# Old Hundredth: places that need your decision Your file: *Old Hundredth* for SATB choir in G major and 4/4, eight bars of equal quarter notes, four staves (Soprano, Alto, Tenor on the octave treble clef, Bass). I have **not changed anything** in your score. Every point below is a question for you. Nothing will be revised until you answer. **How to read the references** - "Bar 1, beat 2 → beat 3" means the move from the chord on beat 2 to the chord on beat 3. - Pitch names use middle C = C4. Tenor pitches are given as they **sound**, so they're written an octave higher on the tenor's octave treble clef. - The chord names follow the key of G major: I = G, ii = A minor, IV = C, V = D, vi = E minor, and I6/4 = G major over a D in the bass. ## Summary | # | Where | What is unclear | Kind | |---|---|---|---| | A1–A2 | whole setting | Which voice-leading standard you want, and what a fix may touch | decision of scope | | A3 | whole setting | No words in any part | missing information | | A4–A5 | ends of lines, last chord | No pauses or breaths between lines; the last chord is only one beat | phrasing | | A6 | whole setting | No tempo or dynamics | missing information | | A7–A8 | title area, layout | Who the harmony is credited to; four-staff or two-staff layout | presentation | | B1 | bars 1.2 – 2.2 | Alto doubles the bass in octaves for five chords; bass and tenor in parallel fifths | voice leading | | B2 | bar 2.1 → 2.2 | Alto jumps above the note the soprano just sang | voice leading | | B3 | bar 2.3 → 2.4 | Bass and tenor in parallel octaves at the end of line 1 | voice leading | | B4 | bar 3.2 → 3.3 | Bass and alto in parallel octaves | voice leading | | B5 | bar 4.1 → 4.2 | **Soprano and bass** in parallel octaves (outer voices) | voice leading | | B6 | bar 5.3 → 5.4 | Bass and tenor in parallel octaves | voice leading | | B7 | bar 5.4 → 6.1 | Leading note F♯ in the alto falls instead of rising | voice leading / harmony | | B8 | bars 6.1 – 6.3 | Same block-parallel pattern as bar 1 (octaves and fifths) | voice leading | | B9 | bar 7.2 → 7.3 | Bass and alto in parallel octaves; bass and tenor in parallel fifths | voice leading | | B10 | bar 7.4 → 8.1 | Bass and tenor in parallel octaves; D major moves to A minor | voice leading / harmony | | B11 | bar 8.1 → 8.2 | Tenor and alto in parallel fifths | voice leading | | B12 | bar 8.3 → 8.4 | Final cadence: tenor F♯ jumps up to B instead of resolving to G | voice leading (trade-off) | --- ## A. Questions about the whole setting (please answer these first) ### A1. What voice-leading standard do you want? The soprano carries the tune throughout, and the other three parts move in parallel octaves or fifths at 13 places (listed in B below). In bars 1, 6 and 7, all four voices move in the same direction while keeping the same chord shape. - **Question:** Should this setting follow strict four-part hymn or chorale rules (no parallel fifths or octaves)? Or are these parallels intended, for example as a deliberately simple or unison-like texture? - Options: (a) keep everything as written; (b) remove the parallels; (c) remove only the most exposed ones (B5, between soprano and bass, plus B1/B8/B9, where the whole chord moves as a block) and keep the rest. ### A2. If changes are wanted, what may they touch? - **Question:** The tune in the soprano stays exactly as it is. May a fix change: (a) only the alto and tenor; (b) the alto, tenor **and** bass; (c) the chords themselves, where needed? - Note: B5 can't be fixed by moving the alto or tenor alone. The soprano is the tune, so the bass (or the chord) has to change there. - **Question:** Would you like to make the changes yourself from this list, or have me make them and send you a marked comparison? ### A3. Words: none in the file No part has lyrics. - **Question:** Which text should be set? Examples are "All people that on earth do dwell" (Psalm 100), the doxology "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow", or another text. How many verses? - **Question:** Should the words go under all four parts, or only under the soprano? ### A4. Ends of lines: no pause, no breath The tune has four lines, which end at **bar 2, beat 4**, **bar 4, beat 4**, **bar 6, beat 4** and **bar 8, beat 4**. Every note is an equal quarter note, and there is no pause sign, breath mark or rest between lines. As written, the choir goes straight from the last note of one line into the first note of the next, with no time to breathe. Printed versions of this tune often lengthen the first and/or last note of each line, or put a pause sign at each line end. - **Question:** Which do you want? (a) keep it strictly even, with no marks; (b) a pause sign over the last chord of each line; (c) a breath mark at each line end, without stopping the beat; (d) longer notes at line ends (and starts). This changes the rhythm and the number of bars, so I would only do it on your instruction. ### A5. Last chord (bar 8, beat 4) The final G major chord is a quarter note, the same length as every other chord, followed by the final barline. - **Question:** Should the last chord stay one beat long, or be held (for example as a longer note or with a pause sign)? ### A6. Tempo and dynamics The score has no tempo marking and no dynamics. - **Question:** What tempo do you want, as a metronome mark or a word? Do you want any dynamics, either a single overall level or a different one per verse? ### A7. Credits The file credits the tune to "Genevan Psalter (1551)". The tune is also often credited to Louis Bourgeois. No one is named for the four-part harmony. - **Question:** Should the heading stay as it is, add Bourgeois, and/or name the harmonizer (for example "harm. ...")? ### A8. Layout (low priority) The score is laid out on four separate staves, with no bar numbers and no bracket joining the choir staves. - **Question:** For the singers' copies, do you want four staves (as now) or the two-staff hymn layout (soprano and alto on one staff, tenor and bass on the other)? Should there be a bracket and bar numbers? --- ## B. Places in the music, bar by bar Each item gives the exact notes, what is unclear, and the question. ### B1. Bar 1, beat 2 → bar 2, beat 2: alto doubles the bass; whole chord moves as a block - Bass: E3 – D3 – C3 – B2 – E3. Alto: E4 – D4 – C4 – B3 – E4. The alto is exactly one octave above the bass for five chords running, which is four parallel octaves in a row. - Tenor: B3 – A3 – G3 against bass E3 – D3 – C3 (bar 1, beats 2 to 4), which gives two parallel fifths in a row. - Over bar 1, beats 2 to 4, all four voices step down together. The chords are E minor → D major → C major (vi → V → IV), so the D major chord moves on to C major rather than back towards G. - **Question:** Was the alto meant to double the bass here, or is this an entry slip? If it is to be revised, should the chords E minor – D – C stay, or may they change? ### B2. Bar 2, beat 1 → beat 2: alto jumps above the soprano's previous note - The alto leaps B3 → E4 while the soprano moves D4 → G4. The alto's E4 is higher than the D4 the soprano has just sung, so the two parts overlap. This is also the last of the B1 octaves. - **Question:** Keep as written, or revise together with B1? ### B3. Bar 2, beat 3 → beat 4 (end of line 1): bass and tenor in parallel octaves - Bass D3 → G2 and tenor D4 → G3: both fall a fifth, one octave apart. The chords are D major → G major (V → I). - **Question:** Keep, or revise the tenor here? ### B4. Bar 3, beat 2 → beat 3: bass and alto in parallel octaves - Bass E3 → D3 and alto E4 → D4. The chords are E minor → G major over D (vi → I6/4). - **Question:** Keep, or revise? ### B5. Bar 4, beat 1 → beat 2: soprano and bass in parallel octaves (outer voices) - Soprano G4 → C5 (the tune) and bass G2 → C3: both rise a fourth, two octaves apart. The chords are G major → C major (I → IV). - These are the outer voices, so this is the most audible of the parallels. The soprano is the tune, so a fix would mean a different bass note or chord on one of these two beats. - **Question:** Keep, or may the bass (or chord) change on beat 1 or beat 2 of bar 4? ### B6. Bar 5, beat 3 → beat 4: bass and tenor in parallel octaves - Bass G2 → D3 and tenor G3 → D4: both rise a fifth, one octave apart. The chords are G major → D major (I → V). - **Question:** Keep, or revise the tenor here? ### B7. Bar 5, beat 4 → bar 6, beat 1: the leading note falls - The chord moves D major → E minor (V → vi, a "deceptive" move in the middle of line 3). The alto's F♯4, the leading note of G major, falls to E4 instead of rising to G. The soprano moves A4 → G4. - **Question:** Is this falling F♯ intended, or should the alto rise to G? Rising would double the G, which the soprano already has. ### B8. Bar 6, beat 1 → beat 3: same block-parallel pattern as bar 1 - Bass E3 – C3 – D3 with alto E4 – C4 – D4 gives two parallel octaves in a row. Tenor B3 – G3 – A3 against the bass gives two parallel fifths in a row. - The chords are E minor → C major → D major (vi → IV → V), with the soprano G4 – E4 – F♯4. All four voices move in the same direction on both moves, keeping the same chord shape as bar 1. - **Question:** Keep, or revise the alto and tenor (the chords can stay)? ### B9. Bar 7, beat 2 → beat 3: parallel octaves and fifths - Bass G3 → E3 and alto G4 → E4: parallel octaves. Tenor D4 → B3 against the bass: parallel fifths. All four voices move down a third together. The chords are G major → E minor (I → vi). - **Question:** Keep, or revise? ### B10. Bar 7, beat 4 → bar 8, beat 1: parallel octaves, and D major going to A minor - Bass D3 → A2 and tenor D4 → A3: both fall a fourth, one octave apart. - The chord moves D major → A minor (V → ii), which goes backwards from the dominant before the final cadence. The alto's leading note F♯4 falls to E4. - **Question:** Is the D major → A minor move intended? If revising, may the chord on bar 7, beat 4 or bar 8, beat 1 change, or only the voicing? ### B11. Bar 8, beat 1 → beat 2: tenor and alto in parallel fifths - Tenor A3 → G3 and alto E4 → D4: both step down, a fifth apart. The chords are A minor → G major over D (ii → I6/4). - **Question:** Keep, or revise? ### B12. Bar 8, beat 3 → beat 4 (final cadence): tenor jumps up from F♯ - The tenor's F♯3 (the leading note) jumps up to B3 instead of rising to G3. This is a deliberate kind of trade-off: if the tenor rose to G3, the final chord would be G – G – D – G, with no B, so no third. - **Question:** Keep the full final chord as written (tenor F♯ → B)? Or would you prefer the leading note to resolve upward, accepting a final chord without its third or with the other voices re-spaced? --- ## C. Checked and clear (no decision needed) - **Tune:** The soprano reads G G F♯ E D G A B / B B B A G C B A / G A B A G E F♯ G / D B G A C B A G. That is the tune's usual note order in G major. I compared it with the tune as it is commonly printed, not with a specific edition from you. - **Notation:** Every bar holds exactly four beats in every part. There are no ties, rests or notation faults, and all four parts line up bar for bar. - **Ranges:** All parts are within normal choir ranges. - Soprano: D4–D5. - Alto: B3–G4. - Tenor: F♯3–D4. - Bass: F♯2–G3. - The lowest bass note is F♯2 (bar 5, beat 2), and the bass returns to G2 at most line starts and cadences. This is fine for a full bass section; tell me if your basses are light in that register. - **Key:** Two separate key-finding checks agree on G major. The file's key signature doesn't say "major" or "minor" itself, but this has no visible effect. - **Spacing and crossing:** The upper voices are never more than an octave apart, and no voice crosses another. The tenor and bass share G3 at bar 3, beat 1 (a unison), which is fine. - **Leading note in the alto at cadences:** At bar 2.3 → 2.4, bar 3.4 → 4.1 and bar 4.4 → 5.1, the alto's F♯ falls to D. This is normal in four-part hymn writing because it keeps the next chord complete. No change is needed unless you want strict resolution everywhere. - **Soprano F♯ → E at bar 1, beats 3 → 4:** This is the tune's own line, not a harmony question. - **"Hidden" fifths involving an inner voice:** These occur at bar 2.1 → 2.2, 2.3 → 2.4, 3.4 → 4.1, 4.4 → 5.1, 6.4 → 7.1 and 7.1 → 7.2. None of them are between soprano and bass, so they are usually not counted as faults in this style.