Ennis Fruhauf
An English Cantata
for Soloists, Choir, and Organ
(20  Pages  of  Music)

On texts by:
Alfred Lord Tennyson -- In Memoriam A.H.H.,  Preface: Vs. 1, 6 and 7
Isaac Watts -- Paraphrase  of   Psalm 117
Thomas Ken -- The Doxology
Based on the melody:
The Eighth Tune  by  Thomas Tallis

I.      Chorus: "We have but faith"
II.     Solo Interlude: "Strong Son of God" (Tenor)
III.    Aria: "From all that dwell below the skies" (Soprano)
IV.    Chorus: "Let knowledge grow"
V.     Duet: "Eternal are thy mercies, Lord" (Soprano and Tenor)
VI.    Chorus: "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow"

Complimentary PDF score available January 2023

  FMPAnEnglishCantataCh&Org2023 

Notes

            An English Cantata is a six-movement work for voices and organ, based on a familiar hymn melody, The Eighth Tune (or Tallis Canon), by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), paired with texts by three English authors.

        The opening movement, “We have but faith,” is a setting of Verse 6 from the Preface of In Memoriam A.H.H., an extended work by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892). In Memoriam was written over a number of years to memorialize the life and early passing in 1833 of Arthur Henry Hallam, a school friend from Tennyson’s early years at Trinity College, Cambridge. Verse 1 of the opening chorus is set in a late Baroque contrapuntal texture and features voices in concertato with the organ. It includes augmented cantus firmus appearances of all four phrases of the Tallis hymn tune. The second movement, “Strong Son of God,” is a brief tenor arioso setting of Verse 1 from In Memoriam. It is followed by an aria for soprano that quotes the text of Isaac Watt’s (1674-1748) paraphrase of Psalm 117, “From all that dwells below the skies,” familiar as the first verse of the Doxology.

        Verse 7 of In Memoriam appears in the second stanza of the opening chorus, returning as the fourth movement with the text, “Let knowledge grow.” The fifth movement is a duet for soprano and tenor featuring Watts’ second verse from the Doxology, “Eternal are thy mercies, Lord.” The text is shared between the two voices, with each one isolated within its own thematic counterpoint. The concluding movement, similar to the first chorus, is contrapuntal in nature and again offers cantus firmus citations of Tallis Canon in combination with a setting of the familiar Doxology text by Thomas Ken (1637-1711),  “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”

         Throughout An English Cantata, the organ plays the role of a Baroque orchestra, providing essential bass lines and a lively ritornello that returns in concertato with extended contrapuntal choral interludes. The writing for voices and organ is technically challenging in that individual voices are often sung without the support of an organ accompaniment. In keeping with period practices, interpretive instructions are minimal, but the score could easily be augmented with an instrumental ensemble doubling various vocal lines.

           N.B. The publication being offered here was retrieved from earlier sources ranging from 1988 to 2011, and in particular from Finale music notation files (dating from 2003 to 2023); as a result, occasional repairs and/or refinements have not been possible. This issue is offered by FMP on a nonprofit open file-sharing basis; the PDF document is secured but will generate a high definition printed booklet.

◊