Lully Lullay

Program Notes

Based on Adoramus te Christe (“1584”, but really 1843) and the original 1591 version of Coventry Carol, verses 1 and 3.

The Adoramus te Christe

Interestingly, the Adoramus te Christe (1584) was wrongly attributed to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594), but was in fact composed in the 19th century by an unknown composer, borrowing the soprano line from a setting by Francesco Rosselli (c. 1510–1577). It was first published in 1843 in Recueil des morceaux de musique ancienne, Volume 1, no. 5, from which my 3-voice harmonization was derived. “Adoramus te Christe” means “we adore thee, Christ”.

The Coventry Carol

Coventry Carol was traditionally performed in Coventry, England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew: the carol itself refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, … and takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children.

I find the interaction between the two narratives compelling: the involuntary sacrifice of these innocent children and the sacrifice the Christ child will choose to make in the future.

Compositional Choices

I chose to translate most of the Adoramus te into English to match the Coventry Carol and so that listeners can better connect to these two stories. However, I retained the first phrase in Latin for its meditative qualities at the opening of each section of music.

Related Music

Christmas Carols

Of the Father’s love begotten · Let All Mortal Flesh · Let Us Be Merry

Other Sacred

Hine ma tov · Reborn by Living Water

Masses

Missa Historiae (Missa Brevis No. 1) · Missa Dramatica (Missa Brevis No. 2) · Missa Cantus (Missa Brevis No. 3)

Modern “Motets”

A light exists in Spring · Break, Break, Break

Performance Notes

The SAB voicing, simple rhythmic profile, and supportive piano accompaniment—which doubles nearly all choral parts—place Lully Lullay at Level 2 (Easy), making it well-suited for church, community, and developing ensembles. Expressive demands—a wide dynamic range (pp–ff) and non-metrical phrasing—provide genuine musical depth.

Notes for Directors

• The title, Lully Lullay, is pronounced “loo-lee loo-lay”, or in IPA: [luli lulei].
• Although the piece is written for SAB choir a cappella or for SAB choir and Piano, feel free to substitute another keyboard instrument such as organ or harpsichord.
• The accompaniment strategically doubles nearly all of the choral parts, providing support and confidence.
  • Where there is a solo line, such as mm. 8–14, a counterpoint is added to the choral part to help keep the tempo moving.
  • Only two phrases do not duplicate the choral line in the accompaniment: Altos in mm. 15–21 (singing a variation of the Coventry Carol melody), and the upper-voice trio mm. 106–113, where only the middle voice is directly doubled.
  • Also note that in mm. 114–121, all of the choral parts are doubled in the accompaniment, but in a less direct manner than the rest of the piece.
• When singing Lully Lullay unaccompanied, start at ms. 8.
• While the piece is notated in 2/2, the music is largely non-metrical, meaning there is no inherent stress placed on downbeats. Rather, word stresses and phrases predominate. As a consequence, there are several places where one feels a hemiola (mm. 57–58 or mm. 64–65), or others where the (non-existent) metrical downbeat appears displaced (mm. 70 (beat 2)–76, or mm. 89 (beat 2)–92).
• I’ve notated the obvious (and intended) breaths at ends of phrases, and have also notated many locations where (ideally) no breath is taken (such as the transitions into the “bye bye, lully lullay” sections). There may be other locations where a breath is warranted, such as at the commas in ms. 83, ms. 89, ms. 92, etc., or conversely where a breath is best avoided, such as at the commas in ms. 56 or ms. 66, but these are left up to the discretion of the director.
• The vertical bar in ms. 73 is a “lift” rather than a full breath. I.e. treat it as a short breath, but without the choir actually breathing there.
• The original Adoramus te Christe (1584) is largely intact in mm. 77–105, and thus I chose not to explicitly notate any breaths in this section, except those placed where I repeated material from the original. This section, as a whole, should be phrased as you would an early motet, so please feel free to add breaths where appropriate for your choir.
• In mm. 106–113:
  • The upper voices split into three parts, notated as SAA (i.e. as the Altos dividing). A balanced texture is desired, so split the choir accordingly.
  • This section can also be sung by a trio, or by a smaller collection of voices drawn from the choir.
  • While not ideal, this section is written such that the lower Alto part can be omitted.
• The piece climaxes at mm. 114–118, and the rest of the piece functions as a denouement.

Rehearsal Resources

Here are recordings which emphasize one of the parts (Soprano, Alto, or Bass).

These recordings are protected by copyright—please do not post them to other public sites. If you wish to share these recordings, please link to this page. If you’ve purchased an adequate number of octavos for your group, you may use them privately within your choir.

Balanced Voices (SAB)

Balanced voices (SAB) MP3 file link for download

Soprano

Soprano MP3 file link for download

Alto

Note that the only difference between Alto 1 and Alto 2 are measures 106–113 on page 8, bottom system.

Alto 1 MP3 file link for download

Alto 2 MP3 file link for download

Bass

Bass MP3 file link for download

The Text

Source Texts

Related Works

Christmas Carols

Brightest and Best · Let All Mortal Flesh · Let Us Be Merry · Of the Father’s love begotten · On this day earth shall ring