Workshop Program
The Amherst Early Music Workshop offers an outstanding program of classes in Medeival, Renaissance, and Baroque music. Begun as a recorder workshop in the 1960's, the Workshop offers classes in almost all early music instruments, from the shawm to the harpsichord, as well as voice and dance. Classes are taught by an international faculty of some of the finest teachers in the field (bios available on our website). Faculty members listed for week-long Intensive Programs and Special Projects also teach in the Workshop Program.Our classes are inclusive, and range from small, one-on-a-part Renaissance and Baroque ensembles to large, mixed vocal and instrumental groups. Whether you are a relative newcomer to the recorder, a seasoned amateur viol player, or an aspiring young singer, there is a place for you at the Amherst Early Music Workshop. No audition is required.
Early morning classes are organized by instrument families: recorder, flute, viol, brass*, Renaissance reeds, harp**, lute*, harpsichord, voice, and dance*. Master classes in voice, harpsichord, violin*, viol, Baroque flute*, Baroque oboe*, Baroque bassoon*, and Baroque cello* are also offered. Some master classes include both Workshop and Baroque Academy students.
In the late morning the All-Workshop Collegium gathers together all interested singers and instrumentalists for large group rehearsals leading to Saturday evening performances.
Afternoon classes include Renaissance recorder consorts, viol consorts, cornet and sackbut ensembles, shawm band, Baroque oboe band, mixed ensembles, early notation, Baroque ensembles, topic classes, rehearsals for special projects, recorder master class, and more.
A special series of classes on Renaissance theory, notation, and pedagogy has been developed by Valerie Horst, and will be offered during the second week. These classes will enrich students' experience of Renaissance music by providing a context for how music was taught.
AEM's Rogers Recorder Consort, a wonderful matched set of Breukink instruments, will be available to Workshop students for one class each week.
At least fifteen harpsichords will be available for use in class and for after-hours rehearsals and impromtu playing sessions.
All classes will be at a=440, unless stated. Viol-only classes will be at a=415.
Workshop student concerts featuring music prepared in class are scheduled on Saturday, July 14 and July 21, in the afternoon.
Week One: July 8-15
Baroque Oboe and Bassoon*
Players of the Baroque oboe and bassoon are invited to take part in the Baroque Academy master classes with Washington McClain, oboe; and Michael McCraw, bassoon. There will also be opportunities for small Baroque ensembles in the afternoons, where students will be coached in chamber music.
Players of the Baroque oboe and bassoon are invited to take part in the Baroque Academy master classes with Washington McClain, oboe; and Michael McCraw, bassoon. There will also be opportunities for small Baroque ensembles in the afternoons, where students will be coached in chamber music.
Brass description.Lute Society of America Seminar*
Amherst Early Music is partnering with the Lute Society of America to offer an in-depth week-long solo and ensemble lute experience. Lute players will have private lessons and classes organized by Phil Rukavina representing the Lute Society of America. The faculty will include Nigel North, and Venere Lute Quartet members Douglas Freundlich and Phillip Rukavina who are both known for teaching the lute ensemble class at the LSA Summer Seminars. Pull out your Italian pieces for solo lute (or any others you may have) and bring 'em along - we'll supply the rest. The lute ensemble will also take part in the opera production of La Calisto. Any type of lute is just fine. You won't need to read figures in basso continuo to take part in the opera performance. All the music will be offered both in figured bass format and in French tablature versions for all!
The LSA's 2007 Seminar East Page
Amherst Early Music is partnering with the Lute Society of America to offer an in-depth week-long solo and ensemble lute experience. Lute players will have private lessons and classes organized by Phil Rukavina representing the Lute Society of America. The faculty will include Nigel North, and Venere Lute Quartet members Douglas Freundlich and Phillip Rukavina who are both known for teaching the lute ensemble class at the LSA Summer Seminars. Pull out your Italian pieces for solo lute (or any others you may have) and bring 'em along - we'll supply the rest. The lute ensemble will also take part in the opera production of La Calisto. Any type of lute is just fine. You won't need to read figures in basso continuo to take part in the opera performance. All the music will be offered both in figured bass format and in French tablature versions for all!The LSA's 2007 Seminar East Page
Week Two: July 15-22
Historical Harp Society Conference**
The Historical Harp Society joins us again this year, and offers harp classes during the second week of the Festival. The HHS Conference takes place on July 13-15. For more information, visit the HHS page.
The Historical Harp Society joins us again this year, and offers harp classes during the second week of the Festival. The HHS Conference takes place on July 13-15. For more information, visit the HHS page.Theater Project**: TRIOMPHI: A Poet’s Vision of Love and Truth
Petrarch’s Triumphs Expressed in Music of the Italian Renaissance
Francesco Petrarca (1304 – 1374), considered the father of humanism, was the most influential poet of the Italian Renaissance. His Trionfi or ‘Triumphs’ is a series of poems, in which the poet witnesses a succession of triumphal entries (trionfi) each featuring a force more powerful than the one before. In the first, Love enters on a grand chariot, and the poet becomes his captive, stricken at the sight of the lady Laura; she defeats Love in the triumph of Chastity which follows. She in turn succumbs to the entry of Death, but Fame triumphs over Death as the poet keeps her memory alive. The long march of years destroys all earthly things, however, and even Fame must admit defeat at the hands of Time; finally, the despairing poet beholds Time brought to a standstill by Eternity, as he turns to the Everlasting in hope of seeing Laura in the afterlife (God is Love).
The idea of the succession of trionfi or triumphs was a very popular theme in Italian art and literature of the 15th and 16th centuries. Our dramatic interpretation of Petrarch’s influential masterpiece is expressed through stylized gesture, sets and costumes inspired by iconography associated with the Trionfi. The music chosen for this production, comprising settings and recitations of portions of the poem and other related texts, runs the gamut of styles of the 1500s, from light-hearted frottole and carnival songs, through madrigals of Cipriano and Lassus, to Cavalieri and Monteverdi and the beginnings of monody.
Participants may sign up for chorus (Chorus of Lovers (low voices), Chorus of Chaste Ladies (high voices), and mixed chorus) and/or band (winds, viol, lute, harp, and percussion). Chorus will involve some memorization and movement. All participants must sign up for 4th period Theater Project. Singers may audition for the solo roles of Amore, Chastity, Fame and Time, as well as other solo roles, which will involve ornamenting in 16th-century style. To audition, please send a 10-minute CD recording, a resume of your studies and musical experience, and a recent photo to the Amherst Early Music office by April 15th. Soloists will meet 3rd period for additional rehearsal, but the schedule is flexible.
Performance Friday, July 20.
Petrarch’s Triumphs Expressed in Music of the Italian Renaissance
Francesco Petrarca (1304 – 1374), considered the father of humanism, was the most influential poet of the Italian Renaissance. His Trionfi or ‘Triumphs’ is a series of poems, in which the poet witnesses a succession of triumphal entries (trionfi) each featuring a force more powerful than the one before. In the first, Love enters on a grand chariot, and the poet becomes his captive, stricken at the sight of the lady Laura; she defeats Love in the triumph of Chastity which follows. She in turn succumbs to the entry of Death, but Fame triumphs over Death as the poet keeps her memory alive. The long march of years destroys all earthly things, however, and even Fame must admit defeat at the hands of Time; finally, the despairing poet beholds Time brought to a standstill by Eternity, as he turns to the Everlasting in hope of seeing Laura in the afterlife (God is Love).
The idea of the succession of trionfi or triumphs was a very popular theme in Italian art and literature of the 15th and 16th centuries. Our dramatic interpretation of Petrarch’s influential masterpiece is expressed through stylized gesture, sets and costumes inspired by iconography associated with the Trionfi. The music chosen for this production, comprising settings and recitations of portions of the poem and other related texts, runs the gamut of styles of the 1500s, from light-hearted frottole and carnival songs, through madrigals of Cipriano and Lassus, to Cavalieri and Monteverdi and the beginnings of monody.
Participants may sign up for chorus (Chorus of Lovers (low voices), Chorus of Chaste Ladies (high voices), and mixed chorus) and/or band (winds, viol, lute, harp, and percussion). Chorus will involve some memorization and movement. All participants must sign up for 4th period Theater Project. Singers may audition for the solo roles of Amore, Chastity, Fame and Time, as well as other solo roles, which will involve ornamenting in 16th-century style. To audition, please send a 10-minute CD recording, a resume of your studies and musical experience, and a recent photo to the Amherst Early Music office by April 15th. Soloists will meet 3rd period for additional rehearsal, but the schedule is flexible.
Performance Friday, July 20.
* Week One only
** Week Two only