Canon for Four Voices

Know which version you sing

The supplied historical edition presents the Martin text in F major. Other sources use different names or keys: comparison begins with identifying the version, not assuming every difference is an error. Four equal voices still have to let the recurring idea remain recognisable.

Clarify the overlapping words

Sing the line together, then rehearse with two voices before building up to all four. Choose consonants that clarify the joke without interrupting the pulse. Listen where another singer’s words overlap your ending; these are useful rehearsal landmarks. Changing printed names or transposing is a separate choice, not a correction automatically required by another recording.

Music in this edition

1. Canon for Four Voices