Machaut and the Magic of the Medieval

Sat 08Feb2020

Workshop for all voices and instruments, ancient & modern at A=440

St Andrew’s parish hall

Marks Tey, Colchester, Essex CO6 1LW

10:00 - 17:00

£18 (£16 for EMF members)

The Eastern Early Music Forum is running a workshop on Medieval music. All instruments are invited, modern as well as ancient.

This workshop will offer an introduction to some of Machaut's most famous works, alongside a few less familiar numbers and a brief foray into the earlier Montpelier Manuscript where music from the previous generation provides us with some context. We'll cover the poetic song forms of virelais & rondeau, including the well known Douce dame jolie, and Ma fin est mon commencement. Where these are monophonic we'll look at approaches to building an arrangement with drones and countermelodies. We'll also take some time to get used to navigating the forms and relishing the harmonies in the polyphonic works, which can be startling at first to the modern ear but have a logic and richness that's worth pursuing. We'll also tackle the Hoquetus David, composed in one of Machaut's more backward looking moments and will compare it with an earlier hocket from the Montpellier manuscript and while we're there we'll take a look at one or two motets on the same tenor.

Tutor: Lizzie Gutteridge