The repertoire is drawn from the larger-scale works – for five to eight voices – of the greatest composers of Renaissance Spain.
Cristóbal de Morales ~ Ave Maria
Tomás Luis de Victoria ~ Ave Maria, Super flumina Babylonis, Ave regina caelorum, Missa Ave regina caelorum
Francisco Guerrero ~ Ave Maria, Ave virgo sanctissima
Alonso Lobo ~ Ave Maria, Versa est in luctum, Ave Regina caelorum
Juan de Esquivel ~ In paradisum
Rory McCleery writes: “I’m hugely excited about my first visit to the storied Monteconero, where we’ll be bathing not only in the Italian sunshine but also the warm glow of some of the finest Spanish Renaissance polyphony. This is a repertoire for which Andrew and I have a great affection, and I’ve selected gems from three Sevillian masters, with Marian antiphons and plangent motets of mourning by turns more fragrant and more tart than the most magnificent Seville orange. And as always, a web of historical and musical connexions link our chosen works, connexions which will be gradually revealed over the course of the week!”
Since his Lacock debut in the Corsham Lamentations course in 2022, Rory McCleery has become a regular course director. He began his musical training as a chorister at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, subsequently reading music at Oxford, where he was both Organ and Domus Academic scholar at St Peter’s College before completing an MSt in musicology with distinction at The Queen’s College.
He is the founder and artistic director of The Marian Consort and has conducted the ensemble in concert across the UK, Europe and North America. Under his direction, The Marian Consort has recorded extensively and become renowned internationally for its compelling interpretations of a wide range of repertoire, particularly the music of the Renaissance and early Baroque, and works by contemporary British composers, and has been nominated for a Gramophone Award.
He has led workshop sessions, study days and singing courses across the UK, Germany, Spain and the USA, working with choirs of all ages and sizes in repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. A vocal advocate for the music of the Renaissance to all audiences, Rory has written articles for both specialist academic publications and broadsheet newspapers, and appears regularly on BBC Radio 3.
Rory is also active as a countertenor, performing at venues including the NOSPR in Katowice, Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, the Concertgebouw Bruges, and the Royal Chapel of the Palace of Versailles. He has appeared as a soloist for broadcasts on ARTE, Radio France, BBC Radio 3 and German, Italian and Polish national radio, and in concert and recording with The Monteverdi Choir, La Nuova Musica, The Dunedin Consort, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The Berkeley Ensemble among others. Rory also has a particular affinity for new music: he features on The Night With’s award-winning album release, and recently premiered a major new work by Graham Fitkin for countertenor soloist, orchestra and chorus.
Rory is a passionate believer in the importance of music education and singing for young people and is co-founder with his wife, harpist Rachel Wick, of Dunster Festival in West Somerset.
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.
THE COURSE
The group will be around 36 singers. The plan is to meet at Hotel Monteconero for a 6pm rehearsal on Sunday the 8th of 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 the 13th of June. The course ends after breakfast on Saturday the 14th of 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 €104 (for the whole course €624, about £516). 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 8th of 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 £335 or the equivalent in euros on registration and €350 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. To apply for a place on this course just fill in the application form below and press ‘send application’.
