What a weekend! This year’s Renaissance Music Weekend brought together singers from across the UK and beyond for three inspiring days of music-making in our biggest and most rewarding Renaissance Music Weekend yet. The weekend followed a full programme of rehearsals, performances and a special morning talk that culminated in a public concert and Choral Evensong.
Our first two days were based at the beautiful St Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico, where participants quickly settled into the rhythm of the weekend. Alongside the focused rehearsals exploring an exciting programme of Renaissance repertoire, opportunities for participants to sing in small consorts during rehearsals, there was plenty of time for fun. Icebreaker warm-ups sparked lively debates over the really important questions: dogs or cats? Red or white wine? Byrd or Palestrina?
Of course, no singing course would be complete without generous tea breaks. Between the rehearsals, participants enjoyed plenty of tea and coffee, an impressive quantity of biscuits, but perhaps most importantly, time to get to know one another. With singers brought together from Poland, Sweden, America and across the globe, these breaks provided a chance for everyone to mix and connect, bonding over a shared love for early music and discovering common ground beyond it.
Saturday evening’s concert was a tremendous success, attracting a wonderfully supportive audience. The carefully chosen programme showcased participants’ hard work over the two days, and covered a myriad of musical styles both sacred and secular from English and Italian composers. A special set from The Gesualdo Six marked the halfway point of the concert, giving participants the chance to put down their scores and enjoy the concert from the other side of the stage.
Sunday began with a talk from Joseph Wicks exploring The Modern Early Music Ensemble: The Story of The Gesualdo Six. Participants were treated to some wonderfully nostalgic photographs of the group in its earliest days around 2014, before hearing about the ensemble’s journey from its formation and early ambitions, through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, to its current international success and future aspirations. The session concluded with an engaging Q&A, offering everyone the chance to hear directly from the singers about life in one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles.
The afternoon moved to St James’s Church Sussex Gardens, with the participants preparing for Evensong. The resulting service was a fitting conclusion to the weekend, and the moving singing reflected the three days of dedication and hard work.
A successful weekend called for a celebratory drinks reception – the perfect opportunity for participants, The Gesualdo Six, and the wider team to celebrate everything that had been achieved together.
A huge thank you goes to every participant, member of staff and supporter who helped make this year’s Renaissance Music Weekend such a success. Your enthusiasm, generosity and musicianship all went into making this event bigger and better than ever before.
Concert Programme
William Byrd – Sing joyfully
Thomas Tallis – O nata lux
G.P. da Palestrina – Super flumina babylonis
Raffaella Aleotti – Audivi vocem
William Byrd – Prevent us, O Lord
William Mundy – A new commandment
Jacques Arcadelt – Il bianco e dolce cigno
Ah Robyn, gentil Robyn – William Cornysh
Johannes Prioris – Consommo la vita mia
Evensong Repertoire
Thomas Tallis – Te lucis ante terminum
Hymn – As now the sun’s declining rays (St Peter’s tune) REH Henrietta Moran – O Lord, support us
William Smith – Responses
Psalm 75 (plainchant)
Thomas Tallis – Dorian Evening Service
Thomas Tallis – In manus tuas
Hymn – Sun of my Soul, my Saviour dear REH 352
To find out more about how you can help make future projects like this possible, visit our Support Us page to discover more about our Charity and how you can become a Friend.