February 2010

Hidden tunes - brain teasers for your choir!

Randal Henly

At some time, during the last few years, I was given a very old and small book called ‘Hidden Tunes’, in which various well-known melodies are embedded in an accompaniment. I told my choir recently, before church, that there would be two such melodies incorporated into the recessional voluntary. Who would be first to identify them?

Playing the piece (to the right) as it is written doesn’t help identification. The second time, I played the bottom part on a slighter louder stop, on another manual. No one in my choir identified it at that stage. The with a principal added to the bass part, the hidden tune appeared, and I heard several comments behind me (the organ is in the gallery) identifying the tune. I think the choir enjoyed the challenge!

Other pieces in the book are more complex and tunes much more hidden — in a middle part. They’re for another day!

Here’s the second piece, from the same little book, that was incorporated in the recessional:

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