LACOCK SUMMER SCHOOL
The Lacock Summer School is a combination of specialist coaching, informal festival and musical holiday. Each week is based on a set repertoire and is a period of intensive training and rehearsal with leading tutors, ending in a performance. It attracts people of all ages and nationalities, and with a variety of abilities and interests. It is held in one of England's most attractive villages and the general aim is to stimulate and broaden musical enthusiasm.
WEEK I 22 – 27 July 2007
Jeffrey Skidmore (choir), Martin Lubenow (instrumental music), Steven Hollas (organ) Music for forty voices: Thomas Tallis ~ Spem in alium;
Alessandro Striggio ~ Ecce beatam lucem; Gabriel Jackson ~ Sanctum est verum lumen To sing works for forty voices is one of music's great experiences. Spem in alium is perhaps the best known : not just the
greatest of Tallis's motets, but one of the greatest musical compositions of all time. Its density of ideas produces an overwhelming effect in both performer and listener. Its model was probably the Striggio work, whose individual
lines vary greatly in complexity from the simple to the virtuosic. Gabriel Jackson's piece was written for Jeffrey Skidmore in 2005; there are massive contrapuntal tuttis
for the full choir, antiphonal exchanges between different groups of singers, a section for the eight sopranos alone and other dramatic effects. The renaissance instrumental group will have its own ensemble pieces and will join forces with the choir in the forty-part music. Pitch: A440.
WEEK II 29 July – 3 August 2007 JanJoost van Elburg (choir), Martin Lubenow (instrumental music), Steven Hollas (organ),
Marco van de Klundert (vocal technique); Claudio Monteverdi ~ Vespers of 1610 Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers is a work of unprecedented splendour and magnificence. It steps from the mediaeval world of chant and
polyphony into the modern world of melody, bass line and harmony. Much of the choral writing is challenging: singers should be excellent readers or have sung the work before. Some choral sections may be sung by a smaller selected
group and the solos will be sung by an invited group led by Marco van de Klundert. There are obbligato parts for strings, cornetts, sackbuts and recorders, and scope for continuo instruments of all types. Instrumentalists should
have an assured technique and be accustomed to public performance. We will use the new performing edition by Martin Lubenow, which is available in full score or choral score giving the choir parts and bass. Pitch: A440.
IS IT FOR ME?
If you enjoy early music then the answer is probably yes. Most participants sing in a choir or play regularly, and a few are full-time music students; they are of all ages and nationalities and come alone, with a friend or partner, or in a group. There are several full scholarships for music students, and all those under 25 are encouraged with a generous discount. All the tutors are experienced at working with amateur musicians and the atmosphere is very relaxed and informal.
DAY TO DAY
We meet on the Sunday afternoon, in time for a first music session before supper. Mornings are spent in rehearsal in the choir or in smaller vocal or instrumental groups. After lunch (we all have lunch and supper together in the garden under an awning) the early afternoon is left free for coaching soloists and small groups, informal music-making, walking or just resting. There is a rehearsal with voices and instruments together in the late afternoon. After supper there is sometimes a short recital or some other impromptu entertainment, but more often the time is left free for spontaneous music or general conviviality – The George is sanctioned by tradition as the official pub.
MUSIC
We will provide music for the instrumentalists; singers will need to have (and can order as they register): in Week I, the Mapa Mundi edition of the Striggio (other music will be provided); in Week II, the Musiche Varie edition of the Vespers, available at a special low price; you may alternatively borrow a reduced choral score free of charge.
THE TUTORS
Jeffrey Skidmore (Lichfield) was a choral scholar at Oxford and is the founder and director of the award-winning choir and orchestra Ex Cathedra.JanJoost van Elburg (Amsterdam) conducts the Renaissance Singers in London and the Amsterdam Lelikoor, and has sung with the Tallis Scholars. Martin Lubenow (Germersheim) studied at the Schola Cantorum in Basle and plays cornett and continuo. He directs the ensemble Musiche Varie.Steven Hollas (Bradford on Avon) is a keyboard player and teacher. He read music at Cambridge and plays organ and harpsichord for Bradford Baroque.Marco van de Klundert (Amsterdam) sings in the Egidius Kwartet and the Huelgas Ensemble, and has sung the title role in Monteverdi's Orfeo at Lacock.
WHERE TO STAY
You arrange your own accommodation, which is not included in the fee for the course. There are choices to suit all pockets: some camp at the village site, or in the orchard at Cantax House; many lodge in guesthouses and inns (some of which date back to the middle ages); others rent cottages. I will send you the full list when you register. Bed and breakfast usually costs £120-£190 per week.
HOW TO GET THERE
Lacock is three miles south of Chippenham, Wilts. Road: off the A350 south of Junction 17 on the M4. Rail: Chippenham from Paddington, or Bradford on Avon from Waterloo. Air: Heathrow then coach to Chippenham, or Bristol then train to Chippenham.
WHAT IT COSTS
The fee for each week is £375, or if you are under 25, £195: £180 as a deposit
on registration (it will be refunded in full if you have to withdraw before 1st
June; after that you may hold it over to another course) and the balance on arrival. This covers all tuition, lunches and suppers but not bed and breakfast. In the Netherlands you may pay the deposit by transferring Euro
275 to Fortis Bank account No 83.52.00.205 (A van der Beek). FOR A REGISTRATION FORM FOR THE LACOCK SUMMER SCHOOL,