Upcoming Online Classes
April 11 & 12
Playing with Playford - Tina Chancey, viola da gamba
Playing with Playford – We've heard of John Playford’s English Dancing Master, but how about Apollo’s Banquet, the Division Violin, and Catch as Catch Can? Much of Playford's music is intended for amateur players in the tavern and at home. We'll take a look, play tunes from each, and talk about different ways to arrange and perform them.
Open to all instruments, level will be middle intermediate/advanced. Pitch: A=440 Hz
Flower Power - A Musical Bouquet for Springtime with Annette Bauer
As a celebration of spring time, this session explores compositions from the 14th-17th centuries that name or reference flowers. Among them the rose - often used as a symbol for the divine love of the virgin Mary, and by extension, of romantic love between humans - the lily - with strong historical ties to femininity, motherhood, and fertility, also associated with the French royal household as fleur-de-lis - and the honeysuckle - carrying meanings of affectionate, lasting bonds, and devoted love. Music by Machaut, Bedyngham, Playford, and Holborne, among others.
Open to: recorders, intermediate and up, other melody instruments welcome (sound files are created with 4-foot recorders, i.e. beware the octave!) Pitch: A = 440
Medieval Music Theory with Karen Cook
Four Wednesday sessions starting April 22
Four Wednesday Sessions: April 22, 29, May 6 and 13
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET
Folks who have studied or performed any kind of medieval repertory are likely at least a little familiar with some of its basic musical features, its sounds and styles. But how does it work – or, more appropriately, how did the medieval theorists living and breathing this music think that it worked?
We’ll dig into the theoretical underpinnings of medieval music, from the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, discussing a few of the biggest theoretical concerns of the day: pitch, consonance, intervals, rhythm, and mensuration. We’ll read through translated excerpts from a host of medieval theorists and explore the repertory that they themselves discuss alongside other contemporaneous musical works. Students are encouraged to bring their own questions and interests to the table, as well as any repertory or theorists they’d like to see explored if we’re able.
