Ambleside Music Week

Juan Esquivel

The week will focus on the works of one composer, Juan Esquivel de Barahona. He was born in Ciudad Rodrigo around 1563 and was a pupil of Juan Navarro, though his principal influences were the great Spanish masters Morales and Guerrero. He became maestro de capilla successively at Ciudad Rodrigo, Oviedo and Calahorra before returning to Ciudad Rodrigo Cathedral until his death sometime during the third decade of the seventeenth century. Though one of the most prolific and also one of the finest Spanish composers of his time, his music was largely forgotten until the editions of Mapa Mundi were published in the last few decades.

Sancta Maria a 8 ~ Salve Regina a 5 ~ Magnificat a 6
In paradisum a 6 ~ Duo seraphim a 6
Missa Ut re ma fa sol la a 8

Eamonn Dougan writes: I recently recorded a disc of works by Juan Esquivel and was struck by the quality of the pieces by a composer I’d never performed before. It is no exaggeration to say that his motets stand comparison with those of Victoria. Esquivel skilfully combines established techniques such as cantus firmus and imitation with the newer devices characteristic of the generation of Alonso Lobo: arresting harmonic effects coloured by the use of accidentals, climaxes in a high register for particularly poignant texts, dramatic pauses and contrasts of texture. His works were used extensively in Spain, Portugal and Mexico throughout the seventeenth century. Time to share them with a wider audience today!

Eamonn Dougan has been a regular Lacock director for the past ten years. He is himself a singer and his courses always contain a substantial element of vocal technique. He is Associate Conductor of The Sixteen and founding Director of Britten Sinfonia Voices. Eamonn is an engaging communicator with a particular passion for the Sixteenth and Twentieth Century repertoire, Bach, the French and Polish Baroque. Recent engagements have seen Eamonn conduct Così fan tutte at the Ryedale Festival, Fauré Requiem with the newly formed Chiltern Arts Festival Chorus, and Mozart La finta giardiniera with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Experience Ensemble. Eamonn has a highly successful five-disc Polish Baroque series with The Sixteen. The first disc, music by Bartlomiej Pekiel, was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award (‘Richly dramatic’ – The Observer). The fifth disc, music by Marcin Mielczewski, was released to widespread critical acclaim in September 2017. Since 2008 Eamonn has been a Visiting Professor to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where he teaches ensemble singing and directs the Guildhall Consort.

THE COURSE
The Ambleside Music Week is intended for experienced choral singers who are good readers, have a blending, straight voice (or one with a controllable vibrato) with full dynamic range, are used to normal choral discipline and are able to respond quickly to direction – the intention being to combine professional pace of work with amateur enthusiasm. There are places for twelve sopranos, eight altos, four tenors, four baritones and four basses, giving four voices to a part in the eight-part pieces. The plan is to start the course with an afternoon (5pm-7pm) session on Sunday the 15th of May. All rehearsals will be held in the church of St Mary and the adjoining Parish Centre. This opening rehearsal will be followed by a supper in a nearby restaurant. Then from Monday to Friday there will be rehearsals from 9.30am to 1pm and from 5pm to 7pm. On Friday the 20th of May we will give a public performance in the church, followed by a second group supper, which will mark the end of the course. On other evenings we will break into smaller groups to eat at the many restaurants in the town. The two group meals are not included in the fee for the course. All the music will be printed in a booklet and sent to you before the course.

AMBLESIDE
Ambleside is at the head of Windermere, in the heart of the Lake District and is surrounded by England’s most spectacular scenery. Many notable literary figures have a connexion with the town, including Wordsworth, Ruskin and Beatrix Potter. There was a Roman fort here but the town flourished when the coming of the railways and the building of a ferry terminal opened it to tourism, so the buildings are largely Victorian. The parish church, St Mary’s, was built in 1854 by George Gilbert Scott, architect of many London landmarks including the Foreign Office, the Albert Memorial, the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras station and King’s College chapel. The Ambleside Music Week will be held in the church and the adjoining Parish Centre, an award-winning new building in the local Lakeland slates, with breathtaking views of the surrounding parkland and fells. The address is Vicarage Road, Ambleside LA22 9DH.

ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL
You arrange your own accommodation. Ambleside has a range of places to stay: bed and breakfast houses in the town or surrounding countryside, pubs, comfortable hotels and self-catering cottages. There is a comprehensive non-commercial directory on the Visit Cumbria web site at www.visitcumbria.com. The nearest railway station is four and a half miles away at Windermere, the end of the Lakes Line (which connects with the West Coast Main Line at Oxenholme), with a bus connection to the centre of Ambleside every 15 minutes.

FEES AND ENROLMENT
The fee for the course is £560, payable in two parts: a deposit of £280 or the equivalent in euros on registration and a further £280 by the 1st of May. The deposit may be credited to another course if you have to withdraw and we are able to allocate your place to another singer. The fee includes the booklet containing all the music, which will be sent to you in advance. Accommodation and travel are not included.