Music at Monteconero

EARLY MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA
Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla ~ Circumdederunt me and Versa est in luctum
Missa Ego flos campi and Joseph fili David
Lamentations of Jeremiah by Padilla and Manuel de Sumaya
works by the Peruvian/Bolivian composers
Juan de Araujo and Gutierre Fernández Hidalgo

Gabriel Crouch writes: When I first discovered the irresistible pleasure of consort singing as a nineteen-year-old, I would wander the book stacks of Cambridge’s University Library and revel in the overwhelming amount of 16th and 17th repertoire that I had never heard of. Anything that looked interesting I would write down for later reference, and in a few cases I’d copy passages out by hand in order to try them out with friends. This was the first time I encountered the name of the Mexican composer Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla – I noted down some titles and copied a page, but forgot about it after falling for other distractions. Fast forward twenty-five years, and the early music world is in the middle of a blossoming love affair with the music of Padilla and his New World contemporaries, seduced by the deliciously rich and gratifyingly singable polyphony of works like Circumdederunt me dolores, the thrilling grandeur of large scale works such as the double-choir masses (we will select movements from two of the best), the irresistible rhythms and folk-inspired melodies of a vast trove of non-liturgical (though often sacred) villancicos, and even works in the Inca and Aztec languages, Quechua and Nahuatl. For our week together in Monteconero we’re going to delve in to all those elements which make this music unique, vital, and an utter joy to sing.

Gabriel Crouch is Director of Choral Activities and Senior Lecturer in Music at Princeton University and made a very successful Lacock debut as director of Music at Monteconero in 2018. He began his musical career as a choirboy in Westminster Abbey and a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, after which he joined the Kings Singers in 1996. In the next eight years he made a dozen recordings and gave more than 900 performances in almost every major concert venue in the world. Special collaborative projects saw him working and performing with some of the world’s most respected musicians, including percussionist Evelyn Glennie, pianists Emanuel Ax and George Shearing, singer Barbara Hendricks and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. In 2008 he was appointed musical director of the British early music ensemble Gallicantus, with whom he has released four recordings to high critical acclaim, garnering multiple ‘Editor’s Choice’ awards in Gramophone and Early Music Review , and, for the 2012 release ‘The Word Unspoken’, a place on BBC Radio’s CD Review list of the top nine classical releases of the year. His most recent recording, of Lagrime di San Pietro by Orlando Lassus, was nominated for a Gramophone Award in 2014. When the academic calendar allows, Gabriel maintains parallel careers in singing and record production, crossing the Atlantic frequently to appear with such ensembles as Tenebrae and The Gabrieli Choir, and in the US, performing recitals of lutesongs with such acclaimed partners as Daniel Swenberg and Nigel North. As a producer his latest credits have included Winchester Cathedral Choir, The Gabrieli Consort and Tenebrae. His work as a singer, coach and musical director has led to his name appearing in the Times list of ‘Great British Hopes’.

This is a course for experienced and confident choral singers of all ages. You should be a good reader and be comfortable singing in a small section, have a blending voice with full dynamic range, be used to normal choral discipline and be able to respond quickly to direction – the aim being to combine professional pace of work with amateur enthusiasm. The atmosphere is relaxed and informal. All the music will be printed in a booklet and sent to you in good time before the course.

The course takes place at the Hotel Monteconero, just south of Ancona. It began life as a mediaeval monastery and still has a Romanesque church at its centre, where we rehearse and perform. Set on a mountaintop on the very edge on the Adriatic, it has breathtaking views up and down the coast and inland across to the Appenines.

THE COURSE
The plan is to meet at Hotel Monteconero for a 5pm rehearsal on Sunday 19 June. 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 24 June. The course ends after breakfast on Saturday 25 June.

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 €90 (for the whole course €540, about £465). There is a daily supplement of €20 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 to meet the Ryanair flight on Sunday 19 June and we will arrange the sharing of taxis for other arrivals. The nearest railway station is Ancona.

FEES AND ENROLMENT
The fee for the course is paid in two parts: a deposit of £245 or the equivalent in euros on registration and €300 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.