[Vincent Miller]

Having sung this piece a few times, I can affirm that it is indeed a lovely bit of work. Great stuff, Richard! There are two places that still feel like they could benefit from a bit of refinement: the open fifths in m. 7 and m. 11. If it were to be adjusted, I think the inner voices have a some flexibility there and would probably the first things to tamper with. It doesn’t quite feel in line with the character of the rest of the piece, but also doesn’t feel like it detracts from it substantially.

[Vincent Miller]

To add lyrics, simply select a note, press Ctrl L, and type away. If for some reason you wish to add a space without changing to a different note, Ctrl Space will do the trick.

Also, whether you’re making a fa in a second voice (or anything else) disappear, you can just press V to change the visibility.

[Vincent Miller]

Musescore (available at musescore.org) is a free, open-source music notation software that I, writing primarily for a cappella choir, have found to suit my needs quite well. There are various other options, both free and paid, but this is the one that I have generally found to be quite satisfactory. It has downloadable applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

[Vincent Miller]

Thanks for that input! I’ve experimented with a those ideas, retaining a version of some, while others seemed to shift the flavor of the piece in a direction that was less suitable to my aural palate. I also looked over it with Wendell Glick, who had some enlightening observations, as per his usual arrangement. Here is the result of those varied and sundry tweakings.

Eternal-Rest.mp3 1 MB MP3 - Click to view

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Eternal-Rest.pdf 63 KB PDF - Click to view

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[Vincent Miller]

In general, it sounds quite good to my ear, though m. 6-7 (especially beats 1 and 2 of m. 6) feel a bit weaker, particularly in the alto and tenor. I don’t have as much experience using chromaticism in a minor context however, and tend to be a sucker for natural minor, so take it with at least three grains of salt. I really do like the overall sound of the piece.

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