EarlyMusicNews.Org

The Harpsichord: solo and accompaniment instrument
Differences and similarities between solo repertoire and basso continuo practice in 18th Century harpsichord music

Coach: Marco Vitale ...

This was mentioned o­n some discussion lists where a giant "harpsichord" stage was constructed for the production of "La Dirindina". The selection is from YouTube. Enjoy.

Musici Infaticabili, or the Indefatigable Musicians, lived up to their name when, after weeks of preparation and two elimination rounds, they took First Prize (£800) in the Finals of the Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition at Fenton House held o­n 29th May. The members of the group, Marta Goncalves (flute), Claire Bracher (viola da gamba) and Erik Dippenaar (harpsichord), impressed the jury of early music specialists with their sensitive and stylish rendition of an 18th century French suite. Audiences will be able to hear this gifted young trio perform again at a celebratory Gala Concert to be held at 8pm o­n Thursday August 14th. The Competition was the first of its kind to be held before an audience in this 17th century National Trust House. Finals Night featured the five groups that the jury had previously selected from a field of 12 in the first round and all used an 18th century English harpsichord from the Benton Fletcher Collection for their auditions. The Competition’s Audience Prize (£200) was awarded following a ballot, to the charismatic musicians of The Little Baroque Company (Helen Kruger, violin; Kinga Gábor Jáni-Szabó, cello; Laura Tivendale, harpsichord). ...

This course will study in depth the repertory of some of the forty-four Latin Motets contained in the Bamberg Codex (Bamberg, Staatl. Libr. Ed. IV. 6), a parchment paper manuscript of probable Parisian compilation, which goes back to the last quarter of the 13th Century. Beyond the richness of its musical material, the Codex is particularly interesting from the point of view of its notation. This notation is particularly homogeneous due to the fact that it was entrusted to a single scrivener, and thus has all the characteristics of the so-called modal notation but with a series of revisions which make it easier to decipher and which allow, today, a direct reading without particular difficulties
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"Come be a part of o­ne of the world's most exciting celebrations of early music! Experience 16th-century Florentine art at its most spectacular with the American premiere of Alessandro Striggio's Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno for 40 and 60 voices, the largest known contrapuntal choral work in Western music.  ...

Friday, 30th May 2008, at 8pm in The Great Hall of Farnham Castle

The Revolutionary Drawing Room
Adrian Butterfield, Violin
Jean Paterson, Violin
Rachel Stott, Viola
Ruth Alford, Cello

Haydn Quartet in F minor Op.20 No.5
Haydn Quartet in C major Op.74 No.1
Mendelssohn Quartet in E flat major Op.12

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
HARPSICHORD WORKSHOP XVIII
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
JULY 27-AUGUST 1, 2008

LEGACIES: LANDOWSKA, O'KEEFFE
CENTENARY: HUGO DISTLER
REPERTORY STUDIES: BACH, SCARLATTI, DUPHLY

JANE CLARK and STEPHEN DODGSON (London)
LINDA RANEY and PAUL WOLFE (Santa Fe): Repertoire and Lectures
GLENN SPRING (Denver): Commissioned Harpsichord Work
LARRY PALMER (Dallas): Director and Master Classes

Join us in "the Land of Enchantment" for stimulating musical experiences, including the American premiere of Stephen Dodgson's Carillon Concertante (2 harpsichords and strings), the world premiere of Glenn Spring's harpsichord work based o­n photographs of Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Wolfe's reminiscences of lessons with Wanda Landowska, and Linda Raney's look at some special organ repertoire.

We are proud to announce you the tenth edition of the International Gregorian Festival of Watou. It will be held from 20 May until 24 May 2009. This is the Ascension weekend. ...

Red Priest is o­ne of the major success stories o­n the international early music scene today. ...

"The Western Early Keyboard Association (WEKA) will present a o­ne-day conference (10 am - 4:30 pm) as part of the Berkeley Festival and Exhibition o­n June 8, 2008, at  MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, Berkeley, California.

Registration (including lunch) is free for WEKA members and $45  (including lunch) for non-WEKA members; for seniors over 65 the fee is $35 and for students $25. 2008 ­ 2009 membership dues are due June 1. Dues are: regular - $45, senior over 65 - $35, and students $25. WEKA dues may be sent directly to Sandy Petty at MusicSources. When sending membership dues, please indicate if you will attend the June 8 conference. ...

The BURG FÜRSTENECK Academy (Hesse, Germany) is starting a wordwide unique vocational training for musicians in medieval music. It will begin in October 2008 and will include 12 meetings of three days each within two years. Lecturers are Marc Lewon and Uri Smilansky. ...

"About politics and power in English early music!?

To what extent did music lend its voice to political and cultural ideas of its time? How did composers react to the permanently changing relations between art, politics and society? Or, how did political and religious rulers manage to involve composers in the organised spreading of their ideals?

The 2008 edition of the Festival of Flanders - Bruges, Musica Antiqua - from now o­n MAfestival - focuses o­n some of the political aspects of early music in England. What was it that incited a prominent member of the Royal Chapel like William Byrd to compose almost 200 works in Latin, including several catholic masses, at a time when the Reformation of Queen Elisabeth did forbid it? What was the hidden agenda of Thomas Morley when he composed his Oriana madrigals? 'Long live Elisabeth'? Or indeed 'au contraire'? How did John Blow succeed, at the dawn of the English opera, to insert his Venus & Adonis into the ideas of nation building? And what did Bach and Abel have in common with freemasonry? These and other political questions are to be found within the diversified offer of concerts the 45th edition of the festival is proposing. ...

In response to numerous requests for master-classes by its renowned guest performers, Grandezze & Meraviglie, the XIth Festival of Music from the Estense Collection, launches a series of residential Early Music courses in the ideal period location of the Corte Ospitale di Rubiera. In partnership with Rubiera City Council and the Province of Reggio Emilia, as well as with its traditional sponsors, theFestival intends to create an opportunity to reflect o­n performance practice in Italian music of the 17thand 18th century. This period is o­ne of the most creative and prolific in the history of music. ...

Musica Antica a Serrapetrona 2008
Early Music Summer Courses

• Organ & Harpsichord
• Baroque Cello
• Baroque Singing - NEW!
• Chamber Music,
• Basso Continuo ...
  
  

In conjunction with the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music 2008" -- Renaissance Day at Ambras Castle

Entertainers, stilt-walkers in fancy-dress and music for big and little Festwochen-Fans. Free entrance.

Visit Innsbruck Festival of Early Music website for more information. 

In conjunction with the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music 2008.

"Die Moral von der Geschicht" - the oratorio in the 17th Century René Jacobs and international music scholars In conversation with the audience.  Free entrance.

Visit Innsbruck Festival of Early Music website for more information.

The Age of Miracles
The 32nd Innsbruck Festival of Early Music 2008 focuses o­n Handel’s Belshazzar und further oratorio works.

The Old Testament, the text central to two world religions, relates of a mythical age when God intervened physically and by means of omens in human lives – the Age of Miracles. These biblical stories of revelation together with selected legends of the Saints furnished the Baroque period with ideal material for its preoccupation with the concept of pathos. Italy was the birthplace of a new, religious counterpart to opera which was then perfected in Rome: the oratorio. Three works based o­n biblical themes are at the centre of the 32nd Innsbruck Festival 2008 – two of them as staged productions. ...

"Graz (Austria), July 27 to August 2, 2008
This is the second International Academy for Early Music which will be organized by the Institute of Early Music and Performance Practice of the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Graz (KUG) this summer.

It will offer a broad selection of master courses, a variety of chamber music with various instruments and additional courses for professional musicians, students and highly advanced amateurs. All courses may also be attended passively. ...

"By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 21, 2008

For lovers of rare musical instruments, the Fiske Museum at the Claremont Colleges long has been an astonishing if somewhat mysterious collection.

Its 1,200 instruments from around the world include an 18th century Italian mandolin, unusual over-the-shoulder military brasses from the Civil War era, a gourd fiddle from Africa and a 9-foot-long temple trumpet from Tibet. ...

"Sunday 17th to Friday 22nd August at Marnaves (81), S-W France
A summer course in baroque period string-playing with the international violinist MARGARET FAULTLESS with Lucy Robinson (viola da gamba) and Andrew Wilson-Dickson (harpsichord and organ)

This course is offered for the first time, in the delightful surroundings of a small French country village and making use of its 12th-century church and a newly refurbished salle de musique with excellent acoustics. ...