Spring Singing Retreat Repertoire
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This Singing Retreat falls within the season of Lent, and for our Friday Compline and Saturday Evensong we will reflect that, with reflective music by William Byrd (Miserere mei, Deus) and Henry Purcell (Hear my prayer). On Sunday we celebrate Mothering Sunday (also known as Refreshment Sunday, when those on their Lenten fast may have a day’s break); and we will take the opportunity to perform Rachmaninov’s much-loved hymn to the Virgin Mary – Bogorodiste Devo. There will also be settings of the evensong canticles by Pelham Humfrey (a brilliant but short-lived contemporary of Purcell) and Charles Wood.
Over the course of the weekend we will have the opportunity to work on a core repertoire of sacred works suitable for our daily Evensong and Compline services. In addition, we will be selecting works for smaller consorts from the madrigal, part-song and close harmony repertories for more informal music-making sessions.
The course will also include a talk on Pepys and Music by Dr Jane Hughes, Pepys Librarian at Magdalene College
Repertoire
[full PDF here for ipad users]
William Byrd Miserere mei, Deus
Pelham Humfrey Canticles in E minor
Charles Wood Canticles in E flat
Sung Grace for our Formal Dinner: Oculi omnium (Wood)
All music will be provided; but you might like to buy/bring your own copy of The Oxford Book of Tudor Anthems (compiled by Christopher Morris; Oxford University Press) and Madrigals and Partsongs (ed. Clifford Bartlett; Oxford University Press) which are widely used in our courses.
UK/US note values
If you’re wondering what a ‘crotchet’ is, there’s a useful chart here!
Online warm-up
Don’t worry if you’re feeling a little rusty – try Edward’s “dusting off the cobwebs” video. You could also practice singing along with a Youtube video by one of the Cambridge choirs.
Enjoy!