Pierre de La Rue ~ Missa Ave sanctissima Maria, Pater de caelis Deus
Antoine de Févin ~ Agnus Dei from Missa O quam glorifica
Jean Mouton ~ Salva nos Domine, Nesciens mater,
Confitemini Domine, Benedicam Domine
Jean L’héritier ~ Surrexit pastor bonus
Jean Richafort ~ Veni electa mea
The brilliant school of Josquin des Prez and his Franco-Flemish followers has long been seen by scholars as central to the whole two centuries of renaissance polyphony. It is only recently that performing editions of much of the music have become available, allowing singers to explore the treasures for themselves. This course’s composers are all slightly younger friends and followers of the great master. Pierre de La Rue takes the normal four-part texture of the time and doubles the two outer parts, creating not only a wonderfully singable piece of music and a technical tour de force, but also the world’s first mass for six voices. We will produce a new edition for this course, set for treble, mean, alto, tenor, baritone and bass.
Patrick Craig is a countertenor and conductor. Since 2012 his regular Lacock courses, combining exploration of 16th and 17th century sacred music within its historical and cultural contexts, have been widely praised. 
He is a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral, a member of The Cardinall’s Musick and sang a thousand concerts around the world with the Tallis Scholars over a period of twenty years. He began conducting as organ scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and then spent two years studying singing at the Royal College of Music. He went on to found and direct Aurora Nova, the first all-female professional choir to lead Sunday worship at St Paul’s Cathedral. He led them on their first tour of USA, and also conducted the City of London Sinfonia in a series of orchestral Masses at St Paul’s. Other conducting opportunities followed including guest conducting The Cardinall’s Musick at the Brinkburn, Brighton, Lichfield and Aldeburgh Festivals. He is also the Director of Temenos chamber choir in Sevenoaks, with whom he has conducted Bach’s Magnificat and B minor Mass and Handel’s Dixit Dominus. In 2019 Patrick conducted his first Messiah in the Lichfield Festival, Biber’s 53-part Missa Salisburgensis in Thaxted, and made his conducting debut in Hong Kong.
The course
We will convene a basic six-voice choir: treble, mean, alto, tenor, baritone and bass, with six voices in each section. We will be based in the centre of Swanage, in the church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Hill, Swanage BH19 1HU, the ancient parish church of Swanage.
Built of the Purbeck stone for which the town and district are famous, it has seen Swanage grow from a small fishing hamlet to a sizeable town. Up to the early 19th Century, Swanage was a small fishing port. The arrival of the railway allowed it to develop as a seaside resort and it retains much of its Victorian character to this day.
The Town Hall dates from 1872 and the façade was taken from the Mercers’ Hall in Cheapside London. Swanage became known as ‘little London’ thanks to this and other ‘imports’ from London made by George Burt, a local businessman. Behind the Town Hall is a tiny lock-up of 1802, inscribed ‘For the Prevention of Vice and Immorality by the Friends of Religion and Good Order’. We will meet in time for a 5pm session on Monday the 13th of April. Then from Tuesday to Saturday our timetable will be:
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
We will arrange a supper for everyone together on the first and last evenings (not included in the fee for the course), but let the party split into smaller groups on the other four evenings. We will give a public performance in the church in the evening of Saturday the 18th of April.
Travel and accommodation
You arrange your own accommodation. Swanage has the usual range of places to stay: guest houses in the town and surrounding countryside, pubs, comfortable hotels and self-catering cottages and flats. In addition to the usual channels there is an official town guide at https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/areas-to-visit/swanage/. The Purbeck House Hotel is a large hotel near the church. You can book accommodation there at https://www.purbeckhousehotel.co.uk/. There is information about travel to Swanage by road, rail and sea at https://www.swanage.gov.uk/HowtogettoSwanage.aspx.
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 £660, payable in two parts: a deposit of £330 or the equivalent in euros on registration and a further £330 by the 1st of March. 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.
