Singing in Skipton

A German Trinity

Ludwig Senfl ~ Veni Sancte Spiritus
Orlandus Lassus ~ Veni Creator Spiritus
Jacob Handl ~ Pater noster
Hans Leo Hassler ~ Pater noster
Samuel Scheidt ~ Vater unser
Johann Hermann Schein ~ Verbum caro factum est,
Israelsbrünnein / Cymbalum Sionum (excerpts)
Heinrich Schütz ~ O bone, o dulcis, o benigne Jesu
Johann Michael Bach ~ Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe
Johann Christoph Bach ~ Der Gerechte, Fürchte dich nicht

Justin Doyle writes: “The trinity of names Schein, Scheidt and Schütz might be known to many singers, but what of the world in which they worked? These were composers who took music in the courts of Germany on the journey from prima prattica to seconda prattica – as did the Gabrielis, Monteverdi, Cavalli et al. in Venice (Schütz himself studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice). This programme is inspired by the Holy Trinity, the dedication of our beautiful Skipton church, dating from around 1300. In this course I will bring to my home town in Yorkshire a fascinating range of German repertoire, from the Latin polyphony of Lassus, Senfl and Handl (or Gallus in its latinized form) to motets by two members of the Bach family: little-known now, perhaps, but absolutely stunning music.”

Born in 1975 in Lancaster, England, Justin Doyle’s musical education began as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, where he sang on the influential recording “Treasures of the Spanish Renaissance”, and as a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. He was a prize-winner in the prestigious Cadaqués Orchestra Conducting Competition in 2006 in Barcelona and was awarded the Conductor Fellowship with the BBC Singers, with whom he continues to collaborate until today. He has been a regular Lacock conductor since 2013.
In 2017 he became chief conductor of the Berlin RIAS Kammerchor, opening his tenure with a critically acclaimed performances of the Monteverdi Vespers at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and a subsequent tour in Japan.
Alongside a deep love of Renaissance polyphony, he is also highly involved in contemporary music. In Berlin he has initiated a series of major commissioned works, which the ensemble presents as world premieres each season. In March 2022 he conducted Jüri Reinvere’s “Die Vertreibung des Ismae” in the Philharmonie Berlin. Furthermore, he and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin collaborate on works by George Frideric Handel on a regular basis.
The first three recordings with RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, “Hymn to Cecilia” by Benjamin Britten, “Missa Cellensis” by Joseph Haydn, and “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel, were celebrated by the audience and the critics. Forthcoming engagements lead Doyle to work with the Choir of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the MDR-Rundfunkchor, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Swedish Radio Choir and the Coro Sinfônico do Estado de São Paulo.
Justin Doyle works with orchestras such as the Orchestra of Opera North, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Ensemble Resonanz and Finnish Baroque Orchestra on a regular basis. He is in demand as an opera conductor as well, especially for works by Mozart, Haydn and Britten, with productions in recent seasons for Opera North, Buxton Festival and Garsington Opera. He commits passionately to music from other cultures and to musical education. Since 2018 he has been Professor for Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, and he is Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Finnish Sibelius Academy.

Skipton
Skipton became a prosperous market town in the Middle Ages, trading sheep and woollen goods: its name derives from the Old English sceap (sheep) and tun (town or village). Skipton Castle, dating from the 12^th century, is one of the most complete and best preserved mediaeval castles in England. A flourishing market held on the town’s cobbled streets on four days of the week was established by a charter of 1204. In the 19^th century, Skipton emerged as a small mill town connected to major cities by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Britain’s longest inland waterway.

During the 20^th century Skipton’s economy shifted to tourism, aided by its historic architecture and proximity to the Yorkshire Dales, classic walking country with spectacular landforms such as Malham Cove, immortalized in Turner’s 1816 painting. The network of canals, rivers, steam railways, independent high street shops and magical countryside ensure that the town regularly tops the UK’s ‘best place to live’ lists.
The course will be held in the town’s magnificent Grade I Holy Trinity church, next to the castle.

First built in wood in the 12^th century, the present building dates back to about 1300 and has been declared a World Heritage site. Among its features are a mediaeval fresco representing the Hand of Death, ornate wooden carving on the 1533 rood screen, the roof of dark oak with coloured heraldic emblems, the font with its Jacobean cover and the triple sedilia in the chancel.

The course
Our plan will be to meet for a 5pm session on Sunday the 21^st of May. 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 – 17.30 long break
17.30 – 19.30 third session

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’ll give a public performance in the evening of Friday the 26^th of May.

Travel and accommodation
Skipton’s station has trains from Leeds, Bradford, Morecambe, Carlisle and all connexions beyond. The nearest airport to Skipton is Leeds Bradford (LBA) which is 16 miles away. Other nearby airports include Manchester (MAN, 43 miles), Liverpool (LPL, 55 miles), Newcastle (NCL, 76 miles) and Birmingham (BHX, 105 miles). The town’ official web site (https://www.welcometoskipton.com/business-category/stay-a-while/) offers ‘somewhere for every taste and every pocket’: from hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, self-catering, traditional canal boat to shepherd’s huts.

Fees and enrolment
The fee for the course is £580, paid in two parts: a deposit of £290 (or the equivalent in euros) on registration and a further £290 by the end 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 payment for the music booklet, which will be sent to you in advance, but not meals, travel or accommodation.