VOICES & INSTRUMENTS
Trafford Hall, Chester
Reviewer: Pat Stewart
It was a long drive from the south coast to Chester, and I was tired when I arrived. Would this summer school be worth the journey? As I signed in at the desk I began to wonder- all around me were the sounds of summer school regulars greeting each other. As a newcomer, would I feel out of place – or worse, would all the best musical sessions be dominated (or even stitched up?) by cliques? I needn’t have worried – I was quickly made to feel welcome. I soon discovered that there were lots of newcomers this year, maybe because of the change of venue. This was North Western Early Music Forum’s famous “Ambleside” summer school – but the Ambleside centre had been closed and sold, so NWEMF had to find a new venue. The regulars seemed a little homesick for Ambleside – though even they admitted the new venue had a more convenient layout and better facilities. It was different for me, as I’d only considered coming because the summer school had moved 100 miles south.
Was it worth the journey? For me, definitely “yes”. I’d hoped I’d be able to combine playing the viol and singing – this worked well. I hoped for a chance to try something new; to my delight lute tutor Martin Eastwell patiently helped some of us learn the rudiments of playing the lute or the renaissance guitar. (Confession – I’d been tempted into buying a renaissance guitar at the Greenwich exhibition a couple of years ago, but had never played it because I didn’t know how. No excuse now!) And I wanted to spend some time with smaller (tutored) groups of singers or mixed groups – I did. This last was very well organised by the tutors. As a newcomer I found this a lot less stressful than (as happens at some summer schools) being left to organise informal groups to fill copious “free sessions”……
The only real downside of the week for me was that there were only 6 viol players (rather than the usual dozen or so), with a very wide range of experience between us. But the tutors (Elizabeth Dodd and Andrew Fowler) dealt with this challenge both imaginatively and tactfully – and of course the smaller numbers did allow more intensive tuition. As a result we all had a rewarding week’s playing and learnt a lot. The small group mixed sessions were equally rewarding; I particularly treasure the hour or so being coached through Monteverdi madrigals one-to-a-part. Oh, and somehow the organisers also fitted in several choral sessions singing music by Victoria (of course!), Gabrielli, Byrd and others, “try an instrument” sessions, early dance (for those fitter than me) and even talks by some of the tutors on current research or specific composers or repertoire.
In retrospect it’s not surprising that the one thing I was a bit short of by the end of the week was sleep. I’d been warned by friends that the NWEMF week needed a lot of stamina if you wanted to get the most out of it – they were right! The singing at the 10pm “all comers” sessions (not compulsory!!) may not have been very refined, but it was a lot of fun. Though on the way home, as I stopped for a very necessary “power nap” in a service station car park, it did occur to me that perhaps singing madrigals at half past midnight was not the best preparation for a 250 mile drive….
Pat Stewart
First published in October 2011 Newsletter
