In Ecclesiis

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In Ecclesiis

In Ecclesiis is arguably Giovanni Gabrieli

Giovanni Gabrieli

Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organ . He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance music to Baroque music idioms....
's most famous single work. A magnum opus

Magnum opus

Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer....
of polychoral techniques, it also epitomises Baroque

Baroque

In the the arts, the Baroque was a Western cultural Epoch , starting roughly at the beginning of the 17th century in Rome, Italy. It was exemplified by drama and grandeur in Baroque sculpture, Baroque painting, literature, Baroque dance, and Baroque music....
and Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
styles, with its prolific use of pedal point

Pedal point

In tonality, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass , during which at least one foreign, i.e., consonance and dissonance harmony is sounded in the other register ....
s and extended plagal cadences.

The work was probably originally composed for the Doge of Venice

Doge of Venice

The Doge was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy....
. Although the text can be considered sacred

SACRED

SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. It was the product of the work of about 50 students, ranging from college freshmen to Ph....
, it is not liturgical.

There are four groups and Continuo/Organ. These groups are set in two being instrumental, the other two made up of singers.

Countertenor

Countertenor

A countertenor is a male voice type whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or more rarely the normal or modal voice....
/Soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
(Disputed) Alto

Alto

Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high", that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano....
Tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
Baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....

Soprano

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
Bass

Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...

First Cornett

Cornett

The cornett, cornetto or zink is an early wind instrument, dating from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles....
Second Cornett

Cornett

Viol

The viol is any one of a family of bow , fretted, stringed instruments musical instruments developed in the 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance music and Baroque music periods....
Tenor Trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
Bass Trombone

As we can see, there are some disputes as to the specific singers.

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In Ecclesiis is arguably Giovanni Gabrieli

Giovanni Gabrieli

Magnum opus

Baroque

Renaissance

Pedal point

Doge of Venice

SACRED

Group One (Soloists)

Countertenor

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....

Group Two (Chorus)

Soprano

Alto

Tenor

Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
Bass

Bass guitar

Group Three

First Cornett

Cornett

Group Four

Violino(likely to be Treble Viol

Viol

Trombone

Continuo-Organ and String Bass

As we can see, there are some disputes as to the specific singers. These groups are only applicable to modern interpretations of the work, due to how vocal ranges are now defined. It is more likely that the work would have been originally performed with an all-male choir. The instrumental groups here are only likely to be found in a historically accurate performance. It is more likely that the Cornetti are replaced by either Trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest Register in the brass instrument family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC....
, Cornet

Cornet

Not to be confused with coronetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical Bore , compact shape, and mellower tone quality....
, or Oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
. Even though it destroys Gabrieli's original sentiments, it is possible to perform this work with an all Brass

Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
ensemble. Brass Instruments on the whole, however, are considered too loud to be used. The delicate polychoral texture is normally almost totally lost in small scale modern performances. The balconies and actual size of the church at San Marco

San Marco

San Marco is one of the six sestiere of Venice, lying in the heart of the city. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore....
meant that antiphon

Antiphon

An antiphon is a response, usually sung in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or some other part of a religious service, such as at Vespers or at a mass ....
al works could be performed with relative ease. This can be difficult to translate, however. As more choirs attempt this work, it can be argued that the original effect is lost as the original conditions cannot be replicated in every Church, Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
or Concert Hall

List of concert halls

A concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for European classical music instrumental music. Many concert halls exist as one of several halls or performance spaces within a larger performing arts center and, where appropriate, the name of the arts centre is included....
where a modern performance may take place. This may be due to any number of reasons, including the size of the choir, ensemble availability and where the audience will sit.