AEM Online

Recently, Eric Haas has published an absolute bounty of newly adapted and composed solo repertoire for all sizes of recorders — an awesome service to the recorder world. Now, he turns his attention to duets, with two volumes (so far!) of music from the 13th to 21st centuries for two alto recorders. We’ll sample the repertoire in these treasure troves, from the oldest to the newest: Machaut! Oswald! Handel!! Rossini! Haas himself! I’ll play my 440 alto on one part, you supply the other. Some duets also work with tenor on one part. Music will be provided, you do not need to purchase the books prior to the class. Pitch = 440
Open to: recorders
Level: intermediate and up

Explore Lupo's melodic, rhythmic and charming Fantasias with Martha Bishop. The pieces are for two trebles and tenor or for two trebles and bass, so if you can double tenor and bass you are in luck! However workable substitute parts will be available if you only play tenor or bass. The Fantasia-Airs bear the designation of violin as well as treble viol, although the range is not high.

Playing un-barred music makes the phrases clearer, eliminating the tyranny of the barline, likely as Lupo would have conceived it. To my knowledge the Fantasias are not available without barlines except for the collection I have put together for my students who love playing barless music!

Tuning will be A = 415 and the class level will be upper intermediate-advanced. Lupo's rhythms can be very tricky--Bring your Brain!

Pitch = 415
Open to: viols
Level: upper intermediate/advanced

In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, we'll enjoy the lush English consort music from the time of the other Elizabeth, whose long reign produced some of our most beloved Renaissance music.

Pitch = 440
Open to: recorders, and all instruments
Levels: intermediate and up

Playing Music from the iPad - Save the Earth and Your Eyes! This class is geared toward those who want to play music from their iPad but have been a little nervous about trying it out, but all who are curious are welcome.  If you have some experience already and want to learn more tricks and share yours, you are welcome! You’ll need the ForScore app. We’ll also talk about using a foot pedal - highly recommended for instrumentalists!

Open to: all

Exploring the GAMUT - An introductory workshop on historical solmisation, part 2 with Tabea Schwartz
Current teaching practice shows the great benefit of historical tools for music education. Among these, solmisation in hexachords with the aid of the Guidonian hand has proved its worth both in use with beginners and in the context of professional engagement with early music. Based on the methodology of syllable singing, music can be learned by ear or read from historical notation at all levels. The solmisation toolbox can add to our understanding of music and music education throughout the centuries. It may even function as a key to unlock certain skills concerning the inner conception and the memorisation of music or improvisation and is especially useful in the context of Renaissance repertory.

This is a the second part of an introduction into the wide world of solmisation. Newcomers are welcome and a review/basic introduction will be provided at the beginning of the class. With the aid of Mr. Gumpelzhaimer and his canon-based teaching materials from around 1600, we will take a practical approach in an attempt to integrate solmisation as a supplement in our everyday performance and teaching practice.

Tabea Schwartz (Basel) is a recorder player and has also specialised in playing bowed instruments from the early modern era. Her artistic work is driven by her enthusiasm for historical tonal/modal languages, which she seeks to combine with direct expression as a musician. Her debut album "The Parensi Manuscript" (PanClassics, 2020)

Vincenzo Ruffo's Capricci in musica a tre voci (Milan, 1564) with Rainer Beckmann Vincenzo Ruffo (1510–1587) was one of the most versatile North-Italian composers of the 16th century. Published in 1564, Capricci in musica a tre voci is considered the first collection of instrumental works using the title ‘ Capriccio’ (Italian for ‘whim’, ‘fancy’).

Grove Music Online states that capriccios "do not signify a specific musical technique or structure, but rather a general disposition towards the exceptional, the whimsical, the fantastic and the apparently arbitrary." Ruffo's Capricci are characterized by a strong rhythmic interest.

The pieces to be explored in this class include two capriccios based on well-known madrigals, two works making use of popular dance tunes of the time, as well as two imitative ricercari with imaginative titles that correspond to their inventive and varied musical character.

The class is geared to intermediate and advanced recorder players. Singers and other instrumentalists are welcome. Easier parts for the more demanding pieces will be provided.

Pitch = 440
Open to: recorders
Level: intermediate and up

The music of Guillaume Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) offers a wonderful opportunity to study the style, forms, and musical notation used in the ars nova in France. In particular, the manuscripts containing Machaut’s compositions are true works of art, carefully compiled - some possibly under direct supervision of the composer himself - and beautifully illuminated.

The second of two sessions on Machaut will feature movements from the Messe de Nostre Dame, which is the first complete polyphonic mass cycle composed in the history of European music, alongside a selection of his secular compositions..

The upcoming online notation sessions in 2022/2023 focus on music of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, including an exploration of ars nova mensural notation, an introduction to the notation of the Italian trecento, and a look at the merging of these two distinct practices and musical styles at the turn of the fifteenth century. Prerequisite is the introductory class to mensural notation, or equivalent experience. (If you are not sure, please contact Annette: Click here to show mail address).

Time for trio sonatas! with Na'ama Lion, flute, and Sarah Freiberg, cello
There is a lot to choose from, Na’ama and Sarah will lead a workshop together, talking about the role of the bass line and exploring the literature. We will have a piece by Dornel, a piece by Telemann and for a challenge, a piece by Leclair. Lots of playing! Open to Baroque flute players and continuo players.

Pitch = 415
Open to: flute players and continuo players
Level: intermediate/advanced

Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque & Folky songs and tunes about magic, silkies, banshees, ghosts, shape-shifters, and other mysteries of the season, as well as a couple of laments for iconic Renaissance composers (in 5-6 parts), written by their colleagues or students. Open for voices and instruments, all levels.

Pitch = 440
Open to: all voices and instruments
Level: all

MONOPHONY - chants, songs and dances from Western Europe, Ottoman Empire, Armenia, North Africa and the Balkan region
Explore the building blocks and performance practices of melody driven classical and traditional music. Enjoy the beauty and flexibility of the single line - the power or ONE!

Pitch - 440
Open to all instruments
Level: intermediate to advanced