Glee (music)
Encyclopedia
A glee is an English type of part song
spanning the late baroque, classical and early romantic periods. It is usually scored for at least three voices, and generally intended to be sung unaccompanied. Glees often consist of a number of short, musically contrasted movements and their texts can be convivial, fraternal, idyllic, tender, philosophical or even (occasionally) dramatic. Their respectable and artistic character contrasts with the bawdiness of many catches
of the late 15th C., which made glees appropriate in female company. Although most glees were originally written to be sung in gentlemen's singing clubs, they often included soprano parts—which were sung by boys (church choristers) in earlier years, and later by ladies who were often present as guests. Glees as described above fall into a different musical category from traditional college songs or fight songs
.
song, although many examples also exist with from five to eight voices, and some early glees have basso continuo accompaniment. It is generally to be sung by solo voices. Glees often consist of several short movements. The use of the countertenor
voice, often on the upper part, is a particular characteristic of the form (the most famous exponent was William Knyvett
), serving to distinguish it from German male voice music, in which the top part is taken by a tenor
.
and William Hayes. The heyday of the glee was in the years between 1750 and 1850. Perhaps inspired by a revival of the English madrigal
(and other early music) by the Academy of Vocal (later Ancient) Music (founded 1726), English composers, unlike their continental contemporaries, began again to compose a cappella
music. At first the predominant stylistic influence was Italianate, but later glee composers juxtaposed sections in the French Overture style and style galant with affetuoso 3/4 movements and sections of robust Handelian fugal writing. Glees were also often introduced into stage productions. As the 19th century progressed, and musical tastes changed, the glee as a musical form began to be replaced by the romantic Part song
. By the mid-twentieth century, the glee had become a musical curiosity, seldom performed. However professional singing groups have, during the early 21st century, performed glees on CD and in the concert hall with some success.
was increasingly used in the U.S.A. to describe collegiate ensembles performing 'glees' and other light music in informal circumstances. As these glee clubs began more to resemble standard choirs during the 20th century, the tradition of singing glees in a social context faded.
Sr., written in 1787 as a theme song for the newly founded London Glee Club. Webbe's glee took root with the Harvard Glee Club
, the oldest such group in America, which still sings this song. Webbe wrote the text as well as the music, and in it he faithfully traced the London Glee Club's history; for the first couple of years, the meetings circulated among members' homes. This is reflected in the second line, which notes that the club was "wand'ring to find a temple for his praise." It finally found its "temple" when the club's meetings moved to the Newcastle Coffee House. Webbe's references to the gods of the Greek pantheon were part and parcel of the Georgian gentlemen's singing clubs' identification with the learning and leisure activities of the classical world. Webbe structured the poem so that the first two couplets of each verse were sung by solo voices, with all the members joining in at the refrain, "Thus then combining...".
Another of Webbe's glees is Discord!, whose first movement is based on a passage from Iliad
and whose second is based on a verse which, it is thought, he composed himself.
Part song
A part song is a form of choral music which consists of a secular song which has been written or arranged for several vocal parts, commonly SATB choir, but also for an all-male or all-female ensemble...
spanning the late baroque, classical and early romantic periods. It is usually scored for at least three voices, and generally intended to be sung unaccompanied. Glees often consist of a number of short, musically contrasted movements and their texts can be convivial, fraternal, idyllic, tender, philosophical or even (occasionally) dramatic. Their respectable and artistic character contrasts with the bawdiness of many catches
Catch (music)
In music, a catch or trick canon is a type of round - a musical composition in which two or more voices repeatedly sing the same melody or sometimes slightly different melodies, beginning at different times. In a catch, the lines of lyrics interact so that a word or phrase is produced that does...
of the late 15th C., which made glees appropriate in female company. Although most glees were originally written to be sung in gentlemen's singing clubs, they often included soprano parts—which were sung by boys (church choristers) in earlier years, and later by ladies who were often present as guests. Glees as described above fall into a different musical category from traditional college songs or fight songs
Fight Songs
Fight Songs is the fourth studio album by American alternative country band Old 97's, first released on April 27, 1999. It features the song "Murder ", which was named one of the top songs of all time by Blender magazine....
.
Form
The standard glee is a three- or four-voice a cappellaA cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
song, although many examples also exist with from five to eight voices, and some early glees have basso continuo accompaniment. It is generally to be sung by solo voices. Glees often consist of several short movements. The use of the countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
voice, often on the upper part, is a particular characteristic of the form (the most famous exponent was William Knyvett
William Knyvett
William Knyvett , was a British singer and composer of the 19th century.-Biography:Knyvett, third son of Charles Knyvett , musician, was born on 21 April 1779, most probably in London, and educated by his father, by Samuel Webbe, the glee composer, and by Signor Cimador.In 1788 he sang in the...
), serving to distinguish it from German male voice music, in which the top part is taken by a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
History
The first song to be described as a glee was Turn, Amaryllis, to thy Swain by Thomas Brewer. Glees were occasionally produced during the remainder of the 17th century and increasingly so in the first half of the 18th century by such composers as John TraversJohn Travers (Composer)
John Travers was an English composer who held the office of Organist to the Chapel Royal from 1737 to 1758. Before filling several parochial posts in London he had been a choir boy at St. George's Chapel, Windsor and a pupil of Johann Christoph Pepusch...
and William Hayes. The heyday of the glee was in the years between 1750 and 1850. Perhaps inspired by a revival of the English madrigal
English Madrigal School
The English Madrigal School was the brief but intense flowering of the musical madrigal in England, mostly from 1588 to 1627, along with the composers who produced them. The English madrigals were a cappella, predominantly light in style, and generally began as either copies or direct translations...
(and other early music) by the Academy of Vocal (later Ancient) Music (founded 1726), English composers, unlike their continental contemporaries, began again to compose a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
music. At first the predominant stylistic influence was Italianate, but later glee composers juxtaposed sections in the French Overture style and style galant with affetuoso 3/4 movements and sections of robust Handelian fugal writing. Glees were also often introduced into stage productions. As the 19th century progressed, and musical tastes changed, the glee as a musical form began to be replaced by the romantic Part song
Part song
A part song is a form of choral music which consists of a secular song which has been written or arranged for several vocal parts, commonly SATB choir, but also for an all-male or all-female ensemble...
. By the mid-twentieth century, the glee had become a musical curiosity, seldom performed. However professional singing groups have, during the early 21st century, performed glees on CD and in the concert hall with some success.
Glee Clubs
The first of the great Georgian clubs to popularize the glee was the Noblemen and Gentlemen's Catch Club of London, founded in 1762. Glee singing societies became popular in the 18th century and remained so, well into the 19th century. Glee clubs were at their most active during the second half of the 18th C., encouraging the production of new glees by awarding prizes to their composers. For example, in 1763 the Catch Club was offering four prizes annually - two for glees (one serious, one cheerful), one for a catch and one for a canon. From around 1850, as larger choral societies supplanted the earlier clubs, the term glee clubGlee club
A glee club 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—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
was increasingly used in the U.S.A. to describe collegiate ensembles performing 'glees' and other light music in informal circumstances. As these glee clubs began more to resemble standard choirs during the 20th century, the tradition of singing glees in a social context faded.
Examples
A notable, if not entirely typical, example of a glee is Glorious Apollo, a composition by Samuel WebbeSamuel Webbe
Samuel Webbe was an English composer.Born in Minorca in 1740, Webbe was brought up in London. His father died when he was still a baby and his mother returned to London where she raised Webbe in difficult circumstances. At the age of eleven he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker, and during the...
Sr., written in 1787 as a theme song for the newly founded London Glee Club. Webbe's glee took root with the Harvard Glee Club
Harvard Glee Club
The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, all-male choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858 in the tradition of English and American glee clubs, it is the oldest collegiate chorus in the US. The Glee Club is part of the Holden Choruses of Harvard University, which also include the...
, the oldest such group in America, which still sings this song. Webbe wrote the text as well as the music, and in it he faithfully traced the London Glee Club's history; for the first couple of years, the meetings circulated among members' homes. This is reflected in the second line, which notes that the club was "wand'ring to find a temple for his praise." It finally found its "temple" when the club's meetings moved to the Newcastle Coffee House. Webbe's references to the gods of the Greek pantheon were part and parcel of the Georgian gentlemen's singing clubs' identification with the learning and leisure activities of the classical world. Webbe structured the poem so that the first two couplets of each verse were sung by solo voices, with all the members joining in at the refrain, "Thus then combining...".
- Glorious Apollo
- Glorious Apollo from on high beheld us,
- Wand'ring to find a temple for his praise.
- Sent Polyhymnia hither to shield us,
- While we ourselves such a structure might raise.
- Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,
- Sing we in harmony Apollo's praise.
- Here ev'ry gen'rous sentiment awaking,
- Music inspiring unity and joy.
- Each social pleasure giving and partaking,
- Glee and good humour our hours employ.
- Thus then combining, hands and hearts joining,
- Long may continue our unity and joy.
Another of Webbe's glees is Discord!, whose first movement is based on a passage from Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and whose second is based on a verse which, it is thought, he composed himself.
- Discord!
- Discord! Dire sister of the slaughtering power,
- Small at her birth, but rising every hour,
- While scarce the skies her horrid head can bound,
- She stalks on earth, and shakes the world around.
- But lovely Peace in angel form
- Descending quells the rising storm.
- Soft ease and sweet content shall reign
- And Discord never rise again.
Notable composers
- Thomas Brewer
- Thomas Arne
- William Hayes
- James NaresJames NaresJames Nares was an English composer of mostly sacred vocal works, though he also composed for the harpsichord and organ....
- Jonathan BattishillJonathan BattishillJonathan Battishill was an English composer, keyboard player, and concert tenor. He began his career as a composer writing theatre music but later devoted himself to working as an organist and composer for the Church of England...
- Benjamin CookeBenjamin CookeBenjamin Cooke was an English composer, organist and teacher.Cooke was born in London and named after his father, a music publisher based in Covent Garden...
- Samuel WebbeSamuel WebbeSamuel Webbe was an English composer.Born in Minorca in 1740, Webbe was brought up in London. His father died when he was still a baby and his mother returned to London where she raised Webbe in difficult circumstances. At the age of eleven he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker, and during the...
Sr. - John Stafford SmithJohn Stafford SmithJohn Stafford Smith was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach....
- R. J. S. StevensR. J. S. StevensRichard John Samuel Stevens was an English composer and organist.-Biography:...
- John Wall CallcottJohn Wall CallcottJohn Wall Callcott was an eminent English musical composer.Callcott was born in Kensington, London. He was a pupil of Haydn, and is celebrated mainly for his glee compositions and "catches". In the best known of his catches he ridiculed Sir John Hawkins' History of Music...
- Reginald SpofforthReginald SpofforthReginald Spofforth was an English musician. He was born in Southwell, Nottinghamshire but moved to London around 1790. He was active as an organist, conductor and music teacher, but he is best remembered as a composer...
- John DanbyJohn Danby (musician)John Danby was an English composer of glees, of which he wrote around 92, some of which were only published after his death. Among the most popular of his glees are Awake, AEolian lyre! and Let Gaiety Sparkle. He won 10 prizes for his compositions from the Catch Club between 1781 and 1794. He was...
- William PaxtonWilliam Paxton (musician)William Paxton was a cellist in England. He composed several sets of duets and solos for the cello, including six duos for two cellos , eight duos for violin and cello , six solos for violin , four solos for violin and two for the cello , twelve easy lessons for cello . and six solos for cello...
- William HorsleyWilliam HorsleyWilliam Horsley was an English musician.In 1790 he became the pupil of Theodore Smith, an indifferent musician of the time, who, however, taught him sufficiently well to obtain the position of organist at Ely Chapel, Holborn, in 1794...
- William BealeWilliam BealeWilliam Beale was an English composer and baritone.Beale was born in Landrake, Cornwall. He first served as a chorister at Westminster Abbey under Dr. Arnold until his voice broke. He then served as a midshipman on HMS Révolutionnaire from 1799 to 1801...
See also
- ChoirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- Choral Music
- Barbershop musicBarbershop musicBarbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
- Glee ClubGlee clubA glee club 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—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
- List of collegiate glee clubs
- Glee (TV series)Glee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...