Brighton Consort is pleased to present a number of singing workshops each year.

These are usually a one day event in Brighton or Lewes, East Sussex, focussing on a single composer, and directed by a well known figure in the Early Music world!

The following workshop is planned- under the auspices of the Brighton Early Music Festival- further details to follow

One singer who attended our workshop in Triora, Italy, wrote the following account for her Early Music Forum;

PASTIME WITH GOOD COMPANY

Whilst many people in Britain were agonising about whether or not to go and see Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, TVEMF stalwarts Sidney Ross and I, together with members of Brighton Consort and Southern EMF, were in Italy, doing Palm Sunday for real. The occasion was a weekend workshop from 2^nd to 5^th April that was held in Triora, a picturesque medieval village set high up among really stunning surroundings in the still snow-capped Ligurian Alps. This workshop was organised by Tallis Scholars Deborah Roberts and Andrew Carwood and was aimed at experienced singers with a particular love for old-fashioned liturgical music and practice. Sidney and I both qualify on this score, on account of a preference for pre-Baroque music.

Thus it was that a mixed bag of 5 sopranos, 5 altos, 2 in-betweenies, 5 tenors (two of us female), 1 baritone and 4 basses gathered on a Friday night in our hotel to explore our collective ability not just to sing through but to make music of some lovely repertoire from the sixteenth century, mostly but not exclusively from the pen of Tomas Luίs da Victoria (and comprising Pueri Hebraeorum; O vos omnes; Vere languores; O Domine Jesu Christe; a double choir Agnus Dei; a 4-part piece for men's voices, Tenebrae factae sunt; Domine non sum dignus; Caligaverunt oculi mei; a short set of Lamentations for Holy Saturday for the Third Reading; and an extract from the Improperia: Popule meus, quid fecit tibi.). Italy was represented by Anerio's Christus factus est, and England by Thomas Weelkes' stirring anthem, Hosanna to the Son of David. In addition, a small group of us, more familiar with Gregorian chant, formed a Schola cantorum to provide an authentically ecclesiastical opening and some plainsong interludes to pad out Crux fidelis, attributed to King John IV of Portugal .

The locals having been warned in advance, we processed through the narrow streets on Palm Sunday morning, singing the hymn Gloria laus, et honor tibi sit. The most memorable recollection is of Andrew Carwood walking backwards, one arm raised high in the manner of a tour guide leader, whilst attempting to hold together a choir that was largely hidden from a sight of him (and the dots) round dark medieval masonry bends; all this without stumbling or falling, and in the teeth of a wind that threatened to remove the written neums to another realm. (P)neumatic rendition, as one might say.  One participant, as a child of the Hebrews, was mightily relieved at not having to carry any olive branches while attempting to concentrate on producing the required degrees of stress on the horizontal epizemata and reduction in volume on the liquescents.  After this we performed most of the prepared music in an adjacent church, San Giovanni Battista, to an appreciative audience, many of whom were old enough to remember when this glorious sound was still considered the authentic voice of Holy Mother Church; sadly, this is in general no longer the case.

And naturally, this being rural Italy, some energetic quaffing of local brews, relaxed enjoyment of good food and conversation, striding the hills and medieval streets, and purchasing of regional staples such as olive oil, was engaged in to a degree by all present. Since one can count the experiment as a major success, Deborah Roberts hopes to make it something of a regular occurrence in future years. Any prospective applicants may wish to register this fact now for later reference.

Margaret Jackson-Roberts