Baroque Music Workshop
June 24-30, 2012

Master Class Details

MORNING MASTER CLASSES

Monday, June 25 - Friday, June 29, 9:00 - 12:00

Each instructor at Baroque Workshop runs morning master class in his or her own particular style. Read the descriptions below to discover the format and focus of the instrument or voice class you are interested in. Descriptions also contain information about repertoire to prepare before the workshop. Please bring extra copies for the instructor(s) and auditors.

In some cases the instructor has provided an e-mail address to which you may send your questions. If you do not see an e-mail address yet still have questions, write to baroqueworkshop@sfems.org.

Please note: Classes are for Baroque instruments (i.e. Baroque oboe, Baroque flute, etc.) at A = 415. If you are a modern instrumentalist interested in learning about Baroque style and instruments, please contact us at the above e-mail address for information on borrowing or renting a Baroque instrument. Violin/viola/cello players may play modern instruments tuned down to 415. If you have a baroque bow, bring it along.

VOICE

Rita Lilly - Vocal Master Class

This will be an exciting week exploring the vast vocal literature of Bach, with its challenges for and demands on the singer! All singers are expected to attend the daily morning master class, small chorus, and their afternoon assigned ensemble, as well as to take part in the Performance Project on Friday evening. Singers also have an opportunity to perform an aria with the orchestra on Wednesday's Concerto Evening.

Please plan to come to the workshop with at least two Bach arias to work on. In the interim, it would be great to hear one aria (preferably Bach) in person (day and time TBA) or, for those living out of town, a taped or CD submission sent to my address: 815 Seaview Dr., El Cerrito, CA 94530. This is not an audition, but an opportunity for me to hear your voice before the workshop.

RECORDER

Marion Verbruggen and Frances Blaker - Recorder Master Classes

Contact Frances Blaker at baroqueworkshop@sfems.org if you have any questions about repertoire, class format, auditions, etc., after reading below.

Pre-Class Warm-up
Frances Blaker will lead a pre-class technique warm-up at 8:30 am so that students can be ready to play their best in their 9:00 am morning classes. This is open to all recorder students, and attendance is encouraged. You will play better all day if you do your morning warm-up.
Morning Recorder Class
The works of J. S. Bach will be the focus of both recorder classes this year (see repertoire list below). However, you may play other German repertoire if you prefer.
The morning recorder class will be divided into Performance and Practical Applications sections. Marion Verbruggen will lead the Performance section in master class format, in which students perform prepared pieces from the repertoire list below. Continuo accompaniment will be provided. During the master class, students not performing at the moment observe, taking notes so as to apply lessons learned to their own performance. The highest standards of performance are encouraged (which means prepare ahead of time to the best of your ability, whatever your playing level). Performance in this section is by audition,* though all recorder students may observe the class.
Frances Blaker will lead the Practical Applications section. This is a more hands-on class in which students do a lot of playing. Topics addressed include special technique issues that arise in the prepared repertoire; questions of performance practice, interpretation, and performance that occur in the prepared repertoire; individual lessons. Individual lesson slots are primarily intended for those students not accepted to the Performance section, but if time permits other students may sign up for lessons.

* Auditions for recorder Master Class take place on Sunday afternoon, the first day of the workshop. These auditions are easygoing and friendly. Their purpose is to place all students in ensembles and to choose which students will be admitted to Marion 's master class. Bring a piece to play that you feel comfortable with? it does not have to be the same piece you want to play in class. We like to hear a bit of a fast movement and a bit of a slow movement. No accompaniment will be available, so expect to play your recorder part alone. If you feel very nervous about this process, you can make it easier by playing a duet with another student.
Repertoire List
Choose one or two pieces from this list to work on before the workshop. You will have time in class to work on at most two movements, which may be from the same or two different sonatas/solos. In the cases where just a composer name is given, you may pick any piece by that composer. If you want to prepare a piece not on the list, please let us know at baroqueworkshop@sfems.org.
If you need help choosing a piece to prepare, don't hesitate to contact Frances at the e-mail address above. Write something like "help with baroque repertoire" in the subject heading.

Sonatas with basso continuo
Bach flute sonatas transcribed for recorder:
Sonata in F (flute, original key E) major, BWV 1035
Sonata in g (flute, original key e) minor, BWV 1034
Or other Bach sonata or transcription from keyboard or other works.
Solo recorder without continuo
Teleman - Fantasias
Bach - Partita in c minor
C.P.E. Bach - Sonata in c minor

FLUTE

Kathleen Kraft - Baroque Flute Master Class

This year we would like to focus on the works of Bach: sonatas, solo partita, b minor suite, or, if you like, cantata parts. Let me know in advance which works you would like to work on. And, if you would like to work on some other repertoire, let me know that in advance as well.

The class will cover all aspects of technique (breathing, position, fingerings, and embouchure) as well as musical style and expression (phrasing, ornaments, rhetoric, and articulation). Each student will have opportunities to perform in the class.

The class has a supportive and friendly atmosphere with lots of lively group discussion. Traversi will be available for silver flute players who wish to try them. Please contact me in advance if you wish to use one. Feel free to call or email me with any questions at (707) 799-2018 or kkraft@sonic.net.

OBOE

Sand Dalton - Baroque Oboe Master Class

The oboe class this year will work on the wonderful legacy of cantata obbligatos that J.S. Bach has left for us. This will include pieces for both solo oboe and multiple oboes. If you have an oboe d'amore or oboe da caccia, please bring it, as we will work on obbligatos for these instruments, too. I will bring examples, but feel free to bring your own favorites.

I will also present my latest reed making ideas, and part of our class time will be spent making reeds under my supervision.

BASSOON

Anna Marsh - Baroque Bassoon Master Class

The bassoon master class will include performance, ensemble playing, improvisation and divisions, and reed making. Please prepare two pieces to play for class. We will dedicate much of this class to J.S. Bach chorales for multiple bassoons, Bach obbligato arias from cantatas ("Quia Fecit" from Magnificat and others,) the CPE Bach and JS Bach solo flute works, and the cello suites played on bassoon.

VIOLIN and VIOLA

Kati Kyme - Baroque Violin (and Viola) Master Class

Kati Kyme, Baroque Violin (and Viola) Master Class We're in for the greatest treat of all, the soul-soothing, mind-expanding, heart-breakingly beautiful music of J.S. Bach. We'll study the solo Sonatas and Partitas, the trio sonatas including the "Musical Offering" and some of the great solo violin obbligato movements from the cantatas. Can you imagine a musical exploration richer or more satisfying?!

ORCHESTRA

Kati Kyme - Orchestra

It is exhilarating this year to add chorus and orchestra projects to our week's fun. We'll learn how the text in Bach's cantatas influences our musical approach and discover how singers help us both 'melodify' and articulate our phrases.

We've chosen two particularly wonderful and festive cantatas to learn. "Wachet Auf, " in all its E-flat Major bumptious glory, is extraordinary for violinists as it includes one of the rare violino piccolo obbligato movements. This gem is so profound that it rivals the violin solo "Erbarme Dich" from the St. Matthew Passion. The famous chorale will be the most delicious tune ever stuck in our heads, and the duet with its sunny oboe solo will brings smiles to us all.

Cantata 80, "Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott," is composed in a different style. The first movement has the chorus sections in unison throughout with their orchestral counterpart sections, heightening our sensitivity to all the wonderfully expressive things singers do. The duet for soprano and bass includes violins 1 and 2 plus violas in unison sixteenth notes for the whole piece, a D Major romp as joyous as can be! The alto and tenor duet features obbligato parts for oboe da caccia and violin, which are amazingly in canon almost entirely while still seeming utterly simple and sweet.

VIOLA DA GAMBA

Mary Springfels - Viola da Gamba Master Class

The gamba class will be "All Bach". We will work together on sonatas, viol obbligati from the cantatas and passions, and continuo parts every viol player should know.

CELLO

William Skeen - Baroque Cello Master Class

The Baroque cello class will, naturally, focus on the works of Bach this year. His Suites for Solo Cello and Sonatas for Viola da Gamba are central to our repertoire. We will explore ways to make sense of these quirky and densely composed compositions, pulling them apart harmonically and rhythmically, then piecing them carefully back together.

Please prepare a Suite or Gamba Sonata of your choice in addition to any other solo repertoire of your choosing. If time permits, we will also work on chamber music for multiple cellos.

Students are expected to play something each day in cello class.

HARPSICHORD

Peter Sykes - Harpsichord Master Class

Johann Sebastian Bach was, as the world knows, a master organist and harpsichordist and a peerless composer of music for those instruments. He was also a life-long teacher of music and, inspiringly, a life-long student of music. His experience of the music of Vivaldi and Couperin changed and shaped his own approach to the keyboard in ways that transformed our appreciation of its possibilities forever. Both as a master craftsman and as a sublime artist, his music for the harpsichord (and clavichord!) continues to teach everyone who listens to or plays it, at whatever level of accomplishment. Our keyboard workshop will be wide-ranging, taking in all of his works and extrapolating out to their source of inspiration, their place in the repertoire, and the myriad issues of interpretation that continually serve as a wellspring for inspiration for every keyboard player.

Last updated 01/31/2012.

Baroque Music Workshop June 24-30, 2012