Thesaurus Musicus (1564)
Dominique Phinot ~ O sacrum convivium, Sancta Trinitas
Jacobus Clemens non Papa ~ Salva nos Christe Salvator
Nicolas Gombert ~ Lugebat David Absalon
Hieronymus Vinders ~ O mors inevitabilis
Jean Mouton ~ Verbum bonum et suave
Orlando Lassus ~ Decantabat populus
Jacobus Vaet ~O gloriosa domina
Jean Maillard ~ Gaudent in caelis
Philippe Verdelot ~ Inviolata
The musical anthology Thesaurus Musicus is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive collections of polyphonic motets printed during the 16th century. By compiling hundreds of disparate, high-quality works in a single publication, the publishers Johann vom Berg and Ulrich Neuberit allowed the finest music of the time to be widely distributed, studied, and performed across Europe. It was published in Nuremberg in 1564 and dedicated to Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria. For us it serves as a Who’s Who of mid-16th-century Franco-Flemish polyphony. It preserved older masterpieces while championing contemporary composers. Prominent names featured in the Thesaurus Musicus include Josquin des Prez, Nicolas Gombert, Adrian Willaert, Ludwig Senfl, Jacobus Vaet. who is heavily represented, and Orlando Lassus, who was featured as a brilliant, rising star. Our selection is a small sample of the pieces for seven and eight voices.
Rory Wainwright Johnston is a conductor and composer from Bradford-on-Avon, near Bath and has been a Lacock director since 2022. His musical education was fostered at Bath Abbey as head chorister and then tenor under the direction of Peter King. He read music at the University of Manchester, specialising in conducting and composition. During this time he studied piano with Richard Casey, and conducting with Mark Heron (RNCM) and Justin Doyle (RIAS Kammerchor). He continued his compositional studies in Manchester with Camden Reeves and Nina Whiteman. Rory then studied conducting with Justin Doyle at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin.
Rory is currently the assistant conductor of the Groot Omroepkoor (Netherlands Radio Choir), as well as the consortium vocal berlin; he works as a regular deputy conductor for choirs in Berlin, such as the Philharmonischer Chor Berlin, Berliner Vokalkreis. Since 2022, Rory has developed a professional relationship with RIAS Kammerchor, working as a deputy and assistant conductor for Justin Doyle, including on their last two New Year Concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie and their subsequent recordings (2022 – Handel, Judas Maccabeaus; 2023 – Bach, Magnificat in Eflat).
As a composer, his music has been performed and broadcast by a variety of ensembles and artists from across the UK and Germany, including RIAS Kammerchor, ORA Singers, BCMG, Kantos Chamber Choir, Huddersfield Choral Society, ATLAS Vokalensemble and echo.
Rory is passionate about composition education and to that end has led the ‘Young Composers Apprentice Scheme’ run by ORA Singers across the UK as part of their Young Composer Competition, in which 40 students receive eight sessions of lessons, information, and feedback about choral music, its history and how to write it.
Woodbridge
Woodbridge is a gem of a small town on the river Deben in Suffolk, largely unsung until it was named as ‘the happiest place to live in the UK’ in a recent survey.
It has kept the bustle of a market and a port, and borders the Suffolk Coast and Heaths area of outstanding natural beauty. Its 18th century tide mill was an early harnessing of lunar power and the spectacular Anglo-Saxon ship burial site at Sutton Hoo is on the far bank of the river. The course will be held in St Mary’s, the town’s main church in the market square, a fine flint building dating from the early 15th century.
For practicalities, fees and enrolment, click the tab at the top of this page.
The course
Most of the repertoire is in eight parts; there will be places for 36 singers, making four or five on each line. We will meet for an opening 5pm session on Sunday the 4th of July 2027. 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 first and last evenings (not included in the fee for the course), but let the party split into smaller groups on the other evenings. We will give a public performance in the church in the evening of Friday the 9th of July.
Travel and accommodation
Woodbridge is on Ordnance Survey Explorer Map No. 212 (Woodbridge and Saxmundham). It is easily accessible by road and rail. Woodbridge Station is on the East Suffolk Line with hourly service from Lowestoft and Ipswich, with connexions to London’s Liverpool Street. Train information can be found at www.nationalrail.co.uk or call 08457 484950. Bus information: www.traveline.info or call 0871 200 2233.
You arrange your own accommodation. In addition to the usually channels, these sites list many possibilities: https://www.visitsuffolk.com/destination/woodbridge,
https://www.woodbridgeriversidetrust.org/woodbridge-and-the-deben. The place to stay closest to the course venue would be the Bull Inn at https://www.bullinnwoodbridge.co.uk.
Fees and enrolment
The fee for the course is £700, paid in two parts: a deposit of £350 (or the equivalent in euros) on registration and a further £350 by the end of May. 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.
To apply for a place on this course just fill in the application form below and press ‘send application’.
