The Renaissance Society is proud to announce:
S A E C U L U M 2 0 0 0 - a festival of Early Music.
June 3rd and 4th 2000 at Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames, England.
A weekend of concerts and workshops in the idyllic surroundings of Sir
Christopher Wren's Fawley Court on the bank of the River Thames - with
Gothic Voices, The York Waits, Charivari Agrčable, Robert Hollingworth (I
Fagiolini) and Dr Mary Berry (Schola Gregoriana).
Saeculum has been created to encourage participation as well as
concert-going: to promote amateur and professional music-making, with
workshops, talks and concerts given by the finest exponents of early music
in Europe. Whether you are a keen amateur performer or just appreciate great
music performed to the highest standards, Saeculum will become an important
date in your musical calendar.
Visit Saeculum for more details at http://www.saeculum.dircon.co.uk
<http://www.saeculum.dircon.co.uk>
- o O o -
The second Saeculum Festival will be held on June 3rd and 4th, 2000 at
Fawley Court, near Henley-on-Thames. Set in picturesque grounds overlooking
the Thames, Christopher Wren's Fawley Court is the perfect setting for a
weekend of music-making.
The Saeculum Festival - launched last year to great acclaim - combines the
enthusiasm and skills of professional and amateur musicians in a programme
of workshops, concerts and talks. This year we have another rich array of
talent: concerts given by Gothic Voices, The York Waits, Charivari Agréable
and The Renaissance Singers, as well as workshops for singers and
instrumentalists, led by Mary Berry, Robert Hollingworth, Edward Wickham and
the members of Charivari Agréable.
So whether you are happiest performing or listening, Saeculum will have
plenty to offer you.
There is accommodation available at Fawley Court for the night of June 3rd
(which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis).
IN SUMMARY
We will be running three different workshops, stretching over both days, the
weekend concluding with a concert on Sunday afternoon. These will be open to
all singers and to players of viols and soft wind instruments.
There will be opportunities for private vocal or instrumental tuition during
the weekend.
On Saturday evening, you are invited to an evening of music and dining,
beginning with a concert of music from 16th century Rome given by The
Renaissance Singers of London - and continuing with a banquet of Renaissance
food and drink.
The concerts continue on Sunday with a full programme of activities.
Gothic Voices - leading lights in the revival of vocal music from the Middle
Ages - will present two programmes. Christopher Page and Members of Gothic
Voices will join Edward Wickham for a question and answer session in the
course of the afternoon.
Charivari Agrčable will be giving two performances in the splendid
surroundings of the Red Room.
The York Waits will be performing three programmes of music from Renaissance
Germany and the Low Countries on the Terrace.
Compline - a heady mix of plainchant and polyphony for the feast of the
Ascension - will be sung in the Church by workshop participants.
WORKSHOPS
This year Saeculum will be running three different workshops, stretching
over both days, the weekend concluding with a concert on Sunday afternoon.
The focal point of the Choral Workshops will be a reconstruction of Compline
for the Feast of the Ascension (June 1st) and will include seasonal hymns
and a setting of the great Salve Regina antiphon. Choral participants can
opt for polyphony or plainchant workshops, or, if desired, experience a
little of both.
WORKSHOPS FOR INSTRUMENTALISTS
Workshops for instrumentalists with Charivari Agréable. Lynda Sayce, Susanne
Heinrich and Kah-Ming Ng - collectively known as Charivari Agrčable - invite
viol and softwind players to an Instrumental Workshop which will focus on
techniques and interpretation in the consort repertory. The workshop is open
to players of all abilities, since participants will be divided into
different groups.
**There will be an opportunity for private tuition if required and Kah-Ming
Ng is happy to give one-to-one tuition on continuo realisation.
WORKSHOPS FOR SINGERS with Robert Hollingworth and Mary Berry
Robert Hollingworth is well known as a choral tutor as well as for his work
with the vocal consort I Fagiolini. Robert will tutor the polyphony workshop
at Saeculum, exploring some of the music designed to celebrate the feast of
the Ascension.
Dr Mary Berry is an internationally acclaimed expert on plainchant from a
wide variety of traditions, and directs Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge with
whom she has toured and recorded extensively. Dr Berry will tutor the
plainchant workshop at Saeculum and introduce participants to the
contemplative beauty of Compline.
Workshops will commence at 11 am (coffee and registration from 10.30 am) on
Saturday and continue throughout the day. Further sessions will take place
on the Sunday morning, with a final rendition of Compline - for choral
participants - on Sunday afternoon.
VOCAL COACHING*
**One-to-one Vocal Coaching will be offered by Ghislaine Morgan, a singing
teacher with particular experience with choral singers. Ghislaine will be at
Fawley throughout the weekend, and is happy to work with singers of all
abilities.
** The fees for private sessions are not included in the overall ticket
price and should be settled with the individual tutor. Those who would like
to have a chance to sing under both choral conductors should indicate this
on the booking form.
CONCERTS
Saturday June 3rd: Renaissance Concert and Banquet
Our evening entertainment begins with a concert of sacred and not-so-sacred
music from 16th century Rome given by The Renaissance Singers of London -
and continues with a banquet of Renaissance food and drink.
Sunday, June 4th
Buy a day-pass for the Sunday events and enjoy a range of concerts both
inside and outside. All the ensembles will be performing more than once, so
you can choose when you would like to hear them. Lunch and tea will be
available and you can enjoy a picnic in the extensive grounds. Concerts will
begin at mid-day.
PROGRAMME
Gothic Voices - leading lights in the revival of vocal music from the
Middle Ages - will present two programmes: Music from the Crusades,
including music by Hildegard of Bingen and music associated with Richard the
Lion heart; and Sacred and Profane, an assortment of 14th and 15th century
works from the Ars Nova to John Dunstaple.
Christopher Page and Members of Gothic Voices will join Edward Wickham for a
question and answer session in the course of the afternoon.
The York Waits - the lively instrumental band which takes its name from the
street musicians of York in the Middle Ages and Renaissance - will be
performing three programmes of music from Renaissance Germany and the Low
Countries on the Terrace.
Charivari Agrčable are noted for the ravishing sonorities and textures they
create with their historical combination of lutes, viols and keyboards. The
ensemble will be giving two performances in the splendid surroundings of the
Red Room.
Compline - a heady mix of plainchant and polyphony for the feast of the
Ascension - will be sung in the Church by workshop participants.
ABOUT SAECULUM
Saeculum derives its name from the Latin word meaning "the age". At the turn
of the millennium, we are more aware than ever of our cultural past: the
music, art and literature of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the
Baroque draw us because they are so distant, mysterious and exotic. These
were ages of intense spirituality but also of humanistic endeavour;
producing art of intense piety and passionate humanity. The word saeculum
reflects this variety: it is the word from which "secular" derives, yet in
the old Roman Catholic rite it is intoned in the final phrase of the Gloria
Patri: "saecula saeculorum" - "world without end". The art and music of
these ages have already proved their eternal appeal.
ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE SOCIETY
The Renaissance Society was founded in 1944 to promote the understanding and
appreciation of plainchant, Renaissance polyphony and other types of vocal
and instrumental music from the period. The founder was Michael Howard who
was later to achieve distinction as the Organist and Master of the
Choristers at Ely cathedral before holding other prestigious posts in the
musical world.
The Renaissance Singers was formed as the performing arm of the Society, and
apart from a period of silence in the 1980s has maintained an impressive
schedule of concerts. Many recordings have been made-the last in February
1998.
The success of the Singers is evidenced by the detailed and fascinating
archive dating from July 1944, but it has taken 55 years for a wider role
for the Society to emerge. Saeculum is the first major activity undertaken
by the Society other than the running of the Singers, and now means that at
last the original vision of the Society is fulfilled.
Visit Saeculum for more details at http://www.saeculum.dircon.co.uk
<http://www.saeculum.dircon.co.uk>
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