The Fund is used to support students and residents of NW England and North Wales by helping finance them to take part in non NWEMF early music events.
Towards the end of 2024, the committee was approached with a request from a student for financial help from the Joan Weiss Educational Fund to attend a course in Basel. This is her report.
In the first full week of the new year, I travelled to Basel, Switzerland, in order to attend a 4-day course for cornetto and sackbut students at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, taught by Frithjof Smith and
Catherine Motuz. More than 30 cornett and sackbut students attended the course, with Mexico, Iceland, Poland, England, Japan, France, and Germany among the nationalities represented. Rehearsals and social events rapidly switched amongst a multitude of languages – bar numbers were called out in as many as five languages. The music was highly varied – I recall Gabrieli, Priuli, and Praetorius but we worked on more than 20 pieces in total – with emphasis on large polychoral works, for obvious logistical reasons. Particularly special was an extended evening session on Gabrieli’s Sonata XX á 22, where we also had a brief visit from Josué Mélendez.
Packed between the ensemble sessions, we also had three lectures, on the cornettino, meantone tuning, and ornamentation, as well as a series of masterclasses for current students of the Schola as well as visitors, all with organ accompaniment from Schola students. I performed dalla Casa’s passaggi on Crequillon’s Alix avoit aux dents le malerage, and received a great deal of helpful advice from Frithjof The course culminated on the Thursday with two sessions performing the music we had studied in Basel’s beautiful 13th Century Predigerkirche. The standard of music-making was extremely high throughout, and I personally learnt a great deal.
Natalie Summers
Published in February 2025 Newsletter
