# Old Hundredth: analysis guide

## Title and instrumentation

**Old Hundredth.** The tune is from the Genevan Psalter (1551); the four-part setting is the one in your MusicXML file.
**Instrumentation:** SATB choir, unaccompanied as written. The file has four staves (Soprano, Alto, Tenor on a treble clef sounding an octave lower, Bass).
**Key and metre:** G major, 4/4, one stanza of 8 bars.

## Duration and form

- **Length:** 8 bars of 4/4, 32 beats, one chord per beat. The file has no tempo marking. At a hymn tempo of crotchet = 72–96 one stanza lasts about 20–27 seconds. That range is my estimate, not a marking in your score.
- **Form:** one stanza of a Long Metre (8.8.8.8) hymn tune. There are four lines of eight notes, each two bars long (bars 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8). The four lines all differ (A B C D), and line 4's ending (C–B–A–G) completes line 2's (C–B–A).
- **Cadence plan:** bar 2 imperfect authentic, bar 4 half, bar 6 perfect authentic, bar 8 perfect authentic. Bars 1–4 can also be read as an open first half (ending on the dominant) answered by a closed second half (ending on the tonic). The analysis gives both groupings.
- **Keys:** G major throughout, with no modulation and no chromatic notes at all.

## Difficulty and playability notes

- Easy to read: every part is in quarter notes, entirely within G major, with no rests or ties.
- Ranges: soprano D4–D5, alto B3–G4, tenor F♯3–D4, bass F♯2–G3. All are within standard SATB ranges.
- Spots worth a look: the tenor's leap F♯3 up to B3 in the final cadence (8.3–8.4); the soprano's leap of a fifth to the top D at the start of line 4 (6.4–7.1); the bass's octave leaps (2.4–3.1, 7.1–7.2).
- Tuning: the alto and tenor often double the bass at the octave or fifth (bars 1–2, 6 and 7), and the soprano and bass move in octaves once (bar 4, beats 1–2). These chords sound bare and need careful tuning and balance. Section 7 of the analysis lists every place by bar and beat.

## Performance notes

- The file has no words, tempo, dynamics, breath marks or fermatas, and each line ends on a single quarter note with the next line starting at once. Decide as a choir where to breathe and whether to take time at the ends of bars 2, 4 and 6. Section 8 of the analysis gives suggestions.
- Many hymnals print this tune with longer first and last notes in each line. This setting uses even quarter notes throughout, so singers who know the hymnal version should read it as written.
- The high point is the top D at the start of line 4 (bar 7, beat 1). The fullest cadence is the last one (bar 8: ii, cadential six-four, V, I, with the soprano falling 4–3–2–1).

## What was done and what was not

Task: a new interpretation of existing music — Old Hundredth (the four-part setting you supplied).

**Done**
- A written analysis (`analysis.md`) of key, harmony, cadences and form, with every point tied to a bar, or a bar and beat. It also covers voice ranges, voice-leading facts useful for teaching, and rehearsal suggestions.
- A companion analysis score (`analysis-score.pdf`, plus the same score as `analysis-score.musicxml`). Voice names are printed on every system (in full on the first, as S, A, T, B on the second). Every bar is numbered, the Roman numeral for each beat is printed under the bass, and "Line 1–4" and the cadence labels (IAC, HC, PAC, PAC) are printed above the soprano. **The notes are exactly yours:** a note-by-note comparison with your file found no differences in any of the 32 chords. The numerals are entered as lyrics under the bass staff and the labels as text above the soprano, so in a notation program they can be edited or deleted like any lyric or text.
- How the analysis was checked: G major was confirmed by four independent key-finding methods, for the whole hymn and line by line. All 32 beats received a clear chord reading, with no uncertain beats. Each line-ending cadence was checked against the actual chords, bass and soprano. The voice-leading facts come from a full scan of all four voices under strict four-part rules.

**Choices I made (you left these to me)**
- Labels: the cadential six-four is written "I6/4" followed by "V". Other books write "V6/4–5/3"; the meaning is the same.
- Bar 4 is labelled a half cadence because its dominant chord (4.4) ends line 2, closing that phrase. A dominant reached without closing a phrase would instead be called a "dominant arrival".
- The four-line grouping follows the tune's Long Metre structure (eight notes per line), together with the cadences at bars 2, 4, 6 and 8. An automatic form scan did not settle a single large-scale reading on its own, so both groupings (four lines, or two halves) are presented.
- Bar 1 is read as a descending bass line carrying passing chords (V and IV on beats 3–4), and bar 7's V-to-ii as a weak-beat dominant falling back before the real cadence. These are interpretations, and they are labelled as such in the text.
- The duration range comes from a typical hymn tempo of my choosing, because the file has none.

**Not done**
- Nothing in your source was changed or corrected. The consecutive octaves and fifths, and the leading tones that don't rise, are reported as facts about the setting, not fixed.
- No words were added: the file has none.
- No audio, MIDI or score video is part of this delivery, and the brief asked for none.
- No independent second reviewer has checked this analysis. It was checked in this session only, including a look at the engraved analysis score and the note-by-note comparison with your file.

## Files in this folder

- `analysis.md`: the analysis with bar references (keys, harmony beat by beat, cadences, form, ranges, voice-leading notes, rehearsal suggestions).
- `analysis-score.pdf`: your setting with bar numbers on every bar, Roman numerals under the bass, and line and cadence labels. One A4 page.
- `analysis-score.musicxml`: the same annotated score, editable in any notation program.
- `GUIDE.md`: this guide.