VOCAL ENSEMBLES

Inside music ensembles we can distinguish between instrumental ensembles and vocal ensembles.

DUO

The most common vocal ensembles are the CHOIRS and depending on the type of voice of the singers there are four different types: men's choir, women's choir , mixed choir or children's choir:

WOMEN'S CHOIR

MEN'S CHOIR

Pilgrim's chorus - Tannhäuser (Wagner)

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• CORO MINERO DE TURÓN

MIXED CHOIR

Spem in alium by Tomas Tallis:

(Taken from Avrotos Klassiek Youtube channel)

• Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

CHILDREN'S CHOIR (coro de voces blancas)

PARTS OF AN OPERA

 PARTS OF THE OPERA

OVERTURE 

It is the first part of an opera. It's like an instrumental introduction. It is performed before the action starts, with the curtain down.

• Verdi - La Traviata (overture)

• Rossini - William Tell (overture)
• Rossini - El barbero de Sevilla (Obertura)
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SUNG PARTS

Sung parts in an opera are the recitatives and the arias:


RECITATIVE
The word 'recitative' comes from 'recite' or 'recitate' (recitar). The recitatives are sung quickly. In fact, it's half spoken half sung. The characters dialogue.

• Monteverdi - Duo de la mensajera (L'Orfeo)
• Mozart - La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni)
• Mozart - The marriage of Figaro
• Donizetti - Tombi degli avi miei (Lucia di Lamermoor)

ARIAS 
Arias are the most important parts in an opera. Singers show their abilities

• Leocavallo - Vesti la giubba (Il Pagliacci) 
• Puccini  - O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi)
• Donizetti - Una furtiva lagrima (L'elisir d'amore)
• Purcell - Dido's lament

CHORUS 
The choir sings.

• Verdi - Va pensiero (Nabucco)
• Bizet - Carmen

INSTRUMENTAL PARTS

INTERLUDES and INTERMEZZOS

• Mascagni - Cavalleria rusticana

THOMAS TALLIS - SPEM IN ALLIUM

Thomas Tallis was one of the most important British composers of the Renaissance period. He was born around 1505. He composed many choral works and other sacred music (religious music) as: anthems and psalms.

Spem in alium is the most popular of his compositions. The most remarkable fact is that it's a motet written in 40 parts! So it requires 8 choirs of  5 voices each (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass). 

The text is written in Latin:

Spem in alium nunquam habui

Praeter in te, Deus Israel

Qui irasceris et propitius eris

et omnia peccata hominum

in tribulatione dimittis

Domine Deus

Creator caeli et terrae

respice humilitatem nostram

I have never put my hope in any other

but in You, O God of Israel

who can show both anger and graciousness,

and who absolves all the sins

of suffering man

Lord God,

Creator of Heaven and Earth

be mindful of our lowliness