Spring Break Workshop Classes 2024
Music of German Lands and England
First Period: 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Saturday and Sunday
RECORDER
Creative Thievery: the Dance Music of Heinrich Praetorius with Valerie Horst. Intermediate recorders. This German master-of-all genres snitched over 300 tunes from the French dancing masters and set them in endlessly entertaining arrangements, from the simple to the ankle-twisting.
Leipzig in the Early 17th century: Vocal and Instrumental Music by Calvisius, Fritsch, and Schein with Rainer Beckmann. Intermediate to upper intermediate recorders. Leipzig has been called home by many renowned German composers throughout the centuries. This class focuses on the early 17th century, when Johann Hermann Schein, Sethus Calvisius, and Balthasar Fritsch were active in the old Saxon trade and university city. Musical selections will include vibrant ensemble dances, lighthearted songs, and noble chorales.
Telemann Concertos for Four Violins (TWV 40:201-204) in Arrangements for Recorders with Annette Bauer. Upper intermediate to advanced recorders. Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767) was not only one of the most renowned composers of the Baroque, he also holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as being one of history’s most prolific composers. He composed more than 1000 cantatas and 600 suites, as well as numerous operas, oratorios, and concertos for a variety of instruments. Among these are his concertos for 4 violins (TWV 40:201-204). We will explore and compare excerpts of these concertos in different recorder arrangements, in AAAA, SATB, and ATBB settings. Must have technical ease and fluency in the full range of the instrument. Some individual preparation of the faster movements ahead of time will be helpful. Music will be sent out in advance in PDFs.
Splendor in Graz: Giovanni Priuli’s Canzonas and Vocal Works with Wendy Powers. Advanced recorders. As a protégé of Giovanni Gabrieli, Giovanni Priuli (ca. 1575-1629) brought the Venetian vocal and instrumental antiphonal styles to Graz, Austria, where he directed the court chapel of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. Priuli’s instrumental canzonas and vocal works are some of the most playable and attractive of this splendid repertory for five to ten parts; his compositions feature variety, changes of meter, and—unusual for the time—tempo shifts.
VIOL
Dancing across the North Sea: the Best of Dowland and Brade with Sarah Cunningham and Amy Domingues
Playing dances is a great way to start the day, warming up our ears, our instruments, our bodies, our sound, our articulation, and our ensemble in pavanes, almaines, and galliards that are sonorous, accessible, and rewarding to play--albeit sometimes challenging especially in the inner voices! English composers John Dowland and William Brade both traveled, and found employment on the continent, especially in Germany and in Denmark, though Dowland traveled as far as Italy, reaching Venice, Padua, Ferrara and Florence. Their rich collections of dances follow in the tradition of Anthony Holborne, who was equally popular at the time. We'll work with a selection of pieces from this great repertoire. Class will be divided into two sections. (Pitch for all viol classes is A=440)
LUTE
Senfl and the Tenorlied Tradition ca. 1500
Lute ensembles coached by Doug Freundlich and Chris Morrongiello, featuring memorable melodies, artful polyphony, and a "minimalist" curiosity. Based on historical models, Doug's arrangements feature bursts of ornamentation distributed among all the voices. The ensembles are small, so everyone has a chance to shine. Easy-to-read tablature parts. G- and A-lutes, a440. Class will be divided into two sections.
CHORUS
Gems from the German & English late Renaissance and Early Baroque with Vera Kochanowsky and accompanist Heather Adelsberger
Saturday schedule: Warmup, followed by What makes a choral performance compelling? Repertoire: The German Lied of the 16th Century: Isaac, Lechner, Senfl. Sunday schedule: Warmup, followed by review of works for smaller forces: German Lieder, Purcell's Thou Knowest Lord, and Tallis’ Agnus Dei.
Second Period: 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m Saturday and Sunday
RECORDER
The Anniversary Men: Byrd and Weelkes with Wendy Powers. Intermediate to upper intermediate recorders. William Byrd is widely regarded as the finest English composer of the decades ca. 1600, a devoted Catholic who yet served as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, composing both Anglican and Catholic sacred music, wonderful pre-madrigal secular part songs, and pioneering viol consorts and keyboard music. He was a master of deeply expressive polyphony. The younger Thomas Weelkes, influenced by Byrd, is best known for composing some of the finest English madrigals, as well as Anglican anthems and services, and for his viol consorts and keyboard music. They both died in 1623; come celebrate 401 years of their music.
Lassus in Germany: Tenorlieder, Madrigals, and a Motet with Tish Berlin. Upper intermediate recorders. One of the leading composers of the late Renaissance, Orlande de Lassus (one of many versions of his name) was equally at home with secular and sacred music, and genres encompassing the French chanson, Italian madrigal, German tenorlied, and Latin motet. Born in modern-day Belgium and blessed with a beautiful voice, he was sought after (and possibly even kidnapped by!) patrons who wanted him for their musical courts. From Italy he returned to the Low Countries, and from there joined the court of Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria where he stayed for the rest of his life, visiting Italy several times. We’ll focus on his life in Germany with tenorlieder, a motet, and a madrigal.
The Crane’s Beak, The Rat’s Tail: music from the Glogauer Liederbuch with Valerie Horst. Upper intermediate to advanced recorders. A sampling of secular and sacred pieces from Germany’s amazing collection of “firsts”: first instrumental music, first music issued in part books, and—who knows why?--first pieces about animal body parts :-).
Selections from the Westron Wynde Masses by Tavener, Tye, and Sheppard with Rainer Beckmann. Advanced recorders. The gentle breeze of the west wind has been part of the European imagination since Antiquity. As a messenger of Spring, it is also an integral part of the English song Westron Wynde whose mesmerizing tune John Tavener, Christopher Tye, and John Sheppard used as cantus firmus for their masses with the same name. By exploring excerpts from all three works, we will create our own version of a Western Wynde mass.
EARLY NOTATION
Advanced Early Notation: Music by English Composers in 15th-century Continental –Sources—Music by John Bedyngham, Robert Morton, Walter Frye, John Dunstaple and others, with Annette Bauer. All instruments welcome, advanced notation skills required. The “contenance angloise” was all the rage in the early 15th century. Not only is the music by famous Burgundian composers, such as Dufay and Binchois, said to have been influenced by the style of renowned English composers such as Dunstable, but composers of English origins also lived and worked in continental Europe. Their compositions survive in a wide variety of 15th-century sources, for example in many of the beautifully illuminated mid-15th-century chansonniers, or in small collections of secular songs such as the source Porto 714, where many of the composers are named with the addition “de –Anglia”—of England. We’ll explore some examples of these pieces in their original version.
VIOL
Master Class: Hume, Schenk, and Bach, with Sarah Cunningham. For players who have prepared a piece by Hume, Schenk, or Bach. Auditors welcome.
Ich liebe Innsbruck: Music of Heinrich Isaac and William Young with Amy Domingues Innsbruck was the seat of the Imperial Habsburg Dynasty in the 15th through the mid 17th century, and composers such as Heinrich Isaac and William Young flourished at this Tyrolean court. Innsbruck was also important as a sort of musical crossroads on the route between Italy and the rest of Europe, and music composed there quickly traveled to other lands. In this class we will explore the nuances of Franco-Flemish polyphonic style and ensemble playing in Isaac’s works, as well as the fantasias and dance music composed by the viol virtuoso William Young, an English expat who dazzled international guests. (Pitch for all viol classes is A=440)
LUTE
Spielstücke What lutenists did for fun in the 15th century. Recreational repertoire from the Glogauer Liederbuch. Dicey rhythms, intricate polyphony, and imagery of cats and cranes. Coached by Doug Freundlich and Chris Morrongiello. Class will be divided into two groups.
CHORUS
Gems from the German & English late Renaissance and Early Baroque with Vera Kochanowsky and accompanist Heather Adelsberger
Saturday schedule- Topic: The Power of Declamation: Effective and Affective Use of Language Repertoire: Purcell’s Thou Knwest Lord the Secrets of Our Hearts and Hear My Prayer O Lord. Sunday schedule - Preparation for final tutti session: Review of large-scale works by Purcell, Hammerschmidt, and Senfl
Third Period: 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. Saturday
RECORDER
Quodlibets by Isaac and Senfl with Rainer Beckmann. Intermediate to upper intermediate recorders. A Quodlibet combines various well-known tunes in a often short and compact composition. You will get to know two masterfully conceived examples of this fun genre written by Heinrich Isaaac and Ludwig Senfl. Our renditions of the pieces will pay close attention to the embedded tunes, including by playing simpler settings of them.
O Rosa Bella (Bedyngham/Dunstable)—a15th century song of fame, with Annette Bauer. Intermediate and up recorders. This class will trace the famous three-part secular chanson ascribed to either John Dunstable or John Bedingham (the musicologists have been of several minds about which 15th-century composer to credit for this beautiful work of music), and its different versions and re-workings in the later 15th century. Imitation is the highest form of flattery--this saying definitely holds true for the creative reimagining of this chanson by different composers of the time.
Sweelinck and Scheidt with Tish Berlin. Upper intermediate to advanced recorders. Both Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Samuel Scheidt, Sweelinck’s student, wrote variations on popular tunes. In our brief time together we’ll explore arrangements for recorder ensemble of both composers’ settings of the famous French tune Est-ce Mars (Is that Mars, the great god of battles, that I see?).
EARLY NOTATION
Beginning Early Notation with Wendy Powers. All instruments welcome. A taste of 15th- and 16th-century notation in a single class! C clefs, note and rest shapes, ligatures, meters, choirbook format, a teeny bit of triple. By the end of class, we will be playing! Get to know the music of the Renaissance the way Du Fay, Josquin, and Byrd did.
VIOL
Folky Fantasies: From Byrd to Scheidt, with Sarah Cunningham and Amy Domingues There are many ways to introduce the freshness and inspiration of folk music, song, and dance, into learned counterpoint. Among the English viol fantasia composers, Byrd and Gibbons excel at smoothly, or suddenly, making the viol consort remember the fun of dancing ‘pon the village green. Scheidt crafts an extended polyphonic working of the folk melody O Nachbar Roland [NO QUOTATION MARKS IF ITALICIZED] Our choice of repertoire on the day will be determined by numbers of players in each class, in compatible groups according to difficulty and ability. (Pitch for all viol classes is A=440)
LUTE
Back in the Comfort Zone: New Arrangements of Bach and Haussmann with Doug Freundlich The Haussmann and Bach selections all have ties to our English theme. The Haussmann pair are settings of the popular theatre song “Go from my Window”; the Bach chorale prelude settings of Von Gott will ich nicht lassenlink to the English “Monica” iterations, “Queens Alman (Byrd) and Olde Almaine (Holborne).
CHORUS
Gems from the German & English late Renaissance and Early Baroque with Vera Kochanowsky and accompanist Heather Adelsberger
Topic: Making Contrapuntal Textures Transparent Repertoire: Tallis’ Mass for Four Voices: Agnus Dei
Fourth Period: 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. Saturday
RECORDER
“Ahhh… Smell That Sweet Spring Air!” English Country Dances Celebrating the Arrival of Spring, with Annette Bauer. Intermediate recorders. Just a few short days shy of the official beginning of spring, this class celebrates the arrival of the warmer weather and longer days with a selection of English country dances. John Playford first published “The English Dancing Master” in 1651 as a collection of melodies with corresponding dance instructions. The many re-publications of this volume over the following 70+ years are testament to the popularity and demand of this repertoire at the time. Only the melodies are published in the original--the performance practice of these tunes, which is still thriving today, especially in conjunction with dance events, includes a wealth of notated and improvised arrangements and variations. We will explore several spring-themed melodies in accessible SATB or similar arrangements.
Fyre, Lightning, and Wind: Duets, Trios, and Quartets by Thomas Morley and H. U. Staeps with Tish Berlin. Intermediate to upper intermediate recorders. Thomas Morley (ca. 1558-1602) managed to cover a plethora of emotions in his canzonets for two and three voices. Hans Ulrich Staeps (1909-1988), was one of the most prolific composers for the recorder in the 20th century, leaving us with music both charming and mysterious. Let this brief survey of two inventive composers inspire you to play more of their work when you go home!
Holborne: Pavans, Galliards, Almains, and other short Airs both grave, and light, in five parts, for Musicall Winde Instruments , with Rainer Beckmann. Upper intermediate to advanced recorders. Featuring a suite of stylized dances from Anthony Holborne's celebrated collection of dances published in London in 1599. Enjoy music that is informed by the Aristotelian view of the melancholic state as a positive influence on all forms of intellectual and artistic activity. Join the growing fashion of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that soon asked musicians, artists, philosophers, and scholars to suffer from the same "malady"--melancholia--to achieve greatness.
Heinrich Finck: the first Great German Polyphonist with Valerie Horst. Advanced recorders. He wrote it all—masses, motets, hymns, bawdy songs. Fasten your seatbelts as we sample several of his more challenging pieces in a single class period!
VIOL
Magdeburg 1618: Meet Up with Praetorius, Schütz, and Scheidt, with Amy Domingues and Sarah Cunningham 1618 was a banner year for music at the court of Brandenburg, when Samuel Scheidt, the court organist, Michael Praetorius (who held an honorific post) and Heinrich Schütz all presented concerts in this center of Lutheran music making. We'll explore dances from Praetorius' renowned Terpischore and canzonas from Scheidt's epic collection of instrumental music, Ludi Musici. (Pitch for all viol classes is A=440)
LUTE
Lecture: Brits in Brandenburg: English Actors, Comedians, and Lutenists at the Königsberg Court, c.1600. Chris Morrongiello, lecturer. In this talk, Dr. Morrongiello will focus on the so-called Königsberg Manuscript (MS 285-MF-LXXIX, housed in the Central Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Science), which was compiled by various scribes in Königsberg, the capital city of Brandenburg, between the 1590s and 1620s. During this time, certain companies of excellent English musicians, comedians, and tragedians went over to Germany and exhibited their skills at Brandenburg institutions. These talented performing artists were highly regarded and valued. Not surprisingly, several English theater pieces appear in the Königsberg Manuscript. Musicologists Arthur J. Ness and John M. Ward, who edited a facsimile of the manuscript for publication, suggested that it may well have "served as the commonplace-book of an English acting company headed by John Spencer, 'Branndennburg Cammer Musicus vnnd Comoediant,' resident at the Königsberg court during the first two decades of the 17th century." The MS contains many English pieces for solo lute and lute ensemble (some appear in no other continental source) and arrangements of vocal and instrumental works by Dowland, Jones, and Morley. In addition, there are seventeen English pieces for bandora (solos and parts for mixed consort). Dr. Morrongiello will perform works from the MS, discuss the influence of the English style on lute playing at the Königsberg court, and consider the performance practice implications gleaned from the compositional styles and fingering marks in the MS.
CHORUS
Gems from the German & English late Renaissance and Early Baroque with Vera Kochanowsky and accompanist Heather Adelsberger
Topic: How Italian Invention Conquered Europe: The Polychoral Craze Repertoire: Hammerschmidt’s Machet die Tore weit
5:30 - 6:15 Saturday Faculty Concert
2:15 - 3:30 Sunday Full workshop session with Doug Freundlich, Vera Kochanowsky, and Tish Berlin
Workshop pitch is A=440
