‘Apt for voices and viols‘ – Music from Jacobean England
VOICES & VIOLS
Tutor: Elizabeth Dodd
St Mary’s Church Hall, Sale, Manchester
Reviewer: Tom McLean
A workshop of voices and viols under the guidance of Elizabeth Dodd, now that really does sound like a day we would enjoy so we signed up. The letter detailing the plan for the day that arrived a few days before the event promised selections from Weelkes, Gibbons, Tomkins,
Ward and Wilbye. All very promising. Arriving at St Mary Magdalene church centre in the leafy Sale suburbs as per Kirsten’s detailed plan for the day, we were greeted with coffee and biscuits and a chorus of hellos from a real mixture of old friends and NWEMF stalwarts and faces new to us.
The participants for the day were 21 voices (6S, 6A, 5T, 3B) and 5 (or 6) Viols ranging from treble to violone. The balance of numbers worked out very well and Elizabeth had identified a range of pieces to suit the numbers, which occasionally divided the sop or tenor lines, and viols suitable to join them.
Elizabeth Dodd, our tutor for the day, gently called us to order precipitating the usual flurry of musical sopranos whilst they decided who should sing first and second, and the basses shuffled chairs to find a way to see Elizabeth conducting around bass violone, a thing of beauty but of considerable bulk to look around. Then the moment I fear in any viol workshop whilst they tuned up! But to my delight they were very efficient about it reaching a delightful harmony in no time. Perhaps this was because the whole day was to be sung and played at a pitch of A415 which is the viols natural home. (I learned that this is simply a semitone down from the singers’ usual pitch but being blessed with imperfect pitch I am not bothered by this at all.)
So after a little light warm up to Tallis “God be in our head” we plunged into our first piece, Thomas Weelkes’ “Noel Adieu, thou courts delight”. After a couple of false starts whilst we reminded ourselves how to count minims, and watch the conductor, and remember where the repeats go and not be distracted by the gorgeous sound of viols, we got the hang of this. I am thoroughly reminded why I like singing with viols. There is a warmth and smoothness to their sound that adds a special dimension to the voices. However, the voices need to discipline their volume carefully otherwise even a few can drown out the viols.
Next up are John Wilbye’s pair of pieces “Downe in the valley” & “Hard destinies are love”. These pieces produced the closest thing to controversy we reached in the whole day. We started out singing though them at a sedate pace that would suit the superficial reading of the text as a lament to unrequited love. However, on reflection, several of the singers thought it might be a pastiche of the lascivious behaviours of the shepherdess and swain and that a much faster rendition might be appropriate. So we repeated at twice the pace. That called for a switch from counting the bars in 4 to counting in 2 which precipitated several false starts but once we had sorted that out it flew through most enjoyably (though I did begin to suspect that some of the Elizabethan language was best left untranslated)
Orlando Gibbons’ “What is our life” prompted an explanation from one of our number that the text had been written by Walter Raleigh whilst awaiting his execution, having fallen out of favour with the court following the death of Elizabeth. This brings a melancholy perspective to the piece (but then we early music singers love a melancholy perspective).
The melancholy was then lifted by John Ward’s “Mount up my soul” and Tomkins’ “Sing Unto God” which are both more cheerful exhortations and provided opportunities for the viols to provide the introductions allowing us singers to relax and concentrate on the richness of their sound.
And finally to an unexpected bonus piece for day as reward for progressing so efficiently through all the repertoire, we played and sang Tomkins’ “Music divine” which seemed familiar to many of us.
So after a break for tea and cakes, a very necessary accompaniment to any such workshop, we ran through most of the pieces with great satisfaction.
So many thanks to Elizabeth Dodd for finding us such an appropriate repertoire for the voices and instruments available and guiding us through so expertly. I am left with a strong desire to sing more with viols (and lutes and recorders for that matter).
Tom McLean
First published in November 2024 Newsletter
