Reviews, Reports and Conference Proceedings

Over fifty singers attended the popular Saturday afternoon singing day at St. Mary's Church Hall, Glastonbury, to study John Taverner's "Western Wynde" Mass under the direction of Tony Bevan. That there was such a good turn-out meant that there was no problem over balance, all SATB voices being well represented.

Taverner (c. 1495-1545) had an interesting life, what one might nowadays call a portfolio career. Having been appointed Master of the Children at Cardinal College, Oxford, he was accused, along with others, of heresy and thrown into jail by the College's founder, Cardinal Wolsey. This prison was in "a deep cave under the ground of the same Colledge, where their salt fyshe was layde, so that, through the fylthe stincke thereof they were all infected". However, Taverner, "being but a musician" was pardoned by Wolsey (is there a lesson here for the profession?). Taverner's heresy (if it were of the protestant variety) appears to have borne fruit, for we hear of him later as one of Thomas Cromwell's chief agents in the suppression of the monasteries. Before that, however, he had written much fine music including some of the early In Nomine compositions.

Back to the "Westerne Wynde" Mass and the SWEMF members' attempt at a performance. We were promised that it would not be an easy sing though a truly rewarding one) and so it proved. It is said that Bach "hated tenors" and the canard might equally be applied to Taverner. Not that the sopranos, altos and basses fared much better! Tony imparted much interesting information about the way in which the music would have been performed, pointing out that the Kyrie was not set at this time, that tropes were much used, and instructing us on "ligatures", something that I believe some of us understood only imperfectly. The folk-song that provides the theme for the Mass has apparently been lost, at least in its original form, but some members were able to provide suggestions for more recent variants on it.

Taverner's Mass is full of intricate rhythms and long runs and demands good counting, as is so often the case with the polyphony of this period. Alternation of duets, trios and sections for full choir, together with dramatic changes in dynamics ensured that interest in the music was fully sustained. We were able to ignore the "tyranny of bar-lines2, so beloved of modern editors of renaissance music. The "sing through" went surprisingly well, thanks to the excellent instruction Tony had given us and the enthusiasm and, dare I say it, expertise of the singers. Above all, we were able to enjoy Taverner's inventiveness and rich textures, and to appreciate his mastery of the elaborate polyphonic style.

As usual at these enjoyable afternoons, the refreshments were excellent, thanks to the quick and efficient service provided by the volunteers, not an easy task with such a large number of thirsty singers. Thanks are due to Margaret Somerset for organising the afternoon and, above all, to Tony Bevan for his excellent direction and deep knowledge of the music of this period. The last word should be Tony's: "if you can sing that you can sing anything"! Most encouraging!

Mike Morris

Several members of SWEMF attended a recorder playing day at Frenchay Quakers Meeting House organised by Bristol SRP. The tutor, Emma Murphy, was unknown to most players and proved to be a big success.

We started the day with a 2-choir motet "Jubilate Deo" by Peter Philips and this settled the ensemble nicely. Then came a surprise – a baroque suite by JCF Fischer arranged for recorders by Sheila Richards. We had great fun double-dotting the "Ouverture" and the basses were challenged to stay alert while playing the repeated bass line of the "Passacaille"! In contrast to these, we then explored "Five Ukranian Dances" by Lance Eccles, a modern Australian composer, which included lots of lively rhythms and mystical moments. Our last piece was the "Canzon for 6 Voices" by Schein. We played this several times and it was interesting to observe the change from "playing the notes" to "playing the music".

Altogether it was a most interesting day.

Sylvia Davies

On Saturday, 12th March, 18 instrumentalists and 31 singers met up at West Bay to study a programme of Tudor music under the batons of Ann Lyall and Mike Bailey.

The music spanned the 16th. Century, ranging from “In manus Tuas”by Sheppard, Marian antiphons and pre-Reformation (or rather Counter- Reformation) motets by Philips through the more religiously ambivalent works of Tallis and Byrd to Gibbons's English anthem “O clap your hands”.

The instrumentalists formed an excellent ensemble and thereby provided a strong support for the singers who very much appreciated the additional dimension to what, for obvious reasons, is often unaccompanied music. Our thanks must go to the two conductors. They had clearly made meticulous preparations for the day and these enabled us to study no fewer than eight rewarding works. The workshop was led throughout with patience and good humour which made the day most enjoyable.

The programme, especially the two 8-part double choir works, was quite sufficiently taxing to ensure that the performers remained on their toes for the final run through which was applauded by a small audience.

Ieuan Adlam-Hill

Like equivalent works by Monteverdi, La Dafne was called a “favola in musica” and predates opera. The librettist was Rinuccini, one of the greatest of his day, whose way of setting text to music came closer to speech than any others. It was intended to mark the end of the year-long wedding celebrations of Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua and Margherita of Savoy, and was first performed in 1608. Monteverdi's Orfeo is slightly earlier, dating from the beginning of 1607. The two works are based on similar stories. In La Dafne the heroine is eventually transformed into a laurel, which was the symbol of the Medici family.

The score, printed in Florence, contains detailed instructions on how to perform the work to achieve the “utter perfection” required for a production. The Academia, musical and philosophical antiquarian societies, contained both professionals and amateurs performing together or, according to Philip, “musicians and people with brains”. Their idea of performance was based on one huge fallacy in that they believed Greek drama had been sung throughout. There was a hothouse situation at that time with musical productions highly experimental and the best music brand new. Musicians, poets, philosophers and women all had an equally high status. At the first performance Catarina Martinelli sang the part of Dafne; Monteverdi had created the role of Arianna for her but she was never to sing it, having died of smallpox at the age of eighteen. The highest paid Medici musician Francesco Rasi (who featured as Orfeo in Monteverdi's work) sang the part of Apollo and Antonio Brandi, the counter tenor who was head hunted by Monteverdi, sang Tirsi.

Our weekend began on the Friday evening at Roxana Gundry's beautiful house near Ashburton, where principal singers and continuo players were able to rehearse in relaxed surroundings before we all met on the Saturday at St. Lawrence Chapel to study the complete work. I fully intended to capture some of Philip's “bons mots”, but they flew so thick and fast that most escaped the record, such was the furious pace of the proceedings.

Kate Cullen, our SWEMF organiser, had sought out some very fine solo singers to perform the major roles; the majority were not SWEMF members and possibly not completely au fait with the repertoire, yet they took on their roles with huge enthusiasm and skill. One or two people who attended came from other early music forums, drawn by the opportunity to work with Philip Thorby. Philip puts so much energy into his workshops; it is remarkable how he manages to get the very best out of people without offending anyone, and with so much humour thrown in.

Some participants had found very comfortable lodgings in Ashburton for the night and we all met again on the Saturday to rehearse the full ensemble. Philip divided the instrumentalists into two groups to accompany the different soloists. There was some helpful advice to the continuo players: “Never follow singers; to follow is to be like the Duke of Edinburgh, i.e., one step behind.” Thus any self indulgence was stamped upon and the singers were driven forwards at the chosen pulse of the director, which did enable us to accomplish the magnificent task of getting through a rather complex and long work whilst never overlooking the dissonances and harmonic effects which coloured it. Philip took the trouble to translate the Italian as we went along, which helped the singers to shape their lines effectively and which led to quite a few laughs as the story was pretty fanciful. The heroine, Dafne, is transformed into a laurel tree after much action with bows and arrows by various deities, and the grizzly demise of a python; in fact Philip thought the story should have been called “The Archers”. At one point Dafne was given the direction “poco Julie Andrews” by Philip, when she was trying to resist the advances of Apollo. As we finally neared the end of the piece with our attention flagging Philip, in his inimitable fashion, uttered the apology “I'm sorry I couldn't keep with all of you on that last bar”.

Moving swiftly on to the run-through on Sunday, we were joined by a small audience of friends and relations to witness the re-creation of a magnificent work, senza python, laurel and bows and arrows, but con as much sincerity as one could muster. It was awe-inspiring, believe me, and huge appreciation is owed to Philip for directing and to Kate Cullen for organising, and with thanks to Roxy Gundry for looking after so many of us at her house.

Heather Gibbard

Desirable qualities in a conductor: musicality, energy, knowledge that sits lightly, and a sense of humour: not necessarily in that order. Philip Thorby does indeed combine all those and is great fun to work with.

Our venue for the Ashburton weekend on l9th and 20th March was a lovely and distinguished building, founded in medieval times and decorated in the eighteenth century with delicate plasterwork in the chapel, which is where we worked. Several hefty wooden steps lead down as to a swimming pool; instrumentalists were on the floor and singers mostly in raised pews round the edges.

Dafne by Marco da Gagliano is a beautiful work. Lucky Vincentio and Leonora, the rulers in whose honour it was written; their marriage festivities lasted a year and included as first and last entertainment Orfeo and Dafne, both on the subject of love. Philip made us laugh a lot with a satirical translation of the text as it unrolled, especially when it came to the 'my bow is bigger than yours' slanging match between Apollo and Cupid (as a result of which, for the benefit of anyone who is not familiar with the legend, Cupid's little arrows cause Apollo to fall for Dafne, a chaste nymph in the service of Diana the huntress who will have nothing to do with him, and whose desperate cries for help cause Diana to turn her into a laurel tree before his eyes). Apollo's distress at Dafne's transformation was surprisingly moving as he clings to her branches and misses every aspect of the being who has suddenly ceased to be, and the thought that he had only known her five minutes is really not so relevant; this is a myth, not a novel.

The chapel is said to be able to seat one hundred but seems a lot smaller; this may have added to the sense of collegiality and work accomplished; also, being in circular formation does seem to add a dimension to music making. The soloists were really wonderful in the way they rode the random rhythms of speech (Italian speech at that) combined with music, and the continuo players acted as one in mopping up any lapses and coaxing them back to the path. Philip's energetic exhortations caused him to end up looking a bit like a Rockhopper penguin about the head, but did produce the necessary passion and acting skills, and if these dropped off occasionally no one could be surprised. Clifford Bartlett had produced the copies, and a very good translation that made the work come right at you; it included by accident a preliminary note presumably by the original producer: I quote: - 'Receive then, courteous readers, this dissertation of mine, not as the explanations of a master who imagines he can give a lesson to others – for I am not capable of such downright presumption – but as the labours of one who has paid diligent attention to all the particulars to be observed in the performance of such a work. Thus, thanks to this little beam of light, you can see the way with less trouble to that utter perfection which is required for the performance of such compositions'. Hear hear.

Sallie Ranken

On Saturday April 2nd a select group of singers and string players gathered at Barnstaple Parish Church to study the verse anthems of Pelham Humfrey.

Humfrey was one of the first children of the Chapel Royal when it was reinstated by King Charles II. Anthems by him were already in use at the court when he was sent to study in France at the age of 17. He learnt much from Lully who directed the 24 Violons du Roi at the court of Louis XIV. He imported the rhythmic qualities which Charles had admired during his exile in France and introduced the practice of writing recitatives which he learnt from Lully. His work had a considerable influence on the verse anthems of Purcell, and the style flourished at court for about 80 years. William of Orange was no lover of show, and it was left to the Cathedrals to keep religious music alive. Most organs were put away.

After hearing about the background to the music the participants divided into players and singers in order to study their parts. 24 violins were not available but we did have 2 violins, 1 viola and 1 bass viol. Tutor Lynn Selwood swelled the ranks with her Baroque cello, on which she ably demonstrated all the parts. In addition to the verse anthems the players studied a Galliard from the Tempest, an opera by Matthew Locke, which was included in the programme as an example of the adventurous harmonies already making their way into English music during the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile John was putting the singers through their paces. Some last minute cancellations brought the number down to seven, The anthems contain n umerous solo sections, so everyone had to join in – some found it hard work! After refreshments singers and players joined forces to perform two of the anthems. The same format was followed in the afternoon, after an hour spent enjoying the glorious Spring sunshine and the delights of Barnstaple market and riverside.

The works studied were "Lift up your Heads O ye Gates", "O Praise the Lord", "O Give thanks to the Lord", "O Lord my God", which was Humfrey's most popular work and made his reputation. There was also Nunc Dimittis with organ accompaniment only in which the players joined in the singing.

With such small forces the singers found the day quite challenging but they were stimulated by John's enthusiasm for his subject and acquitted themselves nobly. Meanwhile the string group benefited from Lynn's expertise and sympathetic way of imparting a style which was new to most of us. Thank you to both for a most enjoyable day.

Valerie Hind

As we have discovered on previous visits, St Mary's Parish Church at Wotton provided an excellent location for early music, with fine acoustics in the historic church and comfortable relaxation and refreshment facilities.

Our director for the day was Peter Syrus, well-known for his researches on 17th Century Church composers, and he provided a fine sample of works focussing on Orlando di Lasso and his influence on a number of later musicians. A particular feature of the day was the use of a small instrumental group of Cornetts, Sackbuts and Curtal to support the vocal lines. Peter pointed out that while these instruments are more often associated with music of the 16th and early 17th centuries, they might well have been used for a similar purpose in our set works. And the combination of voices and instruments was as ever, spectacular.

Roland Lassus (1532-1594) was born in present-day Belgium but was often called Orlando di Lasso when in Italy, and first developed his craft there. He soon became director of the well-funded musical activities of the Court at Munich, where he further developed the Italian multiple-choir style and influenced a succeeding generation of composers. We studied works ranging from 4-part to 12-part (3-choir) works, by Lassus himself, and by his disciples, Leonard Lechner, Thomas Fritsch and J.H.Schein.

With Lassus, we first looked at an earlier 5-part work "In me transierunt" (1562), which was presented in later years later by Burmeister, a pioneering analyst, as a summit of achievement in word-painting. In an interesting demonstration, we tried a rendition on instruments alone (cornett, alto curtal, and three sackbuts), which showed how meaningful a superbly structured work can sound even without the words.

Later we surveyed the resplendent 10-part setting of the Easter hymn "Aurora lucis rutilat" (1604), and glanced quickly at an earlier 10-part Magnificat (1592) which he had based on the same hymn tune.

Finally we studied two pieces from his last great cycle of 21 'spiritual madrigals' (1594) called the Lagrime di San Pietro ("Tears of St. Peter").

Then to a Lassus disciple, Leonhard Lechner (c.1553-1606). We worked on the eight-part, two-choir Dilexi, quoniam exaudiet, and agreed that it was a fine piece, though the computer's automatic transposition resulted in a written A sharp and similar other-worldly requests for early instrumentalists to cope with.

Another Lassus follower was Thomas Fritsch. His ten-part Ave Maria, gratia plena of 1620 showed what riches still remain to be discovered and performed.

Finally, we came to the more familiar composer who was influenced less directly by Lassus. Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) was working as Kapellmeister at Wei-mar in 1615, when he composed the great three-choir, twelve-part motet Quem quaeris, Magdalena? The rather small numbers of lower voices in the choir made it necessary that choir 3 should consist of our president Peter Leech as tenor soloist with the accompaniment of three sackbuts which played the other choral lines. The substitution of instruments for some voice parts was of course a common practice in the renaissance period and later, and the effect was impressive.

As background to the day, our director provided an invaluable set of notes on Lassus, his life and work,together with references for further study.

So we were introduced to music of the highest quality, some of it little-known and only recently recovered. Many thanks must go to our Director for introducing us to so many good things, and also to Simon Pickard and his able helpers for organising a comfortable and inspiring day.

A final note: When Lassus was head-hunted by the Duke of Saxony, he refused with "I do not want to leave my house, my garden, and the other good things in Munich". The same applies to me in Wiltshire, except that I haven't heard yet from the Duke of Saxony.

Edward James

Twenty singers and an eleven strong baroque ensemble including two flutes and two bassoons, met at Nailsea School for a workshop on two "grands motets", by Rameau and Mondonville respectively. The impressive facilities offered by this very modern and corporately styled school provided us with a spacious dance studio in which to perform. Our tutor, Ralph Woodward, an experienced freelance conductor and keyboard player, is an expert in French Baroque, so who better to guide us through the stylistic conventions that make this music so distinctive - and so difficult to bring off effectively.

Had Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) died at the normal 45 years of age in his era, he may have been the forgotten composer of the baroque. He didn't write his first opera until he was fifty. Before that most of his compositions were for keyboard and surprisingly few of them were sacred music, considering that his early employment was chiefly in churches. As far as we know he wrote only four "grands motets", one of which, "Quam delecta tabernacula" ("How amiable are thy tabernacles") based on Psalm 84, has been newly edited by Ralph. This is a beautiful extended work, consisting of contrasting movements, more exuberant and graceful than grandiose and ceremonial. It places considerable technical demands on instrumentalists and singers, particularly in the skilful use of vocal embellishments.

Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (1711-1772), a younger contemporary of Rameau, came to notice as a violinist for the Concert Spirituel, eventually becoming its director. Between 1734 and 1755 he composed seventeen „grands motets?, of which only nine survive. These became incredibly popular at the Concert Spirituel, receiving numerous performances in his lifetime.

His setting of Psalm 130 "De profundis" ("Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord") was written for the funeral of a Chapel Royal colleague and consists of varied movements for soloists interspersed with chorus sections. Despite the sombre overall tone, the texture of the solo sections with three-part accompaniment - Mondonville ditches the viola - is light, with the more traditional five-part chorus (soprano, haut-contre, tenor, baritone and bass) providing delicious sonorities for the tutti numbers.

Because of the small numbers present, the solo passages in both pieces - which are distributed across the voices - were sung by the relevant vocal section. Ralph worked us energetically, encouraging a lightness of touch and introducing „inégalité? and other appropriate French ornamentation - not easy to incorporate when sightreading! Alternating between the two works during the day, enabled restful moments for the different vocal parts, if not the band. Directing from the keyboard, Ralph used his intimate knowledge of the pieces to effectively support the choir by singing all the lead-ins, as well as modelling the ornamentation for instrumental solos.

Sadly a few members had to leave at lunchtime, which left the orchestra somewhat depleted during the afternoon session, but after a short tea-break we performed both works right through to conclude the day. It had been a great introduction to some less well-known but beautiful French baroque repertoire, and when I arrived home I immediately looked for any available recordings of the pieces.

Both pieces have been recorded by the inimitable William Christie and Les Arts Florissant on separate CDs on the Erato label - or if you're into downloading, the MP3 files are much cheaper - from the usual internet sources. The Mondonville also appears on Hyperion?s budget Helios label in a performance by London Baroque, directed by Edward Higginbottom. Our grateful thanks are due to Ralph Woodward for such an enthusiastic introduction to this wonderful music, and also to Sylvia Davies for organising the day so capably and efficiently.

Peter Crispin

This workshop was to have been led by John Butt who, because of other commitments, was replaced by Robert Hollingworth. Having previously experienced an I Fagiolini concert at St. George's in Bristol I couldn't resist the draw of attending a workshop under Robert's direction as I felt sure it would be highly amusing and entertaining, and this proved to be the case.

Our own SWEMF workshop on the B minor Mass with Ralph Allwood and David Goode last October at Exeter School had been a huge success and an excellent introduction to the work for those of us (me anyway!) who didn?t know it well. It would be interesting to compare the directors' approaches and, as it turned out, the emphasis was rather different and one really complemented the other. The Exeter day workshop was basically a sing-through with everyone singing any solo items, all admirably accompanied by David Goode on grand piano. Ralph and David worked together taking it in turns to share their knowledge of the music, the history of its creation and interesting aspects of the harmonic structure, always in an entertaining way.

The Friday evening of the MEMF workshop was for vocal soloists and instrumentalists to work on solo arias and duets. Robert was assisted throughout the weekend by Lynn Selwood who tutors instrumentalists from the cello. As seems to happen frequently in workshops these days there was an over-provision of cellists, and so the following day one or two ventured into the choral ranks to improve the balance. The band comprised two oboes/cors anglais and two trumpets and two keyboards as well as strings.

The choir was quite large and even included a good number of tenors; obviously they are all living in the Midlands as we are always struggling to find enough in SWEMF. Robert had an excellent approach to directing the weekend. He seemed full of energy and good humour throughout and the atmosphere was extremely relaxed and friendly. Interspersed with humour – “pop your clothes on the chair and join in” (to a latecomer), he constantly threw out hints, suggestions and instructions on vocal technique, particularly the art of voice production. These comments were left in the air for people to digest or ignore, and there was almost no repetition of passages to check that any instructions had been taken on board. Thus we were able to proceed through a vast amount of music without the stress of aiming to improve or to please the director. Even when things went wrong – tuning was bad, notes were fluffed, entries were ragged - there was no criticism or sign of displeasure from Robert. I found this an excellent formula for making a musical weekend enjoyable.

I managed to jot down a few of the words of wisdom which were applied to the singers. (The one about the long line of the phrase recurred frequently):-

And we did have a lot of laughs. I think I mentioned “energetic”, and Robert spent a lot of the time being a flamingo or a horse, which I might have captured on camera had I not been encumbered by a violin! At one stage these antics led to a sudden bout of cramp during the run-through, sending Robert hopping from the room.

Some conductors' baton techniques came in for a bit of stick, amiably repeated for the camera. Providing support for the voice and creating space in the head for resonance were constantly reinforced and demonstrated. A huge wealth of technical advice was flowing constantly, to the great benefit of the singers. But the instrumentalists were never ignored as can sometimes be the case with specialist choral directors. Robert managed to make us feel important and was ably helped by Lynn who advised or took us through our paces at every opportunity; some of the orchestral players had been coached by her the previous weekend. At one stage the basses were admonished for not always following the beat. They were told that it was not necessary to actually look up at the conductor, but they needed to hold their copies so they could see the beat in their peripheral vision.

After the performance Robert told us a little about his group; someone at the workshop had apparently not known who he was! He left us with the following confession: “Monteverdi, Monty Python, my two influences in life”.

Heather Gibbard

TOWARDS TOTAL THEATRE

The Chalemie Summer School in Oxford has been running for thirteen years now and gives participants the opportunity to try out a range of activities. This includes baroque dance taken by Barbara Segal, vocal music of the renaissance and baroque with Sara Stowe, commedia dell? arte with Barry and Joan Grantham and period costume making taken by Ian Chipperfield. In addition, instrumental classes were available in lute, guitar, viol and hurdy gurdy (Matthew Spring), pipe & tabor and sackbut (Bill Tuck), sackbut (Adam Woolf) and natural trumpet (Katie Hodges).

The venue for the course was Headington School which is set in 22 acres of park, garden and woodland. Accommodation is available at the school with single or double rooms if preferred. All the workshops and tuition take place on campus. The real highlight though was the food which was superb and would not have disappointed a frequenter of five star restaurants. There can't be many other music courses which would provide the choice of 25 tapas dishes for lunch.

Mornings commenced with Barry's optional warm up classes consisting of exercises from commedia dell'arte exploring the relationship between physical movement and gesture. Some participants may have wished that they had not indulged quite so heartily in the substantial breakfast as a number of the activities were fairly strenuous. The rest of the morning was taken up by principal study. Afternoons allowed participants to continue their main study or sample other delights such as Commedia for all, Harlequin dance and Comic dance. There was also the opportunity to try out a range of instruments and so I opted for the natural trumpet. Apparently, getting a note out of the instrument for a complete beginner is quite an achievement and with help from Katie, I did at least manage that. A late afternoon session called "Singing for all" had the effect of producing worried looks, especially from the instrumentalists. I think the penalty of excommunication for non-attenders was meant to be a joke. As it turned out, it was great fun. Vocal chords that had not been exercised for years were put through their paces, although I suspect it was a more enjoyable experience for the performer than the listener.

The course was well represented by visitors from Europe who were given the opportunity to perform a party piece on the Friday evening. We had a demonstration of Polish court dancing, an exciting fire dance from a Russian dancer and humorous readings and songs from the Swedish contingent. The students' concert on Saturday evening was a fascinating amalgam of music, dance and commedia, including a masque based on Prometheus, the bringer of fire and his sidekick Orpheus. Loud brass alternating with recorders and viols provided accompaniment for the singers and dancers. As if all this wasn't enough, we had plenty to keep us entertained in the evening, including a lecture by Jeremy Barlow, the director of the Broadside band, a musical and dance presentation by the tutors of Chalemie and an illustrated talk by Barry Grantham on the Russian ballet. A barn dance on the first evening served the dual purpose of ice breaker and the opportunity for musicians and dancers to loosen up, let their hair down and boogie.

Quoting from the pre-course literature, Chalemie is motivated by a belief in total theatre; the combining of different performance arts to create new dramatic forms. Its own particular focus is on early music, dance and commedia dell'arte to create a style of theatre that is close to the popular stage of the early 18th century. A multi-disciplinary course like the Chalemie summer school requires a lot of thought and planning on the part of the course organisers and tutors to make it a success. Looking at the smiling faces of course participants on the last day, I would say that Chalemie had achieved their aim of integrating the performance arts in an original and thoroughly entertaining way.

Steve Walter

JUMPING IN AT THE DEEP END (or what a Newbie thinks of her first Playing Day with SWEMF)

Jumping in the deep end is never a good thing unless you can swim; or at least manage a sturdy doggy-paddle. So my first foray into a SWEMF Playing Day was undertaken with a degree of trepidation and a certain fatalistic outlook: either I would sink or swim. However, some of my recorder-playing friends considered it worth the gamble and if they were game – well, so was I.

September 10th at Thorverton was the appointed date and I was, oddly perhaps, really looking forward both to meeting the other players and having a go at a form of group playing I'd not really tried before – ie with keyboard and bass instrument continuo as well as one-to-a-part recorders on top. The day started well with my Sat Nav bringing me to the right place – always a good thing – and then finding not only hot and cold drinks on offer but also biscuits! It got even better as the venue itself in the village Primary School was ideal (thanks due to Mary Thomas I understand for facilitating this) with 5 separate rooms, plenty of loos and good parking: what more could 20+ players need?

Well, music of course is always useful, and here I have to say that Dick Little and Sylvia Davies excelled themselves not only with somehow finding enough material for a rotating set of five groups over four sessions each, but ensuring that the music was suitable for varying requirements: 415 or 440, with or without bass instrument, 4 or 5 parts etc etc. Not only was that conundrum solved but each room was equipped with the right music, for the right people, at the right time. Dick later told me that he'd heard of a new computer programme that could work out this sort of thing for you.....he doesn't need it, but I'm sure it would save him a bit of time as the whole thing must have been a nightmare of organisation.

Although a tad nervous at first, I soon got into the swing of the music and was relieved to be able to “keep my end up” for a respectable percentage of the time despite the odd, um, re-adjustment. The music was all new to me, which was also a treat: Fasch, Scarlatti, Pepusch, Schickhardt and Telemann. That latter composer caused me the most grief I seem to recall, but it was “a learning experience” as they say, and I must thank Val Giltrow Tyler in particular for patiently helping me through my temporary fog caused by too many notes in too short a time! Definitely went under water for a bit there. In fact I must thank everyone I played with that day for being welcoming and supportive and I?ve already made several new friends. I'm looking forward to joining SWEMF now and keeping up with what's happening in my region – I may even be buying yet another recorder, but at 415 pitch. But maybe some water wings first?

Sue Loder, Bristol.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPANISH MUSIC

Ann Lyall and Mike Bailey, both extremely experienced conductors, directed the workshop at West Bay. Their complementary strengths ensured a very satisfying day for the 54 singers and players of viols and recorders who gathered at St. John's Church. We worked at some magnificent music by Victoria, Guerrero, Morales, Lobo, Esquivel and Peñalosa.

Victoria, towering giant of the Spanish Renaissance, was born in 1548 to a well-connected family in Avila, where he began his musical career as a choirboy in the cathedral. Later he was sent as a singer to the Jesuit Collegio Germanico in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood and set only sacred texts. Philip 11 appointed him chaplain to his sister, the Dowager Empress Maria, probably in 1587, and Victoria kept this appointment until the Empress's death in 1603, remaining as maestro of the convent choir until 1604, when he decided to do less but remained as organist. He refused offers from Seville and Saragossa to become maestro di capella in their cathedrals. John 1V of Portugal, writing in 1649, confirmed that Victoria used instruments to double the voices, so we were following a good tradition at West Bay. The complex Salve Regina in 8 parts, 2 four-part choirs, an immensely satisfying work, was possibly the highlight for me, though we also worked at Pueri Hebraeorum.and Regina Coeli.

Guerrero was born in 1528, in Seville, where he studied with his elder brother and with Morales who recommended him for the post of maestro di capella at Jaén, at the age of 17. In 1549 he was given leave to visit Seville, where he stayed, having accepted the post of prebend. He assisted maestro di capella Pedro Fernandez and was granted the right to succeed him, though he had to wait years for the privilege. From 1570 – 1571 he toured Spain in the royal retinue sent to Santander to welcome Princess Anna, daughter of Emperor Maximilian 11, who became the fourth wife of Philip 11. After a visit to the Holy Land, having twice been obliged to pay ransoms to pirates who attacked and boarded the returning ship, he found himself in severe financial difficulties and was only allowed to leave debtors' prison in 1591, when the Cathedral Chapter of Seville paid 280 ducats to secure his release.

They appointed Alonzo Lobo to look after the choirboys, a part of the work poorly managed by Guerrero. He died of plague in 1599 before he could return to the Holy Land for a second time.

Guerrero's uplifting Maria Magdalena et altera Maria and his Ave Maria in 8 parts gave us all great pleasure, as did Peñalosa's Gloria from his Missa el Ojo, Lobo's 8 part Ave Maria and Morales? Peccantem me Quotidie and Emendemus in Melius. Morales, again, had an interesting career. He was a choirboy in Seville Cathedral, became maestro di capella at Avila and later at Plascencia. He spent years in the papal service, singing in the choir and composing, though he suffered from ill-health. He left Rome in 1545 and became maestro di capella at Toledo. Like Guerrero, he was obliged to feed and maintain the choirboys out of his stipend. High prices in 1546, a year of food shortages, forced him into debt and he moved to Malaga Cathedral, where he was even more unhappy than he had been at Toledo. He applied to be reinstated at Toledo but died before the open competition for the post took place.

Ann and Mike are to be congratulated on the wonderful works they chose, on the careful preparation they did before beginning work with us and on their organization of the day. Everyone had a pre-designated place with a folder containing all the appropriated parts in it, ready for immediate use. We enjoyed some truly splendid music! Thanks must also go to Paula Biss and her helpers for the smooth running of a very successful and pleasurable event.

Helen Pope

Peter Leech led a surprisingly good scratch choir through Thomas Luis de Victoria's parody mass Missa: Ave Regina Caelorum of 1600 for double choir with surety, skill and considerable good humour. The Ave Regina Caelorum would be sung at every canonical hour during Lent. It was most often performed at Compline when one began a vow of silence until the morning.

Peter described the Credo of the Mass as a dialogue in which we should sing each phrase with meaning, not as the Creed is spoken in church. The Crucifixus is a rather bizarre movement with a complex rhythm and we were encouraged to try and forget the barlines to achieve the correct word stress. We sang the Mass in its original key of F major which involved the basses having to sing a low F and the altos were also at the very bottom of their range, but we were given a sense of the sound world of this music.

We spent the morning singing through various parts of the mass as well as some complimentary pieces including Ave Maria and Salve Regina. It was hard work, but the sections of singers in both choirs were well balanced and we coped well with the sight-singing which was rewarding for the singers and provoked praise from our director. The music is full of tension and suspension and resolutions should be unstressed; the music builds like an Escher painting. Peter pointed out that the Ave Maria had been published in many editions (seven between 1572 and 1603), so must have been very popular.

Peter taught us about the life and times of Victoria - an uncommonly modest man who normally signed his compositions with the simple word "Organista" - the organist. We learnt that choirs of this time would often perform while crowding around a single copy of a work like this, some singers peering over the shoulders of others to see the music, with only candles to light the score. There would only be one singer on each part. Those of us who were struggling on Saturday, in spite of good light, clean copies and modern spectacles were most impressed by this titbit. There is always an element of folk music with playful rhythms in this music; it is never solemn all the way through. Various of Victoria's compositionary techniques - his unusual broken cadences, transitions between duple and triple time and phrases echoing between sections and choirs - were exposed and explained to us so that by the time we came to sing through the entire work at the end of the afternoon, we felt we knew this remarkable man much more closely than when the day began.

The accommodation was very good, lovely teas and coffees complete with assorted biscuits were available at every break, we were warm in the church and seated in such a manner that we could both hear the other sections and see Peter's direction clearly. And the loo-queue gave good opportunities to catch up with old friends and to make new ones. Many thanks to Peter for such attentive and knowledgeable leadership and to Mary (and her friends) for highly efficient organisation and friendly hosting of this day. Last month I was in two minds whether or not to sign up for this workshop, though I love singing Victoria's works, Thorverton is a long drive up from Cornwall, but I was so very glad I had been able to attend this excellent day. I'll be first on the list when the next opportunity arises for another workshop like this.

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Sharon Lambert and Heather Gibbard

No, not Ecce beatam lucem that you may have sung and is usually considered to be the reason for Tallis composing Spem in alium. Instead I am talking about Missa sopra Ecco si beato giorno of 1566 also in 40 parts yet expanding to 60 parts in the final pages of the Agnus Dei. This piece was the focus of a workshop organised by the Border Marches Early Music Forum on Sunday 6th November in Kidderminster. Some 160 singers and instrumentalists (viols, sackbuts, curtals, cornets, recorders, bassoon and shawm) including 6 members of SWEMF formed 5 choirs (each 2x4 parts) spaced around the sides of the grand main Town Hall.

This Missa in 40 parts is a more recent discovery and has been promoted by I Fagiolini whose Decca recording of it has won the Early Music section of this year's Gramophone Magazine Awards. So it was exciting that the workshop was lead by Robert Hollingworth (director of I Fagiolini) assisted by David Hatcher and Clifford Bartlett. Robert is a charismatic and energetic person who found no difficulty in conducting through 360 degrees and keeping us entertained with anecdotes and jokes throughout the day. But on the serious side, we only had a little over 3 hours of actual rehearsal before a run through at the end of the afternoon. Though many lines were reasonably straightforward some were ornamented with devilish dotted off-beat notes that had quite a few people (including me) feeling stretched. Robert included several brief lectures and exercises for the singers on sound production and how to smooth the words in an Italian manner.

So after two rehearsal sessions split by a lunch break and followed by a short tea interval the final run through began. There must have been a number of rough edges, wrong notes and missed twiddly bits given the complexity of the work, but the overall effect of 40 then 60 parts in full flow was impressive and exciting. 5 choirs entering one after another produced a huge crescendo. This was a rare opportunity to participate in such a work and a particularly rewarding one for amateur musicians.

Alan Hayward

Singing music from 1500 to 1900: style, technique, knowledge, assertion, experiment