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Music of Saints & Sinners
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Class Descriptions

FIRST PERIOD TECHNIQUE TOPICS

Recorder Technique or The Art of Instrument Handling: The better you know your instrument and how to handle it, the more musical satisfaction you will get from your playing. The skills required to handle your instrument well are breathing, blowing, fingering, and tonguing. This class will cover the basics in these areas and give you material to take home and use to continue your progress. These skills, combined with your knowledge of fingerings and music reading, will bring your playing to a new level.
Fleet Fingers Fly Faster! Exercises, etudes, and musical excerpts to teach your fingers to be flexible, fast and accurate.

SECOND PERIOD TOPICS

Alleluia! Saintly and sinful rounds, canons and imitative music for SAT recorders. Novice to low intermediate recorders.
Madrigals of Arcadelt and Verdelot. These 16th century Franco-Flemish composers spent much of their professional life in Italy. We will explore their contribution to the development of the madrigal, one of the most expressive musical forms of their time. For intermediate recorder players.
Theatre, un-Masqued: consort music of the English masque. 5-part dances by Adson and others, from the 17th century court entertainments. Recorders and strings, intermediate and up (challenging top parts).
DuFay, sacred and secular. Recorders only, hi int & up.
German Baroque Polyphony: work in depth with one or two difficult and meaty pieces. Bach and Froberger are the composers of the day. Advanced, recorders only

THIRD PERIOD TOPICS

Terpsichorean delights: Invitation to the dance. Dance music of the sixteenth century--Susato, Attaingnant, Phalese. All instruments and percussion, low intermediate and up.
Villancicos and Ensaladas: miniature masterpieces of the Spanish Renaissance, sacred and secular, instrumental and vocal. Intermediate and up.
Articulation got you tongue-tied? Tidy up your t's and d's with 3-part sonatas by Johann Mattheson, clearly a saint because he described the recorder as having the sweetest sound he ever heard...
Frescobaldi: poised on the cusp of the Baroque. Canzonas and more. Recorders only, int. & up.
Sing and play the Odhecaton! Selected pieces from Petrucci¹s 1501 collection in their texted versions. For singers and instrumentalists, upper intermediate and up.
L'Amorosa Ero: beautiful madrigals by composers including Marenzio and Luzzaschi. From a 1588 collection of 18 madrigals with the same text - the lament of Hero on the death of her lover Leander. Recorders only, upper intermediate to advanced.

FOURTH PERIOD TOPICS

Madrigals, Chansons and More, Oh my! What were they all fa-la-la-ing about anyway? Find out with these seductive and sinful texts by Thomas Morley, Mogens Pedersøn, Clemens non papa, and more. Low intermediate and up; voices and viols welcome
Esther and Haman, the Saint (Saviour) and Sinner of Purim, in the Sephardic tradition. The holiday of Purim will just have passed. We will celebrate Esther, the saviour of the Persian Jews in their Exile, and her plea to the King Ahasueros (Ahaxverox) against the machinations of the wicked Haman in music. All instruments and singers, all levels.
"L'ordre de Saint Babouin" and other French saints and sinners: French chansons with texts from the ridiculous to the sublime. Recorders, strings and singers, intermediate and up.
Tudor Music: a choice selection of pieces from Tudor England (1480 - 1600). Sample the delights of chapel, court and theater. Recorders, strings, flutes, intermediate and up.
Holy Scheidt! Challenging canzonas by Samuel Scheidt. Advanced/upper intermediate only; recorders and viols.
Popular Song for Recorders: Paul Leenhouts "When Shall the Sun Shine" and arrangements of popular 20th century classics, including "Misty." Advanced recorders and viols.