A one-day workshop for the Eastern Early Music Forum
Isaac, Brunel, Palestrina…
Our workshop falls close to 15 August, the date when the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption, commemorating the end of the Virgin Mary’s life and her transition, ‘body and soul into heavenly glory’. It is relatively rare to hold a one-day workshop in the month of August, so we’re taking the opportunity to sing some of the wonderful music furnished for the feast by Renaissance composers.
We hope for a strong group with the ability to divide in the soprano and tenor parts, so that we can explore an ambitious music list. The centrepiece is Isaac’s magnificent Virgo prudentissima – a vast sonic edifice, a tour de force of motivic and textural invention. (The cantus firmus part is simple but potentially
gruelling, so for much of the rehearsal time singers allocated to that part will be invited to sing one of the free lines, reverting to their line for run-throughs.)
At the other end of the scale, we will sing an exquisite miniature by his Franco-Flemish contemporary, Brumel: Sicut lilium. Since we are celebrating Palestrina’s 500th anniversary this year, we will sing his superb setting of Assumpta est Maria along with a motet by one of his finest Italian contemporaries,
Ingegneri. Our programme is completed with works by two Iberian composers: Pedro de Cristo, who worked in Coimbra, Portugal and the mysterious Andreas de Silva; both are settings of extracts from the Song of Songs. This should make for a demanding but highly enjoyable summer’s day of music making.
Advanced booking is essential, via:
https://www.eemf.org.uk
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