Phase two

Workshop on Historical Improvisation

 

SChulich School of Music, McGill University - 15-18 may 2014

Improvised Counterpoint


1500-1700:

Con la mente e con le mani



Directed by William Porter, Peter Schubert, and Massimiliano Guido


The focus of this workshop is the extemporaneous addition of melodic lines to a given line. Called  contrappunto fugato in the Renaissance, it becomes an important element in seventeenth-century keyboard thoroughbass realization. This improvised skill, adding lines to a given chant, hymn tune, or figured bass, often led to artfully composed pieces. Although this practice has traditionally been considered highly intellectual and complex, recent scholarly work has demonstrated that, with training and memorization, any reasonably skilled musician of the past was able to master this task. Knowing about composers’ background as choirboys gives us a better understanding of the repertoire.


Participants will be selected to include singers, keyboardists, wind and string players. There will be general classes focusing on vocal repertoire and sung improvisation, the training common to all Renaissance choirboys. Morning lectures will also provide tools for analysis and historical background. Breakout sessions for coaching in small groups (of like instruments) will take place in the afternoon. Practice rooms will be available at the Schulich School of Music. The workshops will be led by McGill professors William Porter and Peter Schubert and Massimiliano Guido, Catherine Motuz, and Rona Nadler.


Sponsored by the Schulich School of Music, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Istituto per la Musica of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.




               Go to the Detailed Program



Application deadline: April 14, 2014


To apply  to be an active participant click the Email Me button

and

Indicate     

  1.    your instrument (or voice range),

  2.    whether you have studied counterpoint,

  3.    whether you have studied figured bass.


(Prerequisites for professor Porter’s classes are counterpoint and figured bass proficiency)


Fee: $40 (includes lectures, vocal repertoire classes, class materials, breakout sessions, admission to the concert, coffe breaks and dinners) to be paid at the registration desk on May 15.

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