Edgar Bainton And I saw a new heaven
The quality of a performance of this very beautiful anthem is set in the first two bars of singing. If any section mumbles “An’ eye saw”, the magic spell is broken. Think AN t’Ah-(ee) and it will start out right.
The piece needs a lot of subtly shaded crescendos and diminuendos. After the opening point-of-imitation, almost Elizabethan setting of AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN, AND A NEW EARTH (which is piano), there’s a short cres. on FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN (which peaks on HEAVEN, but only at mf); then a rather longer dim. into the first bar of page 2.
All of that is marked in the score, but I wanted to draw your attention to it. Not marked, but important, is a < > shape on PASSED, from the sopranos---and probably the slightest hint of support from the other parts.
Then comes the first real buildup: again a series of entries, in two pairs:
1. Tenors sing, AND I JOHN;
2. Basses sing a counterpoint, with the same words
3. Sopranos have the entry, slightly expanded (“in augmentation” if you’re into techtalk)
4. Three lower parts respond with a counterpoint.
This builds up to a forte at NEW JERUSALEM, which we will reduce as you sing
(Coming down from) GOD OUT OF HEAVEN
And again—not marked but intuitive—the sopranos and altos shape < > on PREPARED AS A BRIDE.
Tenors and Basses shape similarly, a bar later.
There are four bars of organ interlude; then comes a new buildup. Basses start with
AND I HEARD A GREAT VOICE
This doesn’t need to start p as marked; make it a definite mf, which will automatically produce the cres. Bainton asks for.
(Important note-in-passing: PLEASE DO NOT SING “And I heard a grey voice out of heaven... "
This is probably a mild form of blasphemy!)
The end of page 3 (BEHOLD! THE TABERNACLE...) is loud. (Please don’t sing BE HOLE!, or even BE WHOLE!)
The dim. at AND BE WITH THEM is obvious—do ration the reduction, so that we don’t become soft all at once.
Starting page 5, the tenors have one of the most ravishingly beautiful lines in all the literature. Start the cres. with a bit of increase through WIPE, then the < > as marked.
All through page 5 Bainton has marked each phrase clearly with < > ; don’t let them be missed by the listeners. It ends very softly at the beginning of the third system, with ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; and we start another extended buildup.
The dim. at the end of page 6 should be modified slightly for rising tunes—allow yourself just a hint of cres. then continue the dim. By now we’re ready to make the last page very quiet, though shaped; and very beautiful.