Text from various historical sources, edited by James Madison

Learn more about Neely Bruce, and get information on booking a performance of this work.

To get started, for each movement, listen to the SATB file to get an overall feeling for the music. Better yet, listen to each movement on SoundCloud several times to hear an actual performance : https://soundcloud.com/neelybrucemusic This will help you to associate the text with the piano rehearsal file, and to hear and see the musical phrases.
Each vocal part is recorded as a solo file, so you can hear your part without the other parts. Some parts don’t start until several measures into the movement, so a period of silence may preceed your first entrance. To make the rehearsal process more efficient, mark down the minute/second time for entrances and problem spots.
Once you identify which sections of each movement need more practice, focus on those measures instead of always playing the whole file.
Optional - To self-assess your progress in mastering the pitches and rhythms, try singing with the “music minus one” files. For example, sopranos can play the file “first-amendment-minus-soprano”, and it will play all the parts EXCEPT the soprano part, requiring the singer to know the part well. Apply this technique to your part. Don’t be frustrated if these minus-one files are a challenge. You can always go back to the Soundcloud performance or the SATB piano file for reinforcement.
These files are more rigid in tempos than real performance, so even if you know your part, following the conductor is always necessary.