Musicians from ‘Procession in honour of Our Lady of Sablon in Brussels’ an Ommegang by Denis van Alsloot
H Praetorius/Schutz/Bianci
VOICES & INSTRUMENTS
Tutor: Stephanie Muncey-Dyer
Location: St James’s Church, Didsbury
Reviewer: Susie Greenwood
Saturday November 13th 2021, the long awaited workshop, with Tutor Stephanie Muncey-Dyer, took place (COVID-19 restrictions had thwarted previous attempts). The Church of St James, Didsbury was our venue with suitable facilities ,a local pub and gardens and parks to explore in the lunch hour on a beautiful sunny day. Our thanks go to Bob Foster and NWEMF Committee members for organising the event.
Stephanie introduced us to music some/most of us had not known previously. The day was going to be challenging!!! Eleven “brass and loud winds” and twelve singers were arranged, socially distanced, in a large circle with Stephanie in the centre, pirouetting round, so as to be seen by all in turn. As far as possible each singer was seated near the instrument ‘blowing’ their part. 5 Sackbuts (very loud),1 cornett, 3 curtals and 2 recorders.
Stephanie, an experienced sackbut player, encouraged, cajoled and inspired the wind players to feel the music as enhancing the written text which singers (at times) abandoned in favour of La-la-la-ing to allow for more accurate pitch and rhythm (we didn’t admit this to Stephanie until the end of the day.)
We started with a seasonal piece by Philipp de Monte 1521-1603, Stellam quam viderunt magi in 7 parts. The Magi follow the star to see the Christ child. On seeing him they rejoice with great joy. Choir 1, 3 higher voices sang the theme, echoed, with variations, by Choir2, 4 lower voices, until the final 9 bars when all 23 of us finished (very loud) in full spate. What a tremendous sound.
But this was not how we reached the end ……………
Throughout the day Stephanie began looking at each of the 4 works with the final chord. We worked backwards learning each section until she was pleased with us. Then we sang through from the beginning. It worked!!
Maria Magdalena & altera Maria in 8 parts was the second work. A little further on in the Christian liturgical Calendar as the text was the Easter story .Mary discovered an empty tomb. The crucified Christ had risen on the 3rd day as prophesied. This piece by Adam Gumpelzhaimer (1559-1625) was a lovely work to rehearse and perform. We chose it as our “concert” piece to end the afternoon. Somehow it was easier to understand musically so enhancing our feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. Choir 2 initially echoed Choir 1 but as the work progressed the texture became fuller and richer, the 8 “voices” singing together. The text built up to the final “Alleluia “. You knew this was an important discovery Mary had made, to be celebrated by the Believers.
In Exultavit cor meum by Nicola Parma (1567-1643) the text from 1 Samuel was inviting the reader to “Rejoice In the Lord”. With tricky rhythms and time changes this piece was a real challenge for the players However Stephanie inspired them to respond to her ideas, to good effect, gaining the respect of the singers as they did so.
One more. Exultate Deo in adjutori nostro by Gregorio Zucchini (c1550–c1616). “Sing merrily and make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob” the text entreated us. This we did and found the piece more successful to learn. Perhaps by now we were benefitting from the previous hours of hard work????? The 2 choirs sang to each other with joyful, dancing rhythms.
Stephanie was well pleased with our sight reading abilities and our improved tuning as the day progressed. Her attention to detail paid off giving the instrumentalists the benefit of her knowledge. The wind players had travelled from far and near for which NWEMF members were most grateful.
If you shied away from attending this workshop you missed a treat.
Another wonderful day of Music Making.
Susie Greenwood December 2021
First published in February 2022 Newsletter
