Musica transalpina
Jacob Handl ~ Missa Undique flammatis, O sacrum convivium
Orlando Lassus ~ Laudate pueri Dominum, Nunc Dimittis Il magnanimo Pietro,
Heu quod dabimus miseranda
Hans Leo Hassler ~ O Sacrum convivium
Johannes Le Febure ~ Tulerunt Dominum, Postquam consummate sunt
Hieronymus Praetorius ~ Verbum caro factum est
The repertoire is drawn from seven-part (SSAATBarB) renaissance polyphony by composers working in the German-speaking lands – from the Italian point of view, musica transalpina. The hugely prolific Jacobus Handl (often latinized to Gallus) worked in many places in central Europe, ending up in Vienna and Prague. His mass based on his own motet Undique flammatis is the centre point of the programme. His wide-ranging, eclectic style blends archaism and modernity. Johannes Le Febure, born of a Flemish musical family, served at the court of Cardinal Andreas of Austria in Konstanz and then moved to Mainz at the very beginning of the 17th century. Though today somewhat neglected, he is a composer of enormous accomplishment, well versed in the polychoral techniques being cultivated by the Venetians, and with a predilection for richly harmonised, sometimes impressively imposing scoring. Hieronymus Praetorius was a northern German composer known for his intricate and vividly expressive music. His setting of Verbum caro is characterized by masterly writing for the divided cantus parts in close imitation.
Harry Bradford writes: I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the Lacock team for the first time having heard numerous reports from singers about how fantastic the weeks are. It’s also a joy to be concentrating solely on renaissance polyphony which, as a young boy, was the first choral music that really spoke to me and made me become obsessed with the art form. This selection of transalpine renaissance music is a wonderfully eclectic mix and I can’t wait to explore these composers and pieces in more detail.
Since winning Second Prize in the Eric Ericson Award 2021, Harry Bradford has collaborated, as both a guest conductor and chorus master, with some of the world’s finest vocal ensembles including the MDR Rundfunkchor, the Eric Ericsons Kammarkör, the BBC Singers, the Sixteen and the Swedish Radio Choir.
Harry is the conductor and co-founder of the professional vocal ensemble, Recordare, with whom he has performed extensively across festivals in the UK, and holds permanent positions as the musical director of the Thames Philharmonic Choir, the English Baroque Choir and North Herts Guild of Singers. Harry has also collaborated with some of the UK’s finest orchestras and period ensembles including the Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, the Orion Orchestra, Endelienta Baroque, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, and conducts his own orchestra, the Beaufoy Sinfonia.
Equally in demand as workshop leader, Harry has led choral workshops for the Sixteen as part of their Choral Pilgrimage tour, the Cherubim Music Trust as well as for numerous choirs and festivals across the country. Harry was also a course director for the Choir of the Earth, an online choir with a global membership, leading them in their Requiems at Home and Festival of Music courses.
Harry read music at Downing College Cambridge and was a member of the choir of King’s College under Stephen Cleobury. He studied choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music with Patrick Russill and won the Academy Alumni Award for ‘a singularly distinguished studentship’. During his time at the Academy, Harry was also the Genesis Sixteen conducting scholar 2018-19, studying under Harry Christophers and Eamonn Dougan, and the Alec Robertson scholar at Westminster Cathedral. In 2024, Harry was awarded an Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music for continuing service to the music profession.
Monteconero
The Hotel Monteconero began life in the 14th century as a monastery, latterly occupied by the Camaldolites, an offshoot of the Benedictine order. In the first half of the 20th century, abandoned and ruinous, it was taken over by the Melappioni family and over several decades converted into a comfortable hotel and restaurant with a reputation for the traditional dishes of Le Marche. Its Romanesque church in the central courtyard, spectacular setting in a natural park on a mountain overlooking the Adriatic and distant views of the Apennines have made it a favourite Lacock venue for over two decades.
For practicalities, fees and enrolment, click the tab at the top of this page.
THE COURSE
The group will be around 35 singers, with five places each for two sopranos, two altos, tenor, baritone and bass. The plan is to meet at Hotel Monteconero for a 6pm rehearsal in the church on Sunday the 23rd of May 2027. Then from Monday to Friday there will be rehearsal sessions each morning and at the end of the afternoon. We have dinner together in the hotel. We will give a final concert in the church at the hotel in the evening of Friday the 28th of May. The course ends after breakfast on Saturday the 29th of May.
HOTEL MONTECONERO
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 €114 (for the whole course €684, about £587). There is a daily supplement of €24 for single occupancy. A room will be booked for you on registration; you pay the charges direct to the hotel. Ancona is the nearest airport; Ryanair fly there from Stansted, and Lufthansa from Munich, with connecting flights from many other airports. The hotel will send a minibus taxi to meet the Ryanair flight on Sunday the 23rd of May and we will arrange the sharing of taxis for other arrivals. The nearest railway station is Ancona.
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 paid in two parts: a deposit of £370 or the equivalent in euros on registration and €400 on or before arrival at Monteconero. 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 payment for a booklet containing all the music, which will be sent to you in advance but not travel; meals and accommodation are paid separately direct to the hotel.
