A drawing of Convento do Carmo in Lisbon in 1745 by Guillaume-François-Laurent Debrie
Cardoso Requiem & other Portuguese composers
VOICES
Tutor: Rory Johnston
Location: St James’s Church, Didsbury
Reviewer: Laura Dias de Almeida
Cardoso Requiem & other Portuguese works, with Rory Johnston
I am so glad my friend Kirsten pointed out this workshop to us, because it proved to be one of the best I have attended thus far. It turned an unseasonably warm Saturday in February into a memorable experience, filled with fresh inspiration and motivation to sing even more music from the Early and Renaissance periods. It also put the North West Early Music Forum on my radar, who have more events of this type lined up, which I would be delighted to attend, were my time as a UK resident not coming to an end. I am sure these will be just as enjoyable, and I hope that more early music amateurs will come to lend their voices.
While my thanks go to the workshop organisers, my admiration goes out to Rory Johnston, who directed us during the day. It is mostly thanks to his unwavering energy and enthusiasm that I was able to get through a whole day of intensive singing practice. Or am I alone in finding this activity surprisingly strenuous? Perhaps because I’m not very good at pacing myself; I blame the beautiful music, which may render me somewhat over-enthusiastic.
Rory combines his talents as choir director and workshop facilitator with a solid knowledge of the repertoire, and I would have enjoyed listening to his explanation on the pieces’ historic and musical background more at length, perhaps in the form of mini-lectures, during break times. I also liked the way in which Rory kept going back and forth between pieces: we didn’t end up going through the Cardoso Requiem in order, for example, but went through the Kyrie and then looked at a piece by another composer before tackling the Gloria. This ensured that my attention stayed fresh, rather than being lulled into a false sense of security once the style of a specific piece had become somewhat familiar.
Being of Portuguese descent myself, I was particularly keen on discovering the pieces that were chosen for the day; these proved to be fascinatingly “other”, even compared with compositions of the same period in, say, Britain or Germany. How interesting that the term “Renaissance polyphony” should offer such a wealth of nuance and varied inspirations. The workshop was a perfect introduction to that particular area of the repertoire, in that it presented pieces by altogether five composers: in addition to Manuel Cardoso, there were scores by Filipe de Magalhães, Pedro de Cristo, Duarte Lobo and Estêvão Lopes Morago, himself a student of Magalhães’.
Here’s to hoping that my next home will also provide me with opportunities to share the love of Early Music with like-minded singers.
Laura Dias de Almeida
First published in April 2019 Newsletter
