In
2019
The Epiphany Party: "Gloria in
excelsis Deo":
We joined together in Beccles to
celebrate the great angelic paean of praise which filled the night
sky above the shepherds and which begins the Gloria of the Mass. We
explored this most exultant text as it appears in festive motets by
Orfeo Vecchi, Claudio Merulo and Christoph Buel, and in the Gloria of
Giovanni Valentini's Missa Diligam Te. Philip Thorby led the
day.
Music
fit for an Emperor
– A
polychoral day for voices and instruments
Heinrich
Isaac (c.1450-1517) wrote the glorious motets Sancti
Spiritus and
Virgo
Prudentissima
for
the coronation of the emperor Maximilian I. Our day focussed on these
masterworks and included other pieces connected to Maximilian, as
well as short works such as A
la bataglia and
Insbruch,
ich muss dich lassen which
show the astonishing versatility of this Flemish master.
With
tutor Bill Carslake, in
Emmanuel
United Reformed Church, Cambridge
Hail,
Queen of Heaven: A polyphony singing day
Featuring
Marian antiphons from the Iberian Renaissance. Composers included
Lobo, Morales and Victoria
With
Will
Dawes of
Stile Antico and Somerville College, Oxford
In Churchill College
Chapel, Cambridge
Biber:
Missa Salisburgensis: a
weekend event to explore and perform this colossal polychoral work in
53 parts.
This monumental work was rediscovered in 1870, first
attributed to Orazio Benevoli, and then recognised as the work of
exceptional Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. Described
as a great mysterious nebula, Biber’s 53-part Missa
Salisburgensis recreates the vault of heaven with its rich, complex
scoring of trumpets and timpani, cornetts, sackbuts, strings and
continuo with two eight-part choirs. The entire work, including the
motet Plaudite
tympana,
was rehearsed over the weekend with a final performance late Sunday
afternoon.
Directed by Patrick Craig at Thaxted parish church,
Essex
In
2018
The Epiphany Party: “Epiphaniam canamus!”
Lassus
tells the story of Epiphany according to St Matthew in “Cum
Natus Esset Jesus”; Rex Melchior was invoked (along with Caspar
and Balthazar) by Palestrina; their gifts were compared to three
miracles in Curtio Valcampi’s “Tribus Miraculis”;
and Nicolle des Celliers de Hesdin composed the motet which (almost!)
gave our musical feast its title: “Canamus Domino Epiphaniam
Gloriosam”. Held once again in the
Blyburgate Hall in Beccles, this was the traditional feast of music
and food – music directed by Philip Thorby, delicious food
prepared by Jennie Cassidy and members.
“I
was glad!” A polychoral day based on Victoria’s
12-part mass “Laetatus sum”.
With Philip
Thorby. Victoria’s magnificent mass Laetatus sum is in
12 parts in three choirs and is based on his own setting of psalm 22,
which was also studied. A joint event with TVEMF in Epping.
Baroque
day for singers and orchestra
With Peter Holman, at St Mark’s College, Audley End, Essex.
The music featured works by Heinrich Biber, including the
15-part Requiem in A major for voices and instruments and the
Serenade for Strings, “Nachtwächter”. The
magnificent Requiem is written for Baroque orchestra and chorus with
solo passages taken either by solo singers or chorally. Instruments
included two natural long trumpets in A, two oboes, five-part strings
(two violins, two violas, violoncellos & violone/double bass),
bass viols, theorbo and two organs.
Iberian polyphony
singing day
With David Allinson at Little
St Mary’s Church, Trumpington Street, Cambridge
The
theme was ‘Beata Dei genitrix’: Spanish motets for the
Virgin Mary.
Baroque day for voices and
instruments
With Peter Holman. The major work studied was
Charpentier’s Messe pour M Mauroy. Held in Abbey Barn,
St Mark’s College, Audley End, Essex.
Facsimile
singing: a workshop for singers reading from Renaissance
notation.
We used the Anne Boleyn Music Book, an important
Fench choir book copied around 1520.
With John Milsom, in St
Bene’t’s Church, Cambridge.
In
2017
The Epiphany Party: Festive Renaissance music
A
celebration of Christmas music by Palestrina, a major polychoral work
by Benevoli and a carol setting by Praetorius were this year’s
fare, held in the elegant St John Ambulance Blyburgate Hall in
Beccles. The traditional feast of music and food – music
directed by Philip Thorby, delicious food prepared by Jennie Cassidy
and members
Facsimile singing day with John Milsom
We tackled a wide array of canonic motets, mass movements and
chansons for between two and eight voices, by composers including
Ockeghem and Josquin. Our ultimate challenge was Jean Mouton’s
glorious Nesciens mater a8. We also attempted Byrd’s
palindromic Diliges Dominum a8, in which four voices sing the
music forwards, while another four sing the same music backwards.
In
St Bene’t’s Church, Cambridge
Orazio Benevoli:
music for 19 voices
Splendid and magisterial music by
Orazio Benevoli, specifically the Gloria from his Missa Tiracorda and
Dixit Dominus, for four choirs of SATB singers and suitable
instruments. With Philip Thorby at the Centre at St Paul’s,
Hills Road, Cambridge.
A joint event with Thames Valley Early
Music Forum
Oranges and Clemens: a polyphony singing
day
A view of the Hapsburg empire through the eyes of Clemens non Papa
and Seville composers including Morales, Lobo, Cotes, and Guerrero,
with references to Charles V and Philip II.
With Patrick Allies,
in Churchill College Chapel, Cambridge
Monteverdi: Vespers of 1640: Selva morale e spirituale
A
weekend workshop leading up to a public performance of selected parts
of the work, directed by Philip Thorby.
Monteverdi’s compendium of sacred music, the Selva Morale
e Spirituale, or Moral and Spiritual Forest, of 1640 represents
more than 30 years’ work while Music Director of St Mark’s,
Venice.
At the magnificent parish church of St John the Baptist,
Thaxted, Essex.
In 2016
The Epiphany Party: “Magi videntes
stellam”.
The
three Kings were at the centre this year, in music by familiar and
lesser known renaissance composers. The Magi follow the star to the
music of Simone Molinaro, Caspar Vincent, Pietro Ponti and Francesco
Guerrero; Philipp de Monte and Tiburtio Massaino accompany the
offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh, whilst Luca Marenzio
contemplates the mysteries behind the gifts; finally, in Agostino
Soderini's wonderfully titled "Voces Citharaezorum"
gittern-playing angels exhort us to join the Kings in celebrating the
Christ-child shining in the manger.
Carissimi:
Missa L’Homme Armé, and other works
A
workshop for voices and instruments with Philip Cave
Recorders,
strings, loud wind and continuo joined in the twelve-part Mass
(Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus & Agnus Dei). There were other,
contrasting, a cappella works, mainly by Josquin.
In Churchill
College Chapel, Cambridge
Singing from facsimile: Jacob Obrecht
A day for
singers with John Milsom. Following two successful events in which we
learned to read directly from Tudor notation (the Dow Partbooks, and
Byrd’s Masses), this year we tackled something much earlier and
significantly more challenging: the six-voice Salve Regina by
Jacob Obrecht.
Music for a Bavarian Wedding by
Striggio, Padovano and Lechner
The royal wedding of the
heir to the throne of Bavaria, Duke Wilhelm, to Princess Renée
of Lorraine in February 1568 in Munich was a magnificent affair. The
celebrations lasted for over two weeks with banquets, tournaments,
dances, fireworks, masquerades, theatre performances and specially
composed music. Singers and players of cornetts, sackbuts, curtals,
recorders, strings and continuo looked at some of this music with
Philip Thorby, in Waltham Abbey, Essex. A joint event with TVEMF.
Viols workshop with Amit Tiefenbrunn
In St
Peter’s Church, Horningsea, near Cambridge
Medieval
and early Russian Orthodox Church Music
A workshop for all
singers; deep basses were particularly welcome. The music of the
Russian Orthodox Church has a long and rich history, encompassing
Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. Much of the music is very
straightforward, and the transliterated Russian texts are not hard to
pronounce. Our tutor was Ivan Moody who is a composer, conductor and
musicologist, a Russian Orthodox priest and a published author on
Russian sacred music.
Masterpieces of the Spanish Baroque
A workshop for singers and Baroque
orchestra tutored by Peter Holman, studying works by one of Spain’s
leading Baroque composers, the precocious and prolific Francisco
Valls, and his contemporary José de Nebra. In Jesus College
Chapel, Cambridge.
Tudor Consort Workshop for
Recorders
An afternoon workshop, all one-to-a-part, with
tutor Francis Knights. A soprano performed consort songs with the
group.
In 2015
The
Epiphany Party: “Music of the Spheres” including
Praetorius's brightly shining
morning star leading the Magi to the Christ child and an entire
galaxy blazing alongside the moon to create the "blessed light"
at the heart of Alessandro Striggio's great 40 part motet Ecce
Beatam Lucem.
The
Original Byrd – singing masses, motets and anthems from
facsimile rather than modern score, including use of the beautiful
Dow partbooks. With John Milsom. At Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Spem in Alium, featuring Thomas Tallis’s great
40-part motet, for singers and instrumentalists. A joint workshop
with TVEMF tutored by Philip Thorby at the Centre at St Paul’s,
Cambridge.
Renaissance polyphony workshop with tutor David
Allinson at Churchill College, Cambridge. This time the programme
focused on Franco-Flemish music from the fifteenth and early
sixteenth centuries, including Josquin, Gombert and Mouton.
Commemorative workshop on anthems by Handel in the Chapel of
Jesus
College, Cambridge. The workshop was held to commemorate
Selene Mills (Selene Webb) and Christopher Hogwood, both of whom died
in 2014. Led by Peter Holman, the focus was on two anthems by Handel,
“The Ways of Zion do Mourn”, and the Coronation anthem
“Let Thy Hand be Strengthened”.
In
2014
The Epiphany Party –
“…abiding in the field…” What the
angels said to the shepherds, set by Samuel Scheidt and Hans Leo
Hassler; what happened when the shepherds saw the angels, set by
Giulio Osculati and Johann Hermann Schein; and what the shepherds
said, set by Felice Anerio.
Danish
music from the manuscript Copenhagen 1541 – a day for
Renaissance wind players with Renate Hildebrand at the Unitarian
Church, Cambridge
Singing from facsimile,
with John Milsom, in Fitzwilliam College Chapel, Cambridge, using the
Dow Partbooks, a very clear edition of Tudor music made by the
copyist Robert Dow in the late C16. A day for singers and
viols
Padovano’s 24-part Mass for the Munich Royal
Wedding, with Philip Thorby, in St Sepulchre’s Church, Holborn
(the Musicians’ Church). A joint event with TVEMF.
Verse
anthems with William Hunt, in Burrell’s Field, Trinity College,
Cambridge, concentrating on works by Orlando Gibbons and one by
William Byrd in a reconstruction by Andrew Johnstone
Scenes
from Purcell, including the Frost Scene from King
Arthur,
and substantial chunks of Dioclesian
and The
Fairy Queen.
For singers and Baroque orchestra. Tutored by Peter Holman at the Old
Baptist Chapel, Elsworth. In memory of Selene Mills a funeral anthem
by Jacob Handl was sung under Clifford Bartlett’s direction.
The White Rose and the Red, presented by EEMF and the York
Waits. Music from the age of Richard III, from chansons and
quodlibets to dance tunes from the English Gresley Manuscript. A
workshop for voices and instruments of the period, tutored by Tim
Bayley and Deborah Catterall at firstsite, Colchester.
In
2013
Epiphany
Party – Rex Gloriae – Christmas music by the
ever-inventive Michael Praetorius led us from the annunciation to the
incarnation and on to the manifestation with the arrival of the three
kings, taking in some jolly Christmas carols on the way.
The
Plangent Prophet – settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. A
workshop for singers in Girton College Chapel, Cambridge, with Philip
Cave, director of
Magnificat. The deeply moving Lamentations of Thomas Tallis are well
known, but here, less familiar settings by fellow 16th century
English composers William Byrd and Robert White offered a wealth of
exquisite music for study
Gabrieli reconstructions by Hugh
Keyte, including the Magnificat a 28 and Lechner’s Quid,
chaos at
Waltham Abbey, for voices and instruments, with Philip Thorby. A
joint
event with TVEMF
Voices
and Viols with William Hunt, a co-founder of Fretwork, in Burrell’s
Field, Trinity College, Cambridge, concentrating on a work by Thomas
Tomkins and one by Orlando Gibbons in a reconstruction by David
Pinto
Music for the Peace of Utrecht: Handel and Croft. A
workshop
for singers and Baroque orchestra, at Elsworth, with Peter Holman
A
workshop for singers on the music of maverick prince-composer
Gesualdo, with Gerald Place, leader of The Gesualdo Consort, at
Fitzwilliam College Chapel, Cambridge, in the 400th anniversary year
of Gesualdo’s death
Biber’s
Missa
Bruxellensis:
a weekend
workshop leading to a fully-rehearsed performance of this magnificent
work, which was the subject of the joint EEMF/TVEMF workshop in 2012.
Directed by Philip Thorby in St Mary’s Church and at 1
Myddylton Place, Saffron Walden
In
2012
Epiphany Party – Giovanni Gabrieli’s
sumptuous 12-part Angelus ad pastores
ait and pieces by Andrea Gabrieli and
Hans Leo Hassler
Motets
by Marc Antoine Charpentier. A workshop on some fine examples of
French Baroque music, for singers and instruments, tutored by Graham
Sadler at Stow-cum-Quy
Richafort’s Requiem – a workshop for singers with John Milsom, one of Britain’s leading authorities on Renaissance polyphony, at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Bach’s cantata no. 4, ‘Christ lag in Todes Banden’, one of his most powerful cantatas, for singers and Baroque band, with John Butt, at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Biber: Missa Bruxellensis a25. The annual polychoral workshop at Waltham Abbey for singers and instruments with Philip Thorby. Another joint event with TVEMF
‘Unser Gott ist im Himmel’: A workshop for singers and instrumentalists on the music of Heinrich Schütz with Peter Syrus, at Bury St Edmunds Unitarian Church
Music by Thomas Linley the Younger (The “English Mozart”), a workshop for singers and Baroque orchestra, at Elsworth, with Peter Holman
A workshop on sequences and hymns of Hildegard
of Bingen with tutors Sara Stowe and Matthew Spring,
at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
In
2011
Epiphany Party – Rudolphus Rubrinasus: music inspired by deer, composed by Palestrina, Ockeghem, Dumont, Ferrabosco, Taeggio, Tallis and others
Honour, Glory, Light of Flanders: The Music of Philippe Rogier. A day for singers and instrumentalists with Philip Cave and Sally Dunkley at Girton College, Cambridge
Striggio’s 40-part Mass at Waltham Abbey.
A workshop for singers and instruments with Philip Thorby. Although
most of Striggio's piece is in 40 different voice parts,
the last movement is for 60 separate voices. A joint event with
Thames Valley Early Music Forum
The
Eton Choirbook: A workshop for singers tutored by Peter Syrus of the
Royal Northern College of Music, at St Cyriac’s, Swaffham
Prior
Heinichen in Dresden: A
workshop for singers and instrumentalists with Ralph Woodward, in
Fitzwilliam College chapel,
Cambridge.
Choruses from Handel’s Israel in Egypt. A Baroque workshop with Peter Holman in the Old Baptist Chapel, Elsworth.
Exploring medieval music, a workshop for voices
and instruments, with Belinda Sykes at the Unitarian Church,
Cambridge
Tomás Luis de Victoria: Doyen of the Spanish
Golden Age. A choral workshop with David Allinson at Fitzwilliam
College, Cambridge
In 2010
Epiphany
Party – Noe! noe! French motets and carols from the
Annunciation to Epiphany
Philip
Thorby’s talk on Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. Lecture,
discussion and workshop at Fitzwilliam College,
Cambridge
Tallis: Gaude gloriosa.
An a cappella singing
day at Waltham Abbey with Philip Thorby. A joint workshop with
TVEMF
Henry Du Mont – Grands Motets. A workshop for
singers and Baroque strings and continuo, tutored by Graham Sadler,
at Stow-cum-Quy.
Ruggiero
– an opera by Francesca Caccici. Studied and
performed over a weekend at Westleton, Suffolk, under the direction
of Philip Thorby.
John Blow’s God
spake sometime in visions, and
Purcell’s Praise the Lord, o
Jerusalem. A Baroque workshop with
Peter Holman in the Old Baptist Chapel, Elsworth.
A further
workshop on medieval music, for voices and instruments, with Jon
Banks, at the Unitarian Hall, Cambridge
Polyphony workshop: the genius of Palestrina. A day
for singers with tutor David Allinson at Bury St Edmunds Unitarian
Meeting House
In 2009
Epiphany Party –
Roman Christmas music: Benevoli Dixit Dominus and Palestrina
polychoral music including Hodie.
Verse Anthems by Gibbons and Tomkins, with
William Hunt, at Elsworth
Interfora/NEMA
Weekend Workshop at Nottingham University
To commemorate Handel’s 250th
anniversary, a
weekend
course & informal performance of Saul
Loquebantur
variis linguis – choral
hymns and responds by Tallis, Taverner, White and Sheppard
A
workshop with David
Allinson at the
Centre at St. Paul’s,
Cambridge
Handel’s Dixit Dominus. A workshop with Peter Holman in the Old Baptist Chapel, Elsworth
A workshop on medieval music, for voices and
instruments, with Jon Banks, at the Unitarian Hall,
Cambridge
Charpentier’s Messe
de Minuit: a workshop led by Peter
Holman, for soloists, chorus and small Baroque orchestra, at
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
This
event was combined with the NEMA AGM and
Margot Milner lecture by Annette Landgraf on ‘Editing Handel’.
In 2008
Epiphany
Party – featuring a four-choir Te Deum by Hieronymus
Praetorius, with Philip Thorby
Josquin – a workshop for
singers at Sidney Sussex College
with David Skinner
A Schütz workshop at Waltham Abbey with Philip Thorby (joint event with TVEMF)
A vocal polyphony workshop with David Allinson on Masterworks of the Portuguese Golden Age at The Centre at St Paul’s, Cambridge
Venus and Adonis, by John Blow. A workshop with Peter Holman in the Old Baptist Chapel, Elsworth
Music for Voices and Instruments by Tomás Luis de Victoria, suitable for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
A workshop with Roger Wilkes (President of NWEMF) in
St. Mary’s Church, Bury St. Edmunds
In 2007
Epiphany
Party – O Great Mystery: seasonal and sumptuous 16th
century settings, with Philip Thorby
Byrd
and Tallis: Cantiones 1575, with David Skinner at Sidney Sussex,
Cambridge
Charpentier's Messe pour les Trépassés: a workshop with Peter Leech in Rushmere St Andrew, Ipswich
Monteverdi
Vespers weekend with Philip Thorby (King's Music edition).
In
St Stephen's Church, Norwich, including a performance at 4.30pm
on the Sunday
Giovanni Gabrieli Magnificat a33 with Philip Thorby, in two reconstructions. A joint event at Waltham Abbey with TVEMF
My Heart is Inditing – a day of Purcell anthems at Elsworth with Peter Holman
In 2006
Epiphany
Party – a selection of 16th
and 17th
century pieces, with Philip Thorby
Festal
Mass weekend in Trinity College,
Cambridge, with Michael Procter
Bach cantata choruses workshop, tutor Peter Leech
Striggio: forty-part Ecce Beatam Lucem, with Philip Thorby, a joint event with TVEMF
Restoration choral workshop at Swaffham Prior with Peter Leech (a private event publicised by EEMF)
Dido and Aeneas – a day's workshop with Peter Holman
In 2005
Epiphany Party – 'Praetorius and travel' with Philip Thorby
The Singing Body: Voice workshop and seminar, tutor Ashley Stafford
Lalande: choral workshop with Jeffrey Skidmore
Tallis: Spem in Alium day with Philip Thorby, in conjunction with TVEMF
Scenes from Purcell's Fairy Queen tutored by Peter Holman
Viol masterclass and workshop with Amit Tiefenbrunn
In 2004
Epiphany Party – polychoral music by Schuetz with Philip Thorby
A day with Dufay (and Philip Thorby)
Festal Mass Salve Regina in Trinity College,
Cambridge, directed by Michael Procter
Scenes from King
Arthur (Purcell) tutored by Peter Holman
Polyphonic and
popular medieval songs – a workshop tutored by Andrew
Lawrence-King
In 2003
Epiphany Party – Palestrina 12-part motets with Philip Thorby
Byrd and his Chester contemporaries – a workshop with Roger Wilkes
Singing weekend coached by Richard Wistreich
Draghi: Song for St Cecilia's Day with Peter Holman
Klezmer Day with Ilana Cravitz and friends
In 2002
Epiphany Party – Praetorius, Polyhymnia Caduceatrix et Panegyrica with Philip Thorby
Monteverdi Madrigals and Arias – Singing Masterclass with John Potter
Handel and others – choral and baroque orchestra workshop, tutor Peter Holman
Choral weekend in Cambridge with Michael Procter
In earlier years
Epiphany Party – every year in January
Instrumental music and dance workshop with Steve Player
NEMA workshop: Biber Requiem with Philip Thorby
Mexican music by Gaspar Fernandez, with Andrew Lawrence-King
'Historically-informed performance': a UEA seminar with Clifford Bartlett
Medieval and Traditional Song, tutor Belinda Sykes
Service at Framlingham, tutor Alistair Dixon
An Italian Entertainment for the Wedding of Lucrezia Borgia, tutor Nancy Hadden
Purcell Ode – Hail Bright Cecilia – photos, tutor Peter Holman
Singing Masterclasses for soloists and ensembles,
tutor John Potter
Sponsored by the Music Faculty of the
University of Cambridge
Choral and baroque orchestral workshop with Catherine Mackintosh
Philippe Rogier's magnificent Mass in 12 parts (1596), tutor Alan Lumsden
Purcell choral and baroque orchestra workshop Come Ye Sons of Art, tutor Peter Holman
Music for the 800th anniversary of Ipswich's Charter, tutor Belinda Sykes
La Dafne, tutor Philip Thorby – two weekends of workshops and an informal performance
Recorders and Viols, tutor Margaret Westlake
Music of Lassus, Gabrieli, and Croce, tutor Alan Lumsden
Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, tutor Philip Thorby
Spanish music and dance, tutors Andrew Lawrence-King and Steve Player
|
[Contacts] |