pronunciation: Hallelujah and Alleluia

[Ruth Treen]

Dear Colleagues,

The Chancel Choir will close our Easter service this year with the
Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, with organ and two trumpets (experiment:
any from the congregation who want to join the choir are invited to come up
during the final hymn. A choir member will meet each person, place them in
the correct section and give them a folder. .....and I may never try
this again.) An anthem during the service will be the Mozart Alleluia
(Exsultate, jubilate). My understanding of these two pronunciations is
"hah-leh-LOO-yah" and "ah-leh-LOO-yah" -- the only difference being the
initial "h". But I've heard vowel variations on a number of recordings.

I'd appreciate hearing from you on the pronunciation of vowels and the
initital "h" before my next rehearsal which is this coming Tuesday (March
10th).

I'd also like to receive any tips you may wish to pass on to me for
accomplishing the Hallelujah Chorus postlude plan! I will write a
paragraph explaining it in the church's newsletter which will be received
the first of the month, and will also include an invitation in the bulletin
that morning. (The accompaniment is two trumpets and organ.)

Thanks in advance for your advice, opinions, wisdom, and wit.

Ruth McKendree Treen
Director of Music
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Harwich Port, MA
(rtr...@capecod.net)

[Ragbert]

rtr...@capecod.net (Ruth Treen) writes:

<< My understanding of these two pronunciations is "hah-leh-LOO-yah" and
"ah-leh-LOO-yah" -- the only difference being the initial "h". >>

Those are correct. Some European choruses use a closed instead of open e for
that 2nd syllable, but I have always been taught to pronounce them as you have
it here. ( I think an exception was a French motet where the text was French,
and not Latin, and the Alleluia was actually written Alléluia, with an accent
aigu.)

By the way, I love your idea to invite the congregation to join in with the
choir! It will make them feel special, and you might just be able to retain
some of them for your choir next year. Hope you get some good tenors! :-)

--RAG

[Robb Topolski]

Ruth Treen wrote in message ...

>(experiment:
>any from the congregation who want to join the choir are invited to come up
>during the final hymn. A choir member will meet each person, place them in
>the correct section and give them a folder. .....and I may never try
>this again.)

>I'd also like to receive any tips you may wish to pass on to me for
>accomplishing the Hallelujah Chorus postlude plan! I will write a
>paragraph explaining it in the church's newsletter which will be received
>the first of the month, and will also include an invitation in the bulletin
>that morning. (The accompaniment is two trumpets and organ.)

Ruth,

Make sure that you have 5-6 people prearranged in the congregation that will
definately come up to join you. These folks will break the ice for the
others as nobody wants to be first, especially if it's something that's
never been tried before in your congregation.

Good luck.

Robb Topolski

[JudithHigb]

I have often done as you suggest and invited congreg. to come forward to join
choir for HC. It is a heart-warming experience. I do not think, however, it
should be turned into a mass congregation number. This will result in a very
sloppy rendition that does not do the work justice (IMHO).
Best wishes,
Judith Higbee
Church of the Saviour
Cleveland, OH

[Ruth Treen]

Dear Bill,

Thanks for writing. The pronunciation that you refer to perhaps applies to
the Randall Thompson "Alleluia" when there are 5 notes used in the melody,
as he does some of the time. --?

Thanks again,

Ruth

[JoStef]

I have had good success with inviting congregation members up for the
Hallelujah Chorus. One year, no one came up during the preceding hymn, so I
took a minute before we sang the Hallelujah Chorus and invited them to come up.
They did.

[Deborah Bradley]

>>I'd also like to receive any tips you may wish to pass on to me for
>>accomplishing the Hallelujah Chorus postlude plan! I will write a
>>paragraph explaining it in the church's newsletter which will be received
>>the first of the month, and will also include an invitation in the bulletin
>>that morning. (The accompaniment is two trumpets and organ.)

Ruth - in my church we do the Hallelujah Chorus every Easter using the same
plan - those wishing to participate come up during the final hymn and we
break right into it following the benediction. However, we always do a
brief (15 minute) rehearsal following the church service on Palm Sunday,
and this helps the comfort level considerably for those who don't sing
regularly in a choir. It also gives me a chance to at least get everyone
using the same articulations, pronunciations, etc. so that it isn't quite
SO ragged on Easter Sunday. This has become a tradition in this church,
and the congregation and choristers look forward to it each year.

Good luck!

Deborah Bradley
dbra...@chass.utoronto.ca

[PSmithALTO]

An unusual Elizabethan example

In Thomas Tomkins' motet "Alleluia I heard a voice" there are definitely 5
syllables - "Al-le-lu-i-a".

Compare this with most other composers of the period, who set it conventionally
with 4...
MegaMole, Lord High Screecher of the Counterblasts, Nnith Thrid and AFPN of the
DP

[Tom Lumb]

Bill Voetberg wrote:
> You are more likely to find the 5 syllable division in Orthodox liturgical
> music. That is where I most remember seeing it. [Although there may be other
> instances that I cannot recall right now.]
>
Yes, you are absolutely right, Bill. I have just come back from a
superb performance this evening of Rachmaninov's Vespers by the
Rundfunkchor Berlin, presently here in Wellington for the NZ Festival of
the Arts, and that "-i-" syllable is very prominent. What a superb
blend that choir achieves: their opening chord just seemed to appear
from nowhere. It was just a pity that they had such a motley array of
un-covered scores; maybe that company that sells Black Folders should
get in touch with them!
--
Tom Lumb
Music Librarian
Festival Singers of Wellington
http://www.festival-singers.org.nz

May the road rise before you and the wind ever be at your back

[Kathy Kenney]

Dear fellow choir friends:
WORST thing you can do is stress the LOO part in either pronunciation. Its
HAL leh loo yah and AL leh loo yah
My experience has been when choirs stress the LOO syllable they over stress
it.
Kathy Kenney
Jubilate Chorale
Brockton, Massachusetts USA

as for getting the congregation to JOIN the choir?? We have enough trouble
at my church getting the congregation to sing... period -- never mind join
the choir

Why not just include the parts on a printed sheet in the pews and let them
join in on parts from their seats?? There would be NO need for icebrakers.
Or have your choir members circle throughout the church to lend support. If
your choir is large enough this is very effective.

[Susan Deane-Miller]

VOet wrote:
>
> Becky, you are correct. Even though Randall Thompson set some of the
> alleluias to 5 notes, I would not use the al-le-lu-i-a division because he
> clearly indicates the word be divided al-le-lu-ia. The beaming and slurs also
> support this pronunciation.

>
> You are more likely to find the 5 syllable division in Orthodox liturgical
> music. That is where I most remember seeing it. [Although there may be other
> instances that I cannot recall right now.]
>

Al-le-lu-i-a is in Tavener's Song for Athene. Bill, I had been
wondering based on much of his music, and now on what you wrote: is
Tavener's background Orthodox?
--
Susie Deane
spam proof enabled, to reply, copy the address below
susi...@worldnet.att.net

[TuStevo4U]

!!!!!!!!!!Church Musician Available!!!!!!!!!!!!

TuStevo4U