican church consists of two pieces: the Te Deum , an ancient Latin Christian hymn ; and the Jubilate a setting of Psalm 100. The setting of the evening canticles, part of the Anglican daily service of Evening Prayer , consists of
671-452: A range of terms to describe the dynamics he wanted. In the slow movement of Brahms's trio for violin, horn and piano (Opus 40) , he uses the expressions ppp , molto piano , and quasi niente to express different qualities of quiet. Many Romantic and later composers added più p and più f , making for a total of ten levels between ppp and fff . An example of how effective contrasting dynamics can be may be found in
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#1732775497926732-425: Is a singing technique and musical ornament on a single pitch while executing a crescendo and diminuendo. While the typical range of dynamic markings is from ppp to fff , some pieces use additional markings of further emphasis. Extreme dynamic markings imply either a very large dynamic range or very small differences of loudness within a normal range. This kind of usage is most common in orchestral works from
793-619: Is also common: There are additional special markings that are not very common: Three Italian words are used to show gradual changes in volume: Dynamic changes can be indicated by angled symbols. A crescendo symbol consists of two lines that open to the right ( [REDACTED] ); a decrescendo symbol starts open on the left and closes toward the right ( [REDACTED] ). These symbols are sometimes referred to as hairpins or wedges. The following notation indicates music starting moderately strong, then becoming gradually stronger and then gradually quieter: Hairpins are typically positioned below
854-414: Is denoted with a marcato mark ^ above the note. If a specific emphasis is required, variations of subito , forzando / forzato , or fortepiano can be used. forzando / forzato signifies a forceful accent, abbreviated as fz . To enhance the effect, subito often precedes it as sfz ( subito forzato/forzando , sforzando / sforzato ). The interpretation and execution of these markings are at
915-523: Is marked at one dynamic level. Some instruments are naturally louder than others – for instance, a tuba playing mezzo-piano will likely be louder than a guitar playing forte , while a high-pitched instrument like the piccolo playing in its upper register can sound loud even when its actual decibel level is lower than that of other instruments. The two basic dynamic indications in music are: More subtle degrees of loudness or softness are indicated by: Use of up to three consecutive f s or p s
976-667: Is titled in Greek or Latin, but the text is in the English translation, and the Gloria is sung at the end of the service according to the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. In 1941, Howells took the post of acting organist of St John's College, Cambridge , standing in for Robin Orr who was away on active service in World War II . Howells attended a tea party held by Eric Milner-White , then Dean of King's College . There, he also met
1037-501: Is usually called t erraced dynamics , i.e. the alternation of piano and forte . Later baroque musicians, such as Antonio Vivaldi , tended to use more varied dynamics. J.S. Bach used some dynamic terms, including forte , piano , più piano , and pianissimo (although written out as full words), and in some cases it may be that ppp was considered to mean pianissimo in this period. In 1752, Johann Joachim Quantz wrote that "Light and shade must be constantly introduced ... by
1098-693: The Magnificat ( Song of Mary ) and Nunc dimittis ( Song of Simeon ). Mary sings the Magnificat ("My soul doth magnify the Lord") on the occasion of her visit to Elizabeth , as narrated in the Gospel of Luke ( Luke 1:39–56 ). Simeon sings the Nunc dimittis ("Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace") when Jesus is presented in the temple ( Luke 2:29–32 ). Howells also set
1159-599: The Nunc dimittis are initially conveyed by a solo tenor voice. Explaining his choice of voices, Howells stated that "… if I made a setting of the Magnificat, the mighty should be put down from their seat without a brute force which would deny this canticle’s feminine association. Equally, that in the Nunc dimittis, the tenor’s domination should characterize the gentle Simeon. Only the Gloria should raise its voice." Works cited Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells CH CBE (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983)
1220-609: The Three Carol-Anthems ( Here is the Little Door , A Spotless Rose and Sing Lullaby ) were written around this time. In 1920 Howells married Dorothy Eveline Goozee (1891–1975), informally adopted daughter of John and Alma Dawe. Dorothy was a singer whom he had met in 1911 when deputising as her accompanist. The marriage endured despite Howells' frequent infidelities, and produced two children, Ursula (1922–2005), later an actress, and Michael (1926–1935). In
1281-583: The Three Dances for violin and orchestra. More typical of the works with which Howells was later associated were his earliest important compositions for organ, the first set of Psalm Preludes (1915–16) and the first of the op. 17 Rhapsodies . Howells' promise was imperilled in 1915 when he was diagnosed with Graves' disease and given six months to live. His poor health prevented him from being conscripted in World War I , arguably preserving him from
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#17327754979261342-455: The expressive elements of music . Used effectively, dynamics help musicians sustain variety and interest in a musical performance, and communicate a particular emotional state or feeling. Dynamic markings are always relative. p ( piano - "soft") never indicates a precise level of loudness ; it merely indicates that music in a passage so marked should be considerably quieter than f ( forte - "loud"). There are many factors affecting
1403-702: The service known as Collegium Regale , performed in 1944, followed the next year by the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis , and completed in 1956 by the Office of Holy Communion . Collegium Regale , the Gloucester Service (for Gloucester Cathedral , 1946) and the St Paul's Service (for St Paul's Cathedral, 1951) remain the best known and most admired of the many settings of the Anglican liturgy written by Howells for particular choirs and buildings over
1464-488: The staff (or between the two staves in a grand staff ), though they may appear above, especially in vocal music or when a single performer plays multiple melody lines. They denote dynamic changes over a short duration (up to a few bars ), whereas cresc. , decresc. , and dim. signify more gradual changes. Word directions can be extended with dashes to indicate the temporal span of the change, which can extend across multiple pages. The term morendo ("dying") may also denote
1525-584: The "cosy family" atmosphere of the College, and his Mass in the Dorian Mode was performed at Westminster Cathedral under R. R. Terry within weeks of his arrival. For the most part, however, his music at this time was orchestral; works included a piano concerto, withdrawn after its first performance, a light orchestral suite, The B's , portraying three of his friends at the college (Arthur Bliss, Arthur Benjamin, and Francis Purcell "Bunny" Warren) , and
1586-539: The Anglican Church into a whole new phase of existence". Howells's Collegium Regale evening canticles are among his best-known works and noted for their use of choral voices. While many Anglican settings of the Magnificat begin with full choir or male voices, Howells opens the work with mezzo-piano treble voices, emphasising the feminine voice of Mary's song. Correspondingly, the words of Simeon in
1647-572: The Director of Music at King's, Boris Ord , and the organist of Gonville and Caius College , Patrick Hadley . The three men challenged Howells to a bet of one guinea that he could not compose a canticle setting for the Choir of King's College Chapel . Howells successfully produced a setting of the Te Deum ; he later remarked that it was "the only Te Deum to be born of a decanal bet". Following
1708-793: The Mind (1954) for chorus and strings. Though not an orthodox Christian, Howells was chiefly identified with the composition of religious music. His follow-up work to the Hymnus Paradisi was an extended setting of the Latin Mass for soloists, chorus and orchestra, named Missa Sabrinensis after the River Severn and first performed in Worcester Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival in 1954. It
1769-693: The Order of the British Empire in 1953 and Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1972. His academic awards included an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge , awarded in 1961. A "Herbert Howells Society", started by his daughter Ursula in 1987, and a "Herbert Howells Trust", founded after her death in 2005, exist to promote his works. There are several portraits of Howells. A 1974 oil painting by Leonard Boden hangs in
1830-577: The St George's choir to England in September 1965, and they performed the piece at King's College, Cambridge with Howells in attendance. Take Him, Earth is described by Howells' pupil Paul Spicer as "a classic of twentieth century choral music" and "an undoubted masterpiece". Howells continued to compose until his late 80s, but wrote nothing further on the scale of the Stabat Mater . One of
1891-544: The Tudor composers (including Tallis ) profoundly influenced Howells' work. In 1912, following the example of Ivor Gurney, Howells moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music , where his teachers included Charles Villiers Stanford , Hubert Parry and Charles Wood . Among Howells' contemporaries in the student body were Gurney, Arthur Bliss and Arthur Benjamin . Howells blossomed in what he considered
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1952-402: The age of eleven to the local Church of England parish church as choirboy and unofficial deputy organist. The Howells family's risky financial situation came to a head when Oliver filed for bankruptcy in September 1904, when Herbert was nearly 12. This was a deep humiliation in a small community at the time and one from which Howells never fully recovered. Financially assisted by a member of
2013-408: The amount of time he could devote to composition; but he continued to write orchestral and chamber music, including the string quartet In Gloucestershire (originally written 1916, but rewritten in whole or in part several times and not reaching its final form until the 1930s), the overture Merry Eye (1920) and the second Piano Concerto (1925). The first performance of the last named work occasioned
2074-667: The challenge made at the Deanery tea, other settings followed: the Jubilate for Mattins in 1944, and in 1945 he completed the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for Choral evensong . He revisited the music in 1956 for his setting of the Office of the Holy Communion (Collegium Regale) . Praising the Collegium Regale settings, Paul Spicer , a pupil of Howells, has stated that "one guinea kickstarted music for
2135-1030: The collection of the Royal College of Music, and in the National Portrait Gallery, London there is a chalk sketch by Boden, an oil portrait by Howard James Morgan and photographic portraits by Herbert Lambert , Clive Barda and Elliott & Fry . The cellist Julian Lloyd Webber was Howells' godson. Howells composed a range of orchestral, choral and chamber works. He is best known for his sacred choral music, notably his settings of services for Mattins (morning service with Te Deum , Benedictus and Jubilate ) and choral Evensong (evening service with Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis ), many of which are dedicated to specific places of worship such as Gloucester Cathedral ( Gloucester Service ), King's College, Cambridge ( Collegium Regale ) and St Paul's Cathedral ( St Paul's Service ) He also composed several hymn tunes and
2196-631: The family of Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe , who had taken an interest in the budding musician, Howells began music lessons in 1905 with Herbert Brewer , the organist of Gloucester Cathedral , and at sixteen became his articled pupil at the Cathedral alongside Ivor Novello and Ivor Gurney . Howells and Gurney became close friends, going on long walks through the Gloucestershire countryside discussing their shared love of music and English literature. Another formative experience for
2257-548: The first work of his maturity. The Piano Quartet in A minor, dedicated to "the hill at Chosen and Ivor Gurney who knows it" was in the following year one of the first works published under the auspices of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust . In the following year Howells became assistant organist at Salisbury Cathedral , but held the post for only a few months, finding the repeated journeys to London for treatment too difficult. Friends then arranged for
2318-418: The following table for some applications, including Apple's Logic Pro 9 (2009–2013), Avid's Sibelius 5 (2007–2009), musescore.org's MuseScore 3.0 (2019), MakeMusic's Finale 26 (2018-2021), and Musitek's SmartScore X2 Pro (2016) and 64 Pro. (2021). MIDI specifies the range of key velocities as an integer between 0 and 127: The velocity effect on volume depends on the particular instrument. For instance,
2379-540: The incessant interchange of loud and soft." In addition to this, the harpsichord in fact becomes louder or softer depending on the thickness of the musical texture (four notes are louder than two). In the Romantic period, composers greatly expanded the vocabulary for describing dynamic changes in their scores. Where Haydn and Mozart specified six levels ( pp to ff ), Beethoven used also ppp and fff (the latter less frequently), and Brahms used
2440-411: The interpretation of a dynamic marking. For instance, the middle of a musical phrase will normally be played louder than the beginning or end, to ensure the phrase is properly shaped, even where a passage is marked p throughout. Similarly, in multi-part music , some voices will naturally be played louder than others, for instance, to emphasize the melody and the bass line, even if a whole passage
2501-579: The last works to appear in his lifetime was the Requiem , edited for performance from his manuscripts in 1980 and published the following year, almost fifty years after its composition. He died on 23 February 1983 at the age of 90, in a nursing home in Putney , one day after his good friend Sir Adrian Boult , and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey . Howells was appointed Commander of
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2562-505: The late 19th century onward. Generally, these markings are supported by the orchestration of the work, with heavy forte passages brought to life by having many loud instruments like brass and percussion playing at once. On Music , one of the Moralia attributed to the philosopher Plutarch in the first century AD, suggests that ancient Greek musical performance included dynamic transitions – though dynamics receive far less attention in
2623-401: The new dynamic notation. Subito piano (abbreviated as sub. p or sp ) ("suddenly soft") implies a quick, almost abrupt reduction in volume to around the p range, often employed to subvert listener expectations, signaling a more intimate expression. Although it incorporates the piano p dynamic symbol, performers have slight interpretive leeway, allowing variations based on
2684-475: The next thirty years. In 1949, the organist Herbert Sumsion asked Howells if he had anything that could be performed at the 1950 Three Choirs Festival to be held at Gloucester. Howells decided to bring out the incomplete choral work he had written in his son Michael's memory between 1936 and 1938. (In later years Howells claimed it was at the urging of Vaughan Williams that the piece was disinterred). The work, retitled Hymnus Paradisi at Sumsion's suggestion,
2745-450: The overture to Smetana ’s opera The Bartered Bride . The fast scurrying quavers played pianissimo by the second violins form a sharply differentiated background to the incisive thematic statement played fortissimo by the firsts. In some music notation programs , there are default MIDI key velocity values associated with these indications, but more sophisticated programs allow users to change these as needed. These defaults are listed in
2806-489: The performer's discretion, with forzato/forzando typically seen as a variation of marcato and subito forzando/forzato as a marcato with added tenuto . The fortepiano notation fp denotes a forte followed immediately by piano . Contrastingly, pf abbreviates poco forte , translating to "a little loud", but according to Brahms, implies a forte character with a piano sound , although rarely used due to potential confusion with pianoforte . Messa di voce
2867-411: The preceding loudness or character of the piece. Likewise, subito can mark sudden increases in volume, as in subito forte sf or subito fortissimo sff , typically accentuating a single note or chord. Accented notes are generally marked with an accent sign > placed above or below the note, emphasizing the attack relative to the prevailing dynamics. A sharper and briefer emphasis
2928-457: The same year he joined the staff of the Royal College of Music, where he was to remain until 1979. Among his pupils were Robert Simpson , Gordon Jacob , James Bernard , Paul Spicer , Madeleine Dring , and Imogen Holst . The post at the RCM, which from 1925 he combined with the position of Director of Music at St Paul's Girls' School , and frequent work as a competition adjudicator, was to reduce
2989-664: The text of the Office of the Holy Communion to music; like the morning and evening offices , the text is taken from the Book of Common Prayer . Because the Anglican liturgy is originally derived from the Roman Catholic Ordinary of the Mass , the pieces correspond with the sections of a Mass setting : Kyrie , Credo , Sanctus , Benedictus , Agnus Dei and Gloria in excelsis . Each section
3050-415: The text than does rhythm or harmony . The Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the first to indicate dynamics in music notation . However, much of the use of dynamics in early Baroque music remained implicit and was achieved through a practice called raddoppio ("doubling") and later ripieno ("filling"), which consisted of creating a contrast between a small number of elements and then
3111-571: The time of the boy's death and which he found himself unable to complete. A Sequence for St Michael and the motet Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing have also been associated with Howells's grief for Michael, as have two of Howells's hymn tunes , the best-known of which is his tune for the hymn " All My Hope on God is Founded " by Robert Bridges ("A Hymn Tune for Charterhouse"), which was renamed Michael for its publication in The Clarendon Hymn Book in 1936. Howells also wrote
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#17327754979263172-408: The tune Twigworth (1968) for the hymn "God is love, let heaven adore him". To a greater or lesser extent, however, much of Howells' subsequent music shows the influence of this loss. From the late 1930s, Howells turned increasingly to choral and organ music, composing a second series of Psalm Preludes followed by a set of Six Pieces (begun 1939), of which the third, Master Tallis's Testament ,
3233-402: The worse fate awaiting Gurney and others of his friends and contemporaries. At St Thomas' Hospital he was given the previously untried radium injections in the neck, administered twice a week over a period of two years. For much of this time Howells travelled between London for treatment and Lydney where he was nursed by his mother. He was nonetheless still able to compose and in 1916 produced
3294-487: The young Howells was the premiere in September 1910 at the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival of Ralph Vaughan Williams ' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis . Howells related in later years how Vaughan Williams sat next to him for the remainder of the concert and shared his score of Edward Elgar 's The Dream of Gerontius with the awestruck aspiring composer. Both Vaughan Williams and
3355-478: Was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music . Howells was born in Lydney , Gloucestershire, the youngest of six children of Oliver Howells, a plumber, painter, decorator and builder, and his wife Elizabeth. His father played the organ at the local Baptist church, and Herbert showed early musical promise, first deputising for his father, and then moving at
3416-523: Was away on active service in World War II . Howells' association with Cambridge, which lasted until the end of the war in 1945, was a productive and happy period for him, and led directly to the works for which he is most remembered. He later recalled being challenged by the Dean of King's College , Eric Milner-White , to write a set of canticles for the choir. The result was the Te Deum and Jubilate of
3477-446: Was completed and orchestrated in time for its first performance on 7 September 1950, the day after the 15th anniversary of Michael's death. It was Howells' greatest public and critical success, and for many years was his best known work. Shorter choral works written around this time include the carol-anthem Long long ago (1951), the introit Behold O God our Defender for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and The House of
3538-558: Was considered a disappointment after the success of the earlier work, and its extreme complexity and difficulty has prevented it becoming widely known. Howells followed it with An English Mass (1956), a smaller-scale setting to English words for chorus, strings and organ. His final large-scale choral work was the Stabat Mater , setting a text whose subsidiary theme of a parent mourning a child had obvious personal significance. He began it in 1959 but found it difficult to complete; it
3599-559: Was eventually to become Hymnus Paradisi , drawing on material from the still unpublished Requiem of 1932. This remained, in Howells' words, "a personal, almost secret document" until 1950. Other commemorative works written around this time include the Concerto for Strings (written in 1938), the slow movement of which is in joint memory of Michael and Edward Elgar , and the unfinished Cello Concerto , on which Howells had been working at
3660-500: Was inspired by a clavichord lent to Howells by his friend Herbert Lambert , an instrument maker and photographer based in Bath . Several other major compositions written around this time, however, remained unperformed, notably an a capella Requiem to English words written in 1932, and a choral work, A Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song , written the following year. In September 1935 Howells' nine-year-old son Michael contracted polio during
3721-456: Was not performed until 1965. The motet Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing , a posthumous tribute to President John F. Kennedy, was written in late spring of 1964. It premiered as part of a 22 November 1964 Canadian tribute to Kennedy at Washington's National Gallery of Art sung by the Choir of St George's Cathedral , Kingston, Ontario, Canada, under the direction of George N. Maybee. Maybee brought
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