[No. 312.] Ivan the Terrible, Act III 69—Final chorus.
Servilia 233—Final chorus.
Mlada, Act IV 35-36—Final chorus.
In fugato writing and fugal imitation for mixed chorus the distribution is generally in four parts, but this number may be increased for cumulative effects as in the example quoted. In such cases the composer should be careful as to the arrangement of the final chord, the summit and climax of the passage. After the entry of the last of the voices the progression of such a passage should be handled with a view to the tone of the final chord. The treatment should be such that concords produced by divided voices or different groups of voices retain their full value; and if the final chord be a discord its effect may be heightened by means of crossing of parts. The reader is advised to examine carefully the progression of parts leading up to the final chord in each of the examples given above, paying special attention to the distribution of these final chords. Crossing of parts must not be effected at random. The arrangement of choral parts follows the natural order of register and can only be altered for short spaces of time to give momentary prominence to some melodic or declamatory phrase.
Examples:
Ivan the Terrible, Act I 79, Act II 5, Act III 67.
B. Men’s chorus and women’s chorus.
In writing a three-part female chorus the division should be either
| Sopr. I Sopr. II Altos | or | Sopr. Altos I Altos II; |
the same for men: