A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

that consists of a song to a

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

or non-

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

sacred text, written or arranged for several vocal parts. Part songs are commonly sung by an

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

choir, but sometimes for an all-male or all-female ensemble. This music is usually

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

, meaning that the highest part carries the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

and the other voices or parts supply the accompanying harmonies, in contrast to songs that are

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, as are

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...

s. Part songs are intended to be sung

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, that is without accompaniment, unless an instrumental accompaniment is particularly specified. The part song was created in Great Britain, first growing from, and then gradually superseding, the earlier form of

glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

, as well as being particularly influenced by the choral works of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

(1809–1847). This was linked with the growth of

choral societies A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

during the 19th century which were larger groups than

glee club A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...

s had been.Hillier, Paul. Preface to ''English Romantic Partsongs'', Oxford University Press (1986). Early British composers of part songs include

John Liptrot Hatton John Liptrot Hatton (12 October 1809 – 10 September 1886) was an English musical composer, conductor, pianist, accompanist and singer. Early career Hatton was born in Liverpool to a musical family, for both his father John and grandfather wer ...

R. J. S. Stevens Richard John Samuel Stevens (27 March 1757 – 23 September 1837) was an English composer and organist. Biography Stevens was born in London, where, in 1801, he was appointed Gresham Professor of Music.. In 1808 he received yet another appointm ...

Henry Smart Henry Thomas Smart (26 October 1813 – 6 July 1879) was an English organist and composer. Biography Smart was born in London, a nephew of the conductor Sir George Smart and son of a music publisher, orchestra director and accomplished violini ...

and

George Alexander Macfarren Sir George Alexander Macfarren (2 March 181331 October 1887) was an English composer and musicologist. Life George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author and journalist, wh ...

, who was renowned for his Shakespearean settings. Around the turn of the 20th century in the heyday of the part song,

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

and

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

were the principal exponents, often bringing a high-minded seriousness to their settings of great English poetry both contemporary and from earlier epochs. More recent major contributors to the genre include

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

Granville Bantock Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (7 August 186816 October 1946) was a British composer of classical music. Biography Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was an eminent Scottish surgeon.Hadden, J. Cuthbert, 1913, ''Modern Music ...

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occultism, occult practices, was used for all his ...

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. The development of the part song has been marked by increasing complexity of form, and contrapuntal content. Composers have also successfully used the part song medium to make contemporary arrangements of traditional

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

s, including those of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In Ukraine partsong replaced a

Znamenny chant Znamenny Chant (russian: знаменное пение, знаменный распев) is a singing tradition used by some in the Russian Eastern Orthodox Church. Znamenny Chant is a unison, melismatic liturgical singing that has its own specif ...

. About half a century before the advent of party part song, the old hook notation began to be replaced by a non-linear one, close to the modern one. Orthodox fraternities initiated the introduction of party singing. They opened schools at monasteries and introduced the study of part song in fraternal and church choirs. The first mention of such a study is associated with the Lviv Stauropean Brotherhood and dates back to the 1590s. The theoretical foundations of part song have been set out in a number of treatises. The most famous of them and the only surviving (in several editions) - "Musical Grammar" by Mykola Diletsky. According to the number of voices and the nature of polyphony, part songs are divided into three groups: party concerts, party motets and party works with constant polyphony. Party concerts include all works with 8 or more voices, and motets include party works of variable polyphony with 6 or less voices. Seven-part works have not yet been found, so they are not included in this classification, but most likely they must also be included in concerts. According to the themes of the texts and the predominant musical means, the part songs are divided into two large groups: vivatno-panegyric (glorious) and lyrical-dramatic (repentant).

Examples

* ''Ye spotted snakes'', text by Shakespeare, music by R. J. S. Stevens * ''Orpheus with his lute'', text by Shakespeare, music by George MacFarren * '' The Long Day Closes'', rext by Henry Chorley, music by Arthur Sullivan * ''

Lay a garland "Lay a garland" is a popular English poem from the play ''The Maid's Tragedy'' (Act II, Scene I) written in 1608-11. The poem was famously set to music by Robert Lucas de Pearsall on 4 June 1840, scored for SSAATTBB in Eb. In 1854, Pearsall produce ...

'', music by Robert Lucas de Pearsall * ''O wild west wind'', text by Shelley, music by

* ''

Three Shakespeare Songs ''Three Shakespeare Songs'' is a piece of classical choral music written for an a cappella SATB choir. It was written in 1951 by the British classical composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The work comprises three short pieces which are setting ...

'' – text by Shakespeare, music by Vaughan Williams * ''

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

'', traditional Scottish songs, arranged by Vaughan Williams * ''

Five Flower Songs Benjamin Britten's ''Five Flower Songs'', Op. 47, is a set of five part songs to poems in English by four authors which mention flowers, composed for four voices (SATB) in 1950 as a gift for the 25th wedding anniversary of Leonard and Dorothy ...

'', texts by four authors, music by Benjamin Britten

References

{{Authority control Song forms