Thursday, January 31, 2013

Music #315 - Giovanni Gabrieli

Giovanni Gabrieli 

(c.1556-1612, Venetian School)

“Prolific and innovative, ... Giovanni's polychoral works for voices and instruments, particularly those intended for performance in religious services, make use of a wide variety of acoustic textures and effects.”  

Saint Mark's Basilica (Venice) has multiple galleries inside. 

Much of the sacred music written for St Mark's Basilica in the polychoral style was by Giovanni Gabrieli.

He composed, among many other motets, Omnes Gentes, for 4 4-voice choirs.
The choirs located in separate galleries, with delays (spatial separation) and reverberations, provided "surround-sound” effects to the audience.
The antiphonal effects in the music were emphasized by the spatial arrangement of musicians in opposing organ lofts within the church - a divided-choir technique known as cori spezzati (literally, separated choirs).


Instrumental
- 2 choirs of 4 players each


Motet
- the 8-part choir is divided into high and low voices
- the phrases repeated by different combinations of voices 


Source: Wiki

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