MUSIC AT MONTECONERO
a course for choral singers near Ancona led by Eamonn Dougan
13 to 19 June 2010
A week of early music with a leading specialist
conductor, for competent (see guidelines below) choral singers, in a former Camaldolite abbey on the Adriatic near Ancona. The general aim is to assemble a chamber-scale choir capable of performing demanding music to a high
standard, in a relaxed and convivial setting. The course is now almost fully booked, with just one tenor and one bass vacancy.
CARDOSO REQUIEM The central item
in the programme will be the six-part Missa pro Defunctis by the Portuguese monk composer Frei Manuel Cardoso (1566-1650). Cardoso was perhaps the most accomplished and certainly the most widely published composer in the late
flowering of polyphony in Portugal. Like Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers, the Requiem combines the ancient technique of cantus firmus with more modern elements, such as the striking dissonance at the very opening. As the editor Ivan
Moody says in his introduction to the work, "The Missa pro defunctis may be claimed to be Cardoso's greatest achievement. It stretched the limits of the classic Palestrinian style to the utmost...yet remains a work of moving beauty
and dignity, liturgical art of the highest calibre". Other works in the programme will be chosen to suit the balance of the group and will be announced later.
There could hardly be a more enticing spot for a course than Monteconero – a wooded mountaintop in the Conero regional park, with panoramic views of the sea, the Adriatic coast, the hills of the Marche and the distant peaks of the Appenines. The Hotel Monteconero, where the course will be held, began life as a Camaldolite abbey; we rehearse in the Romanesque church of St Peter dating back to 1038, that still stands in the centre of the complex. In 1958 the site, derelict and long since deserted by the monks, was bought by the Melappioni family, who transformed it into a hotel; the current third generation of proprietors have maintained and developed a reputation for gastronomic specialities of the Marche region. There is a swimming pool and a tennis court, and beaches nearby at Sirolo. For those able to extend their stay, places of interest in the area include Loreto, Urbino, Gubbio and Ascoli Piceno.
This is one of the recently introduced Lacock courses, with entry restricted to experienced and confident choral singers of all ages. You should
be a good reader and be comfortable singing a line by yourself, be able to manage a short solo passage (though of course you can always decline the offer), have blending voice with full dynamic range, be used to normal choral
discipline and be able to respond quickly to direction – the aim being to combine professional pace of work with amateur enthusiasm in a holiday setting. The group will be of chamber scale with an average of five or fewer voices to
a part in the larger-scale works. Eamonn Dougan
is experienced at working with amateur singers and the atmosphere will be relaxed and informal. We all stay at the Hotel Monteconero, which gives exceptional value for the degree of comfort on offer. The rate for
half board per person per day excluding drinks in a double room is
The plan is to meet for a late afternoon session on Sunday 13th June 2010. Then from Monday to Friday there will be rehearsal sessions each morning and another at the end of the afternoon. We have dinner together in the
hotel. We will give a final concert in the Romanesque church at the hotel in the evening of Friday18th June. The course ends after breakfast on Saturday 19th June. You are asked to bring a copy of the Mapa Mundi
edition of the Cardoso Requiem; we will provide full details of how to order this, and also the pieces that will be chosen later, direct from the publisher. It pays to book travel early. Ancona is the nearest
airport; Ryanair fly there from Stansted. We will organise a hotel minibus or the sharing of taxis from the popular flights. Monteconero is also served by the A14 motorway; the nearest train station is Ancona.
The fee for the course is paid in two parts: a deposit of £180 or a sterling cheque for £180 payable to A van der Beek online transfer of £180 to account 00703787, sort code12-11-03, or for international transfers, in the Netherlands, a transfer of €220 elsewhere in the Euro area, transfer of €220 FOR A REGISTRATION FORM FOR MUSIC AT MONTECONERO,
IBAN GB02 BOFS 1211 0300 7037 87, BIC BOFSGB21238