Greetings everyone,
I hope this finds you well and energized by the returning light and longer days. Although Winter is not quite ready to release its hold, Spring is on the way and in the air. I’m happy to invite Peter Seibert back to the podium to lead the March hybrid meeting with his own arrangements of several works by the inimitable English composer William Byrd.
Here is what Peter has to say about the music and remember to be on the lookout for his splendid article about Byrd in the Spring edition of the American Recorder magazine.
“Recorder players familiar with the name of William Byrd probably know his music through works transcribed from viol repertory. We shall play one of these excellent works, Fantasia No. 1 à 4, at the March meeting. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Byrd’s death, and much of his reputation rests on his extensive choral writing. Two such works, Look down, O Lord and Ave verum Corpus, receive frequent performances by both secular choruses and church choirs. They are short, beautiful settings for worship; the first was for the Anglican Church and the latter for clandestine Roman Catholic services late in Byrd’s life. The five-part Laetentur coeli, on the other hand, is a longer work that features both extended melismatic writing as well as concise syllabic composition. While the fantasia shows Byrd to be a skilled musical craftsman, his choral music can be transcendent, as we will find out at the March meeting. Please note: because of textural considerations, we will not need low basses, so SATB only. See you soon, Peter.”
The link to the Zoom session and pdfs should have already appeared in your inboxes. I [Vicki] have the enormous pleasure and honor to be playing with the Ballet Fantastique in Eugene all of next week and will not be able to assign parts or attend the March meeting, but I am convinced that they will magically sort themselves.
Help setting up and putting chairs back is always appreciated, and please remember to let Laura Townsend (beginbaroque@gmail.com) know if you intend to play in the Backroom gang.
Have a lovely session and a wonderful month. I look forward to seeing you again for our April 14 playing session. Please note the corrected date of April 14. My plan is to play Telemann’s delightful Wassermusik, which will celebrate the 300th anniversary of its performance on April 6, 1723.
Port Townsend Early Music Workshop
We are working diligently on the website for the Port Townsend Early Music workshop and are aiming to have registration go live by March 15. We are so excited to be returning to the lovely campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and to having our remarkable faculty share their unique energy and expertise for this 40th anniversary year. SAVE the DATES! July 9 – 15, 2023.
While total immersion in a week-long residential workshop away from home is the most beneficial for learning and shared camaraderie, we understand that taking a full week off can be challenging for some families. This year we are implementing the opportunity to audit individual classes for those who can’t take the entire week off. Commuter participants can now choose between participating in individual classes in either the morning or afternoon as well as the full week. Full details will be on our website soon, so keep checking back!