Advent Concert 8 Dec

Bedrich Smetana

We continue our series of anniversary composers exploring the life and works of Bedrich Smetana, the composer from Bohemia who became an influential symbol of Czech nationalism. Discover his symphonic poems inspired by his homeland and his operas, including the charming comedy The Bartered Bride.

Dates & Times:

1pm – 2:30pm Tuesdays on Zoom

8, 15, 22 October

5, 12, 19, 26 November

3, 10 December

Fees & Booking: £108 (9 sessions @ £12 per class)

BACS:

Barclays

ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR

Sort Code: 20-49-81

Account: 00567256

or cheques payable to ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR (Please NOT payable to AHSMUSIC)

24 Oxborough, King’s Lynn, NORFOLK PE33 9PS

Bel Canto

Voice, voice and more voice! Immerse yourself into the astonishing vocal displays of the bel canto operas. With the focus on Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, the three composers mostly associated with the 19th-century florid singing school, discover their contemporary composers, the singers, the impresarios, the librettists, the opera theatres and the audiences that worshiped the most virtuosic music ever created for the stage.

This course will run for 3 terms: Michaelmas Term 2024, Spring Term 2025 and Summer Term 2025.

Booking is now open for:

Michaelmas Term 2024:

Dates & Times:

10:30 – 12 noon Wednesdays on Zoom

9, 16, 23 October

6, 13, 20, 27 November

4, 11 December

Fees & Booking: £108 (9 sessions @ £12 per class)

BACS:

Barclays

ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR

Sort Code: 20-49-81

Account: 00567256

or cheques payable to ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR (Please NOT payable to AHSMUSIC)

24 Oxborough, King’s Lynn, NORFOLK PE33 9PS

Fauré Mélodies

Marking the centenary of his death, a short 5-week Summer course exploring the exquisite marriage between Gabriel Fauré’s mélodies and the verse of such giants of French poetry as Charles Baudelaire and Paul Verlaine, among others.

Dates & Times:

10:30 – 12 noon Wednesdays on Zoom

14, 21, 28 August

4, 11 September

Fees & Booking: £60 (5 sessions @ £12 per class)

BACS:

Barclays

ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR

Sort Code: 20-49-81

Account: 00567256

or cheques payable to ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR (Please NOT payable to AHSMUSIC)

24 Oxborough, King’s Lynn, NORFOLK PE33 9PS

The Birth of English Opera

Explore the Jacobean masque and its influence in the creation of the first operas in English. Discover the disastrous effects of the civil war and the Protectorate in English stage music and its revival during the Restoration, including works by Blow and Purcell.

Tudor Music

A day exploring Renaissance English music at the centre of the Tudor court. Discover the composers that literally had to “change their tune” according to the religious and political vagaries of 16^th-century England. Enjoy great music ranging from intimate lute songs to grand 40-part choral pieces, Italian inspired madrigals to exquisite consort music.

Power & Glory: Music for Two Monarchs

Discover the music of the Spanish and English royal courts of Philip II and Elizabeth I during the time of the Armada.

Mozarab

a journey through the mysterious Mozarabic chant in Visigoth Spain

El Camino

Explore the music that accompanied the medieval Way of St James in Northern Spain, including the pilgrims’ songs in the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat and the 12th-century Codex Calixtinus with the first ever 3-part polyphonic piece.

Anton Bruckner

Organist, composer of nine symphonies, instrumental music and some of the most inspired choral music. His symphonies are described as “cathedrals in music”. Come and discover the wonderful music of one of the most influential Austrian Romantic composers.

It takes two!

In this online Opera Course we will explore some of the outstanding collaborations between composers and librettists. By focusing on some of the greatest operas and oratorios that resulted from the cooperation of Monteverdi with Striggio, Lully with Molière, Purcell with Dryden, Handel with Charles Jennens, Mozart with Da Ponte, Verdi with Boito and Strauss with Hofmannsthal, among others, we will be delving into the perennial question of what comes first: words or music?

Spring/Summer Online Day Courses

Four day courses on Zoom. These are all on a Saturday 10:30am to 2:30pm with 1 hour lunchbreak (12 noon to 1pm). Each session will be recorded, so if you lose connection or cannot attend, I can send you a video link with the lecture.

Saturday 28 January: The Seven Last Words of Christ. Come and explore different musical settings of this intensely moving sacred Easter text, including versions by Schütz, Haydn and César Franck, among others.
Saturday 25 February: Stabat Mater. The poignant prayer of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross has prompted some of the most expressive and emotive choral masterpieces. We will be listening to works by Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Haydn and Dvorak, among others.
Saturday 25 March: Leçons de ténèbres. The service of ténèbres has inspired some of the most exquisite music from Renaissance and Baroque composers. We will enjoy compositions by Gesualdo, Couperin and Delalande, among others.
Saturday 22 April: Magnificat. The beautiful canticle of the Virgin Mary is sung in the Office of Vespers of the Catholic rite. Come and explore the great polyphonic settings of the Magnificat, from Lassus to J S Bach and beyond.
Saturday 24 June: Handel’s Acis and Galatea. Somewhere between a cantata and an opera, this pastoral serenade by Handel has remained a favourite for Baroque music lovers. In this day-course we will look at this vocal setting of the Greek myth, in both its original Italian and English versions.

Fee: £25 per day course

Booking: BACS

Barclays

Name: ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR

Sort Code: 20-49-81

Account Number: 00567256

Please send cheque payable to ANDRES HERNANDEZ-SALAZAR (Please NOT payable to AHSMUSIC)

24 Oxborough

King’s Lynn

Norfolk

PE33 9PS

Fidelio, Beethoven’s one and only opera

He may have composed only one opera, but Fidelio is an all encompassing work which includes not only sublime and dramatic vocal music, but interestingly it is also a German Singspiel based on a French play that explores the Romantic humanist ideas of love, corruption, justice, equality and liberty.

The Oratorio

What is an Oratorio? A choral masterpiece, a religious drama, or is it simply an opera in disguise? During this new 3-term course we will explore the soundscape of this music form. Each term will focus on ten different oratorios, not in strictly chronological order but grouping them by themes: the Michaelmas Term will centre on Old Testament Oratorios, the Spring Term on Christian Oratorios, and the Summer Term on Secular Oratorios. In this vast repertoire we will listen to music from the baroque to the 21st century, from Carissimi to Walton, Handel and Mendelssohn to John Adams and Kaija Saariaho.

Franz von Suppé

The Croatian composer we didn’t know we loved! Explore the life and work of Split born composer Franz von Suppé. Once regarded as the godfather of Viennese operetta, now only a few of his ouvertures feature mainly in classical pop concerts. However, during his lifetime his 40 or so operettas bridged the gap between the satirical works of Offenbach and the musical romances of Lehár.

The Renaissance Revolution

During this we will explore the seismic revolution that shook the Western soundscape during the Renaissance: music printing and notation, new families of instruments, new musical styles and genres, lute songs and consort music, madrigals and the great choral masterpieces, as well as the dawn of opera!

Der Freischütz

Der Freischütz

2021 celebrates the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Carl Maria von Weber’s groundbreaking opera, Der Freischütz. Much admired by Wagner, and the first German Romantic opera, explore this fascinating piece and watch video extracts on this day-course, plus a link to a complete performance with English subtitles.

MUSIC in TIME: Viva VERDI!

Giuseppe Verdi’s operas have an uncanny ability to probe into our contemporary psyche.

Viva VERDI! Two terms exploring all 26 Verdi operas

Enjoy the best of Italian opera and lose yourself in a world of political intrigue, love and betrayal, with gypsies, wicked dukes, African princesses, hunchbacks, consumptive courtesans, troubadours, Egyptian pharaohs and more!

Sarasota Opera production of Aida–Photo by Rod Millington

This brand new course consists of 26 webinars discovering the entire operatic output of the pivotal figure of Italian romantic opera. From all the favourites of the world’s leading opera houses, Traviata, Rigoletto, Aida, to the more obscure ones, Aroldo, Jerusalem, Il corsaro, and including Verdi’s Shakespearean reworkings, Macbeth, Otello, Falstaff.

Sarasota Opera’s production of Jerusalem

The class will be on Zoom webinars every Wednesday morning, with optional time for questions and comments at the end. All sessions will be recorded in case you miss it on the day!

Times: Wednesdays 10.30am – 12 noon (plus optional Q&A at the end)

Heavenly Harmony: The Glory of the Mass

From the first polyphonic mass in the 14th century until the present day, composers of Western classical music have dedicated some of their greatest creative endeavours to the musical setting of the Mass. In this course we shall dedicate two weeks each to the different sections of the Ordinary of the Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus & Agnus Dei. Plus the last two weeks will be dedicated to the Requiem Mass.

History of Song

A three-term course exploring the development of secular art-song in Western classical music from the Middle Ages to the present day. Each term we shall be covering two eras in music history: Medieval & Renaissance, Baroque & Classical, and Romantic & Modern. We shall focus on the song repertoire from the troubadours to contemporary music via cancioneros, lute songs, French mélodie, German Lied, and much more, from Europe and Russia to the Americas.

A Selected Bibliography:

Music, Words and Voice: A Reader. Edited by Martin Clayton

Music (Eyewitness Guides)

The Story of Music: From Antiquity to the Present. H F Ullmann

Dictionary of Early Music: From the Troubadours to Monteverdi

Source Readings in Music History: Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Oliver Strunk

Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Man and Music Series)

A History of Song. Edited by Denis Stevens

A Performer’s Guide to Music of the Classical Period. ABRSM

The Classical Style: Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart. Charles Rosen

A Performer’s Guide to Music of the Romantic Period (ABRSM)

The Romantic Generation by Charles Rosen