Alma Redemptoris Mater
Ave Regina caelorum, Salve Regina
Timor et tremor, Media vita
Lagrime di San Pietro (selection)
Magnificats Praeter rerum seriem, Aurora lucis rutillat
movements from the Masses Vinum bonum, Osculetur me, Bell’Amfitrit’altera
Orlando Lassus was the most prolific, cosmopolitan and versatile composer of the high Renaissance: in his time the best known and most widely admired musician in Europe. His output is exceptional in its massive scale, international variety, emotional directness and flawless technique with a penchant for highly individual opening subjects. Our selection is centred on Lassus’s sacred works with Latin texts but includes a selection from his swansong, the Lagrime di San Pietro. This cycle of seven-voice spiritual madrigals is one of the most remarkable artistic testaments in the history of music.
Eamonn Dougan has been a regular Lacock director for the past fourteen 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
Most of the repertoire is for a choir of seven or eight voices. We will convene a balanced group of about 36 singers, so there will be four or five voices on each line. We will meet in time for a 5pm session on Sunday the 9th of May. Then from Monday to Friday we will follow the normal Lacock timetable:
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 (16.00 – 18.00 on Wednesday and Thursday)
We will arrange a supper for everyone together on the last evening (not included in the fee for the course), but let the party split into smaller groups on the other evenings. We will give a public performance in the church at 4.30pm on Friday the 14th of May.
The venue
Stirling, ‘The Gateway to the Highlands’ is strategically sited on the River Forth northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. It was once the capital of Scotland and its castle, which dominates the city from its rocky outcrop, a favoured residence of Scottish monarchs. The course will be held in the Church of the Holy Rude (rood, or cross), a stunningly beautiful 15th century building the size of a small cathedral at the top of the town near Stirling Castle. It was a place of worship for the Stuart kings and queens, and in 1567 saw the coronation – complete with a sermon from John Knox – of the infant James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots and later James I of England.
Travel and accommodation
Stirling is very well connected by road and rail, with the railway station just a two-minutes’ walk from the city centre. It is 35 minutes from Glasgow Queens Street and 50 minutes from Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley stations. There is also a coach service from both cities. The nearest airports are Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick. There is more information at www.yourstirling.com. You arrange your own accommodation. In addition to the usual commercial channels, you can find information about places to stay in and around Stirling at www.visitscotland.com/places-to-go/stirling/accommodation.
Fees and enrolment
This course is for invited singers but you may register an interest by completing the form below and pressing ‘send application’. The fee for the course is £690, payable in two parts: a deposit of £345 or the equivalent in euros on registration and a further £345 by the 1st of April. 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 music booklet, which will be sent to you in advance. Accommodation and travel are not included.
