1516 Vittore Carpacci, The Lion of St Mark (detail)
Lions of St Mark’s
VOICES & INSTRUMENTS
Tutor: Jamie Savan
Location: Didsbury Baptist Church
Reviewer: Janet Evans
Lions of St Mark’s, Jamie Savan, Didsbury, 28th November.
‘Cacophony’ would be an appropriate word to describe our first attempt to perform Giovanni Gabrieli’s 12-part setting of Deus, Deus meus, respice in me. However, our tutor rose to the challenge and about an hour later our final attempt was more like music, enabling us to appreciate what Gabrieli wrote.
The attendees at this workshop had come from a wide area – some making long journeys – and included a fine body of sackbuts and cornetti, plus a sprinkling of other loud wind and recorders. Together with the singers there were enough of us to perform the 12-part pieces with two or three people (mostly an instrument and one or two voices) to a part.
The second piece of the day was a 10-part setting by Gioseffo Guami (1542-1611) of In die resurrectionis. Guami’s music, both vocal and instrumental, is the subject of a recent CD (La Luchesina) released by His Majesty’s Sagbutts & Cornetts and directed by Jamie Savan. This little-known piece proved more approachable than the Gabrieli (or maybe we had begun to gel as a group?) and we were able to enjoy it from the start. Its only failing was its brevity.
In the afternoon we tackled two more pieces, the first of which was Giovanni Battista Grillo’s 1618 Magnificat Octavi Toni a 12. Grillo succeeded Gabrieli as organist at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in 1612 and remained there until his death in 1622. The jazzy rhythms of this Magnificat proved challenging, but well worth the effort.
Gabrieli’s music finished the day – his 10-part setting of Quis est iste qui venit de Edom. The opening words can be translated as “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra?” (Isaiah 63:1a). The words of the second part, from Psalm 24, are more familiar in Handel’s setting: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates … and the King of glory shall come in”. Gabrieli’s setting was a lively work with which to end the day.
It was a short day and started badly, but things could (and did) only get better, so we finished the day feeling we had enjoyed it and studied some wonderful music under a well-qualified and sympathetic tutor.
Janet Evans
First published in February 2016 Newsletter
