Festival Central Program Week 1 Afternoon Classes

Early Afternoon 1:45 - 3:00 p.m.

English Country Dances and Ballads: Naughty and Nice with Larry Lipkis

Open to all singers and instrumentalists, intermediate to upper intermediate.

Class Description

Drawing upon the great English country dance collections of John Playford and others, we’ll take a romp through the venerable repertory of popular ballads–some bawdy, some beautiful–set to those dances.

Early Notation Ensemble: “Henry’s Playlist” with Valerie Horst

For recorders, viols, and other soft instruments intermediate and up; easier and harder lines. Acquaintance with C clefs very useful.

Class Description

It wasn’t all hunting and dancing and beheading at the court. We will dip into the rich trove of music collected for the pleasure of Henry VIII and also some pieces by the versatile Henry himself. Also a quick peek at the so-called “Anne Boleyn Music Book.”

Recorder… where sweete Concordance is - with Eric Haas, Wendy Powers

For intermediate to advanced recorders

Class Description

A survey of English consort music from the polyphony of the 15th-century Contenance angloise, sweet with thirds and sixths, to the pipe music of the 20th-century English pastoral school. Music will include Bedyngham/Dunstaple's O rosa bella and Frye's Ave regina coelorum, instrumental and vocal fantasias by Daman, Byrd, and Purcell, Holborne dances, Handel, and a taste of Ralph Vaughan Williams's Suite for Pipes.

English Treats with a Dutch Twist! with Saskia Coolen

For recorder players

Class Description

Every recorder player knows the consort music of the English composers Dowland and Brade. The psalm settings of the Dutch composer Sweelinck and the six-part pavans and galliards of Cornelis Schuyt are less known, but fit very well on the recorder. A recorder consort class with golden oldies and hidden treasures.

Solfegiamento: Music from Giuseppe Giamberti’s 1657 Print for Two Voices, with Daphna Mor

For advanced recorders, SATB

Class Description

Giamberti’s collection of duets Due Tessuti con diversi Solfegiamenti Scherzi Perfidie et Oblighi, written in Renaissance style, is a beautiful sampler of styles and influences. The collection includes abstract hexachord treatments as well as settings of popular songs and dances of the time, including pieces such as Ballo di Mantua, Villan de Spagna and Bergamasca. In our class we will play the music in a large group setting as well as in duet configuration, work on technique and ornamentation of the style, and examine other sources for some of the pieces quoted in the manuscript.

Renaissance Recorders Consort with Rainer Beckmann

For accomplished players of Renaissance recorders

Class Description

One-on-a-part consort for Renaissance recorders. Blend and ensemble skills emphasized. Performance a possibility. For players familiar with Renaissance recorder fingering who own or can borrow Renaissance consort recorders. We will not be sharing recorders in class, therefore all players must bring at least two sizes.

Baroque Bassoon Master Class with Wouter Verschuren

With permission of instructor, open to auditors

Class Description

Class meets with Baroque Academy bassoons. In this class we will focus on repertoire chosen by the participants. Participants are encouraged to contact Wouter Verschuren about choice of repertoire and topics of interest. We will also enjoy multi-bassoon ensemble playing, articulation, ornamentation, shaping the continuo line, and of course some reed making. Pitch: A=415.

Baroque Oboe Master Class: Eloquence and Style with Meg Owens

With permission of instructor, open to auditors.

Class Description

Class meets with Baroque Academy oboes. We will study excerpts from Handel’s oratorios, operas, and concerti grossi, focusing on technical demands, including articulation, passagework, and tone production. We will also spend time on ensemble playing and ornamentation. Reed making tips and tricks included. A repertoire list will be provided in advance of the workshop. For experienced players. Pitch: A=415.

The Madrigal Goes North: Pevernage and the Antwerp Anthologies with Sally Merriman

For dulcian, shawm, cornetto, and sackbut players, upper intermediate.

Class Description

Italian style was all the rage in northern Europe in the late 16th century. An example was the three-volume so-called “Antwerp Anthologies” printed by Pierre Phalese II in 1583. André Pevernage was the editor of one of them: Harmonia Celeste. A fourth volume, Melodica Olympia (1591), was edited by the English expatriate Peter Philips. The anthologies focus on Italian composers such as Andrea Gabrieli, Gastoldi, Nanino, de Monte, Palestrina, and Striggio, and also include works by Pevernage and Phillips. Espresso optional!

Viol Music of Coprario with Brent Wissick

For upper intermediate to advanced viols.

Class Description

Giovanni Coprario was really named John Cooper, but italianized his name to seem more exotic to the Jacobean court. Coprario was expert in composing in the Italian madrigal style as well as writing English fantasias and songs. In this class we will consider pieces in three to six parts. Pitch: A=415.

"Musick Fyne" with Heather Miller Lardin

For intermediate viols.

Class Description

Explore the select but very rich repertoire that survives from 16th-century Scotland. From traditional consort fantasies and familiar court dances to haunting sacred and ribald secular songs, we'll enjoy this beautiful music together and think about what makes it just a little different from that of its southern counterparts. Music of John Black, Robert Johnson, and many others

The Keyboard Player’s Toolbox: A Pragmatic Approach to Solving Issues Faced by the Early Keyboard Player with Alissa Duryee

Open to keyboard players

Class Description

Have you ever been stumped on practice techniques for a particular passage? Struggled with getting accustomed to changing instruments? Had to practice repertoire on an instrument for which it was not intended? Had to adapt a piece for performance on a particular instrument? Had minor technical issues with an instrument, which ruin your day/rehearsal/concert? Then you are welcome to join this class, during which we will work on building a metaphorical toolbox for confronting musical problems as well as a literal toolbox for dealing with an instrument's technical issues.

Historical Dance Program

No class at this hour.

Class Description

Individual practice time, rest, or attend a music class.

Late Afternoon 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.

The Power of ONE (played by many): How to Get Creative with Medieval Monophony with Daphna Mor

Open to all treble clef-reading instruments.

Class Description

Join Daphna for a low-stress high-engagement class of chants, songs, and dances from Medieval Europe and beyond. Learn how to arrange, accompany, and gently improvise on tunes, enhancing possibilities and personalizing one-line material.

Five English Candy Boxes, with Letitia Berlin, Valerie Horst

Open to recorders intermediate and up.

Class Description

Explore five English sources, including the Fayrfax manuscript (music from Henry VII’s time, including Robert Fayrfax), the Carver Choirbook (pre-Reformation Scottish church music), the Henry VIII manuscript (compiled around 1518 and containing music by the king as well as other English composers and composers from the Continent), the Dow partbooks (an important collection of Tudor music by Byrd, Tallis, Tye, and more), and arrangements from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Exploring each of these sources is like opening a box of your favorite candies. No half-eaten chocolates here!

Barsanti’s Sonatas for Recorder and Flute, with Gwyn Roberts

For upper intermediate to advanced Baroque alto and bass recorders and flutes.

Class Description

Francesco Barsanti left his native Lucca in Italy around 1723 for London, which was mad for the Italian musical style. There, he played oboe, recorder, and flute in theater and opera orchestras, gave lessons, and wrote and published two sets of sonatas for recorder and flute in his native idiom for sale to local musicians. He then moved to Edinburgh, where he met his wife and fell in love with the local music, publishing a collection of Scots tunes with added basso continuo. We’ll delve into these three collections, parsing out the Italian and Scottish idioms and identifying Barsanti’s signature musical moves and quirks. Pitch: A=415.

Baroque Ensembles

For voice, recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon, viol, violin,cello, and harpsichord

Class Description

These one-to-a-part Baroque ensembles are for advanced treble and basso continuo players who are musically and technically prepared to explore challenging repertoire. Our first priority will be to provide advanced players with well-matched ensembles. If there are more players of treble instruments than of continuo, one set of treble-line players in a trio sonata class may share a continuo section (and a coach) with another set, or some treble players may receive their second or third choices. When requesting this class, please list clear second and third class choices. Indicate pitch: “440” or “415” or “either.”Faculty to include Rainer Beckmann, Hsuan-Wen Chen, Kevin Devine, Eric Haas, Zhengyi Hou, Heather Miller Lardin, Loren Ludwig, and Sian Ricketts.

Northern Italian Madrigals and Motets: 16th-Century Vocal Repertoire for Mixed Loud Ensemble with Wouter Verschuren

For dulcian, shawm, cornetto, and sackbut players, upper intermediate to advanced.

Class Description

Philippe Verdelot and Costanzo Festa are considered fathers of the Italian madrigal and were active in Florence and Rome in the first half of the sixteenth century. Their music is known for having close harmonies–think barber shop quartet! These pieces are a pleasure to play on loud instruments.

Viol Music of Dowland and Byrd with Brent Wissick

For intermediate viols.

Class Description

John Dowland and William Byrd are two of the most loved names of English music for good reason–we can't get the tunes out of our heads, and we admire the richness of the part writing. This class will consider pieces in three to six parts, including familiar ones like Lachrime, and a few less-known ones. Pitch: A=415.

Wode that I Could: Scottish Vocal Polyphony with Tracy Cowart

Open to all voices.

Class Description

The Protestant Reformation turned the life of Thomas Wode upside down. Initially a Catholic monk, Wode found a new life as a Protestant clergyman whose primary task was to dragoon composers into finishing harmonizations for the new Scottish Psalm Book. Afraid that, in his own words, “music in this land should perish all utterly,” Wode also copied into his partbooks a number of pre-Reformation Latin motets and secular pieces for voices by Scottish, English, and Continental composers. After Wode’s death, others added to the blank pages in his partbooks a number of vernacular songs, catches, and rounds. This class will look at the musical legacy preserved in the Wode Partbooks and their testament to the variegated world of 16th- and early 17th-century Scotland.

Masters Of Doom: The Fundamentals Of Frame Drumming with Spiff Wiegand

Open to all.

Class Description

Dum, Pah, Tak! Master the primary frame drum techniques that give you (and others) confidence. Physical time-keeping paired with vocal rhythm shortens the distance between your brain and hands. Simple notation develops a catalog of patterns and fosters creativity. Pulse and dynamics invite us to feel how each part of a groove might dance differently. Our sessions will weave through ecstatic and meditative vibes. Revitalize yourself with a positive drumming experience. Please bring the drums you have; there is a limited number provided to share.

Dance Rehearsal with Dorothy Olsson and Peggy Murray

For dancers in the Historical Dance program

Class Description

Rehearsals for Baroque Opera (Cavalli's L'Erismena, performance Friday evening, July 7, 8:00 pm). Possible evening rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Opera dress rehearsal, late Thursday evening. *First-week dancers who wish to audition for the opera project must plan to arrive on Saturday, July 1st.

*If you are in Baroque Academy there is no need to choose classes, your daily schedule is already set. Pitch for classes is A=440 unless otherwise noted.