User:Mark Emerson Donnelly

General information

Country of origin: Canada

Contributor since: 2021-09-25

Works with editions by this editor: 5 (see list)

Contact information

e-mail: mark  vocalart.org

websites: https://markemersondonnelly.com/

support: https://www.lifefunder.com/mdonnellymusic

YouTube: VocalArt.ca

I would love to hear from you about any use you make of my scores! Definitely contact me if you have any questions or feedback about my work.

Background

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, I have a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College in California.

I have been a private voice instructor since 1984 and a parochial Catholic church choir and schola director for over 40 years, most recently at Holy Family Parish in Vancouver, BC. I have also been a vocal clinician and consultant for various school, barbershop, community, and church choirs (most notably, as vocal coach for the monks at Our Lady of the Annunciation Abbey in Clear Creek, Oklahoma). In 2019, I led the “Professional” section in the BC Sacred Music Symposium, which featured some of my own liturgical compositions.

Besides my liturgical musical experience, I have an extensive background in secular performance, including writing a setting for Alfred Noyes’ well-known poem “The Highwayman,” and arranging folk songs and other pieces for various kinds of vocal ensembles.

My Work on CPDL

My Score Editions

Throughout my career as a singer and director, it has been my constant effort to achieve the greatest possible progress in the least possible amount of time, always striving for beauty. This effort is especially important when working with volunteer church choirs, who carry responsibility for that music which most deservedly demands quality: music for the public worship of our Lord God. However, these choirs, like all musicians, are unavoidably challenged by practical demands of time. Experiencing this firsthand for so many years, I try to increase the quality, efficiency, and joy of rehearsal.

This led me long ago to creating my own high quality scores, since the score, as a ubiquitous tool of all musical ensembles, contributes directly to the efficient use of rehearsal time. I believe that by reducing the energy spent on rehearsals, a clear and beautiful score enhances the quality of performance and frees the singer to pray when singing for the liturgy.

My Arrangements

My philosophy of making the beautiful as practical as possible extends beyond making scores to arranging motets to accommodate various potential needs of the singers, most commonly through adding repeats, switching parts, or completely re-voicing the piece.

Repeats for Shorter Works: In some shorter pieces, I have added repeats to lengthen the piece to a more practical and perhaps more becoming length. It can enhance the impact of the piece, but it can also simply help the piece fit a certain time slot better.

Part Switching: In some of my arrangements, certain parts have switched positions, either partially or for a whole piece (e.g. a phrase of music originally in the alto part being given to the tenor part, and the phrase in the tenor given to the alto). This was originally meant to meet the vocal needs of my own ensemble, but since we had relatively average ranges for each voice, other choirs will likely also find these adjustments useful. I tried to log every change in the bottom left corner of the score’s first page. Any unacknowledged difference between the original and my arrangement is an oversight and I apologize for any confusion it may cause.

Regarding the Palestrina Offertoria, I am indebted to Pothárn Imre on CPDL for yeoman's work in transcribing the entire volume in Finale. His transcriptions have greatly facilitated my re-arranging the voice parts for an easier performance.

Arrangements for Standard SATB Church Choir or Quartet (and other vocal ensembles)

While there are many motets that call for 5 or more parts (or simply non-SATB voicing, like TTBB), many church choirs only have enough strong singers to comfortably cover standard soprano, alto, tenor, bass voicing. Therefore, in order to make these beautiful motets more accessible, I have arranged several for SATB. I have also made arrangements for SAT, SSAA, and TTBB, to make even standard SATB pieces accessible to other kinds of ensembles.

Re-arranging the voicing of a piece in any way requires a certain amount of composition technique. Whether reducing the number of parts or trading out some voices for others, there is little opportunity to simply cut and paste. Using my skills as a composer, I redistribute the melodies to retain the harmonies and overall aura of the original piece, while making the sound a proper product of the new voicing. It is like writing a poetic translation of another language’s poem. One must understand how each language shows beauty in its own particular way, take the meaning and feel of the poem in the original language, and convey that through the proper means of the new language. In a similar way, while the original composer had his own means in his voicing, I attain a similar result through means which are sensitive to the potential needs of choirs.

My Compositions

While making old church music accessible through both scores and arrangements, I seek to further continue the Catholic Church’s creative tradition by composing my own new pieces. The classic composers of the Renaissance were all writing troves of new music in their time, establishing a tradition of repertoire, performance, and prayer. However, while appreciating the past’s music and using it in its proper place in the liturgy, we cannot simply lean on the past’s artistic accomplishments. We must allow the past to inspire the creation of new art, if the Church is to truly continue thriving through art. I seek to continue that creative tradition, using Gregorian chant and the great G.P. da Palestrina as my primary inspirations, and always striving to truly attain the central goal of sacred music: giving glory to God and edifying souls.

In this way I try to fully continue the legacy of the classic composers whose works are available on the CPDL. I am truly indebted to the CPDL for enabling the accessibility of so many liturgical masterpieces of music, making an entire musical tradition available to use in glorifying God and inspiring holiness. I hope you will support my efforts to continue the legacy of the CPDL through my composing and my creation of high quality scores.

Rationale for Score Layout

The layout of the score affects the ease of rehearsal. Crimped staves, industrial-looking fonts, and disproportionate spacing often distract from the beauty and sublimity of the music. Therefore, I make scores that harmonize with the singers’ aim, instead of irking and distracting them. Drawing from my experience both as a singer and directer, I make my scores practical and conducive to focused, prayerful rehearsal and performance.

Spacing and Sizing: The space on the page is used as economically as possible to create a pleasant look, with a balance between comfortable spacing and easy-to-read music and text. There is also a balance between the thicknesses of various lines, so as to enhance the clarity of the notation.

Text Font: The fonts used are clear but dignified and beautiful, making the scores pleasing to look at and blending with the music being sung.

Translation Included: For all non-English texts, the English translation is included at the beginning of the piece, so that singers unfamiliar with the piece’s language can more easily know what they are singing and sing the piece with appropriate intention. To further facilitate matching the lyrics with the translation, the complete non-English text of the piece is placed next the translation, line by line.

The source of the text is given on the left of the first page, just above the music. Whenever there is a text from the liturgy (e.g. Offertory, 5th Sunday After Pentecost), it is referring to the Catholic Church's 1962 missal of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (the Traditional Latin Mass), unless otherwise specified.

Dynamics: Given the importance of really singing the words in a piece, especially in a liturgical context, most of my scores include no dynamic markings (where no direct indication from the composer exists), so that the singers can supply whatever dynamics, however subtle, may be appropriate to the words being sung at that moment. This also leaves a piece open to different renditions at different times, depending on the choir’s (or individual singers’) interpretation of the text at the time.

Practical Notes for Scores

Copyright Information

Any of my editions or arrangements found on CPDL may be freely distributed, performed, or recorded. However, please acknowledge your source of the score (Mark Emerson Donnelly’s editor page on CPDL.org) to any collaborators or audience.

Printer Settings for My Scores

The PDFs of my scores have the side margins cropped for more convenient use on a tablet or other smart device. Hard copies may be printed with the normal margins by selecting “Fit” or “Shrink oversized pages” in your printing options.

Explanation of Catalogue/Edition Numbers

The catalogue/edition number is noted in the top left corner of a score’s first page. The 4-character number before the dash is the catalogue number for my own score archive, and the number after the dash is the edition number. The letter in the catalogue number indicates the kind of piece (motet, mass movement, etc.) and whether it is an edition, an arrangement, or a composition of mine.

The edition number indicates the stage of my alteration of the score. Each time there is a minor change, such as spacing adjustment, the lowercase letter changes in the edition number (e.g. 1a to 1b to 1c, etc.). Each time there is a major change (such as a change in the music), the number of the edition changes (e.g. 00a to 01a to 02a, etc.) Editions of the same number but different letters (e.g. 02a and 02b) are essentially the same and in a pinch can be used together in an ensemble. Editions of different numbers, however, will have substantial differences that preclude using them together in an ensemble.

For the most part, any difference from another composer’s original composition (such as key change or halving of note values) is noted in the bottom left of the score’s first page.

Accidentals and “Musica Ficta”

Accidentals that have (to the best of our knowledge) been purposely included in a score by the original composer are written in my scores as normal accidentals.

My scores also include ficta, which effectively are optional accidentals. Around the time of the Renaissance, it was quite common for the performers themselves to provide accidentals that seemed necessary for a logical and pleasing rendition of the piece, even though the composer may not have included them himself in the written music. Likely or customary ficta appear in my scores as accidentals written above the applicable note. Certain ficta are parenthesized if they seem less likely.

Small Size Notes and Lyrics

Notes smaller than the normal notes most commonly indicate the possibility for one part to double another part. They may also indicate some optional extra harmony. Smaller lyrics indicate an alternate set of lyrics.

Liturgical Texts

The source of the text is given on the left of a score's first page, just above the music. Whenever a liturgical text is indicated (e.g. Offertory, 5th Sunday After Pentecost), it refers to the Catholic Church's 1962 missal of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (the Traditional Latin Mass), unless otherwise specified.

MP3s of the MIDI files and Their Voicing

MP3s of the MIDI files are uploaded with the scores for hearing the overall sound of a piece and to facilitate learning it. While each editor seems to hear differently as to which MIDI instruments produce the most helpful rendering of the score, my most common instrumentation is oboe for soprano, clarinet for alto, English horn for tenor, and cello for bass. I have intended the instrumentation to blend the parts musically together while maintaining the clarity of each part, and I hope my selection is agreeable.