Tag: round

A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody (and may continue repeating it indefinitely), but with each voice beginning at different times so that different parts of the melody coincide in the different voices, but nevertheless fit harmoniously together. It is one of the easiest forms of part singing, as only one line of melody need be learned by all parts, and is part of a popular musical tradition. They were particularly favoured in glee clubs, which combined amateur singing with regular drinking (The Aldrich Book of Catches (1989) introductory essay, pp 8–22, especially at p 21: “Catch-singing is unthinkable without a supply of liquor to hand…”).
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is a well known children’s round for 4 voices. Other examples are “London’s Burning” and “Three Blind Mice”. However, not all rounds are nursery rhymes. Serious composers who turned their hand to the round format include Thomas Arne, John Blow, William Byrd, Henry…