Lacock
courses for choral
and consort singers
Menu
Philippe de Monte ~ Ad te Domine levavi, Illumina oculos meos,
Sancte Johannes Baptista, sacred madrigals
Alexander Utendal ~ Adesto dolori meo, Gloria from Missa Repleti sunt omnes
Jacobus Vaet ~ Ave Maris stella, Continuo lachrimans (in memoriam Clemens),
In tenebris, Miserere mei Deus, Musica Dei donum optimi,
Kyrie from Missa Ego flos campi
Christian Hollander ~ Saulus cum iter faceret
Jacob Regnart ~ Nunc dimittis
Johannes de Cleve ~ Simile est regnum coelorum
Lambert de Sayve ~ Sanctus and Agnus from Missa super Dominus regnavit
On a visit to Vienna, Lassus was astonished by the high quality of music-making under Philippe de Monte. Yet the music of the Habsburg Imperial Court in Vienna and Prague at the end of the 16th century has been unaccountably neglected in recent decades. The prestige of the Court attracted some of the most celebrated musicians of the time, but composers like Jacobus Vaet, whose death was commemorated in three notable elegies, remain little-known figures today. Our programme is a sample of the works of the court composers, some of which reflect the lavish resources musical available to them, such as sections of Lambert de Sayve’s Mass for sixteen voices.
Eamonn Dougan has been a regular Lacock director for the past eleven 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.
Dartmouth
Dartmouth is the historic town built where the waters of Dartmoor finally meet the sea. Nautical bustle fills the estuary – the ebb and flow of the tide, ferries loading, crossing or unloading, the jostling of pleasure craft, the sun glistening on the water – all to the cry of seagulls and the tap of rigging against mast. The air is heavy with the aura of salt, ropes, tar and fish. Buildings date from 14th century and every one since. The port saw ships leave for the Crusades and the Normandy invasion of 1944. Mayflower put in here before its final stop-off in Plymouth and the voyage to America. The course will take place in St Saviour’s church, a superb mediaeval building dating from 1335 with a well-merited three stars in Simon Jenkins’s England’s Thousand Best Churches.
The course
There will be places for 32 singers: eight sopranos, eight altos, eight tenors and eight basses. Our plan will be to meet for a 5pm session on Sunday the 13th of October. Then from Monday to Friday our timetable will be:
09.30 – 11.00 first session
11.00 – 11.30 break
11.30 – 13.00 second session
13.00 – 17.00 long break
17.00 – 19.00 third session
We will arrange a supper for everyone together on the first and last evenings (not included in the fee for the course), but let the party split into smaller groups on the other evenings. We’ll give a public performance in the evening of Friday the 18th of July.
Venue
The course will be held in St Saviour’s church, in the historic centre of the town. The address is Anzac St, Dartmouth TQ6 9DL.
Travel and accommodation
You arrange your own accommodation. Dartmouth has the usual range of places to stay: guest houses in the town and surrounding countryside, pubs, comfortable hotels and self-catering cottages and flats. In addition to the usual channels there is a comprehensive community-run accommodation directory at https://www.discoverdartmouth.com/. You can get to Dartmouth by train. At Paignton station (trains from Paddington and Manchester Piccadilly) you change to a steam train (https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/) that takes you to Kingswear and there you then cross the river Dart by ferry; otherwise the nearest station is Totnes, whence you can complete your journey by bus, taxi or boat down the river.
Fees and enrolment
The fee for the course is £640, payable in two parts: a deposit of £290 or the equivalent in euros on registration and a further £350 by the 1st of September. 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, but not accommodation, meals and travel. To apply for a place on this course, just fill in the application form below and press the ‘send application’ button.
