Muhlenberg College
2400 W Chew St
Allentown, PA 18104
United States
Directed by Geoffrey Williams
Faculty: tba
Amherst Early Music Festival, June 29-July 6, 2025
Nun singet!
The music of Johann Sebastian Bach provides a great opportunity to examine the marriage of text and music. Participants in this intensive course will explore the development from plainsong chant melodies into Renaissance polyphony and the end result in the German Chorale. The repertoire for study, rehearsal and performance will include J.S. Bach's predecessors Senfl, Isaac, Luther, Vulpius, Praetorius, Schein, Kuhnau, and Johann Michael Bach. Special focus daily will be given to studying Johann Sebastian's unique harmonic and textual approach to the Chorale.
The Ensemble Singing Intensive is a high-level, auditioned program for pre-professional and advanced amateur singers with an interest in working in depth with repertoire from the 15th and 16th centuries.
ESI gives participants the opportunity to work closely with like-minded colleagues and professional coaches to refine their skill set for vocal chamber music performance. Students participate in daily rehearsals, ensemble coachings, discussions, and masterclass, working towards a performance at week's end. Along the way, special attention is given to issues such as vocal production and vocal health, approaches to language in singing including diction and rhetoric, as well as development of ensemble leadership skills, including conducting gesture, rehearsal preparation, and communication.
