Thomas Tomkins 1572 - 1656 verse anthem 'My shepherd is the living Lord'.
Alto solo
My shepherd is the living Lord
nothing therefore I need:
In pastures fair, with waters calm
he sets me for to feed.
SATB chorus
He did convert and glad my soul,
and brought my mind in frame:
To walk in paths of righteousness,
For his most holy name.
AT duet
Through all my life thy favour is,
so frankly showed to me:
SATB chorus
That in thy house for ever more
my dwelling place shall be.
Worcester Cathedral choir
Organist - Raymond Johnston
Director - Donald Hunt
Tomkins 'My beloved spake' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL5LNO0EoUg
More Tudor music by the Cathedral choir - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3ACB2D630E255586
@seandingley if you had the correct person in like a counter tenor who would sing falsetto then you can make this sound like a soprano
rattus347 4 days ago
@seandingley Right on both counts. Research I've read says different things about different places - some choirs had what we'd call "altos", others didn't.
molealto 1 year ago
@molealto Of course you are assuming that a) This is at the correct pitch and b) that there were altos! My educated guess would be that this has been increased in pitch and that it was originally written for tenor. Even at this pitch it would be more comfortable for a tenor than a male alto!
seandingley 1 year ago
Hmmm. Wonder if the opening verse has ever been allocated to a tenor? (Agree the second one is definitely alto).
molealto 1 year ago