A very rare type of chant conforms to the Rule of Three, Three and Five. That is, Reciting note, 1, 2, 3; Reciting note, 1, 2, 3; Reciting note, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I have called these Sesqui-Chants because they are in a sense halfway between a single and a double chant. They lend themselves to certain psalms where one half of the verses is much longer than the other, so that they naturally divide into three sections. A chant by William Felton is set to Psalm 100:
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Having found the Felton chant I never expected to find another. But I did. The other one I discovered was by the American composer Lowell Mason, and he described it as a "Ternary" Chant. I have to say I still prefer my "Sesqui-Chant" designation. Anyway, Lowell Mason set this to verses 7-10 of Psalm 24, using the Coverdale translation. Here it is with the translation from the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979:
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The Rev. William Felton of Hereford is today mostly remembered for his organ concertos |
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