Challenging Rounds and Canons

Just like the “Magic Eye” puzzle, in which a 2 dimensional object suddenly pops into a new 3 dimensional one full of surprises and delight, Canons and Rounds are an easy portal into full blown harmony. Our family (and many of my younger choirs over the years) have had the experience of suddenly sitting taller – with wonder on their faces – as they learn a simple melody and “fold it over on itself” to create exciting new textures and harmony.

There are three ways to end canons and rounds – all equally acceptable. The first and most common way is to allow each part to finish in succession (possibly holding the final note until all are finished, like “Doxology” and “When Jesus Wept”). An alternative is to pre-determine a point in the round when all will finish on a chord (“Musica Est Dei” is an example of this). The third option would be to consider each phrase a separate portion of the melody, and have each singer continue to repeat that phrase only. Since this last option works well on rounds with longer phrases, we used it for “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

The four sacred pieces below all come from the distant past – a few composed as long as 3-4 centuries ago. Each comes from a different country – two are sung in Latin – the church language of those centuries. You can find recordings of the other three canons and rounds on this pdf on my previous post – Step 3: Canons and Rounds Simple/Medium Level.

Canons and Rounds Download