|
Home About SFEMS Membership Concerts and Venues Workshops Directory and Affiliates Newsletters Other early music sites Online ordering Contact us |
From Church to Chamber, From Throne to Theater:
A Royal Tour Through England's Musical Past
A music history course for adults in support of the SFEMS Music Discovery Workshop for Children
Daily classes June 22-26 from 9:15-11:15 am
$55 full course; $15 per day
Crowden Center for Music in the Community
1475 Rose Street (at Sacramento), Berkeley, CA 94702
The course
This summer, SFEMS offers a voyage of discovery through highlights of several of the richest and most interesting centuries of English music from the Medieval through the Baroque eras. English music specialist John Prescott will lead this exploration June 22-26 at the Crowden Center for Music in Berkeley (1475 Rose Street at Sacramento) from 9:15 to 11:15 am. This interactive course is intended for curious adults who want to broaden their musical horizons and deepen their listening pleasure. A companion CD will be available for listening. Registration is available for the full course ($55) or for individual days ($15 each).To register, please print and fill out the Flyer/Registration form.
Questions? Contact Britt Ascher at brittascher@comcast.net or (925) 283-7134.
This course supports the Music Discovery Workshop, a day camp that introduces children to early music and Renaissance social history through music instruction and theater projects.
About English music
English music, like English culture generally, has absorbed influences from the rest of Europe and beyond and then synthesized them into something completely new.We will begin with the glories of English medieval church music. From the institution of England’s unique Sarum rite chant tradition, English sacred music had a distinctive if not separate history from that of the continent. In the middle of the sixteenth century, England experienced its greatest musical flowering ever under the musically sensitive and knowledgeable reign of Queen Elizabeth I. We will revel in the artistic explosion of all forms of music: secular and sacred; vocal and instrumental.
Even amidst the social, political and religious turmoil of the seventeenth century, English composers continued to create works of unparalleled beauty and originality. We will journey from the grandeur of court masques to the intimacy of viol consorts.
English baroque opera, though short lived, produced gems not only by Purcell but his contemporary John Blow and others. We will explore these masterpieces of native English language musical theater.
Finally we come to the late baroque and England’s greatest non-English composer G F Handel. Along the way, we will discuss the complex web of culture, politics, religion and the other arts which created the background for England’s composers. No musical experience is necessary for this class. Come with open ears and an open mind and share in the adventure.
Class schedule
| Day 1 June 22 |
Cathedral and monastery: English Medieval vocal music |
| Day 2 June 23 |
Music at the court of Elizabeth I: flowering of the English Renaissance |
| Day 3 June 24 |
From viol consort to street song: Instrumental secular music of the Elizabethans and beyond |
| Day 4 June 25 |
Henry Purcell and friends: the birth of English music drama |
| Day 5 June 26 |
G.F. Handel: England’s greatest musical foreigner |
About the instructor
JOHN PRESCOTT received his BA Magna cum Laude in Music from Carlton College (and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa) and his MA in Music from UC Berkeley. He has been the recipient of a number of academic honors, including the British Marshall Scholarship for two year’s study at St. John’s College, Cambridge, England. He also studied at Oxford University’s Worcester College.He has written extensively on the music of G. F. Handel and is completing his doctoral thesis on John Stanley, the 18th century blind organist, conductor, violinist, and impresario.
He has taught music courses at UC Berkeley and music theory at the Crowden Center (Berkeley, CA) and is currently the musicologist for the San Francisco Elderhostel Arts and Humanities Program as well as the resident pre-concert lecturer for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
To register, please print and fill out the Flyer/Registration form.
Questions? Contact Britt Ascher at brittascher@comcast.net or (925) 283-7134.
Last updated 06/08/2009.
Home | About SFEMS | Concerts | Workshops | Directory | Affiliates | Newsletters | Other links
Online ordering: Concert tickets | Adult workshops | Music Discovery Workshop | Join SFEMS | Donate to SFEMS
Report website problems: SFEMSweb@sfems.org