Midlands Early Music Forum

A Musical Banquet - Schein's Banchetto Musicale - with Alison Kinder on 19th July 2025
2025-07-19 10:30 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Knowle Village Hall, St John’s Close, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0NN, United Kingdom
In this workshop for instruments we will cover three of the instrumental suites from Johann Hermann Schein’s Banchetto Musicale of 1617. It is suitable for recorders, strings, brass and reeds at pitch A=440. One keyboard continuo player would also be welcome. The workshop begins at 10.30 with refreshments from 10.00

The Composer Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630, the post later held by J S Bach. He was one of the first composers to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German music. Unlike his friend Heinrich Schütz, he did not live a long or happy life. His wife died in childbirth; four of his five children died in infancy; he died in Leipzig at age 44, having suffered from tuberculosis, gout, scurvy, and a kidney disorder.
Schein wrote sacred and secular music in approximately equal quantities, mainly vocal; however, today he is perhaps best known for his collection of instrumental suites called Banchetto Musicale (Musical Banquet), published in 1617. The twenty suites each share the same format: Padouana, Gagliarda, and Courente, all in five parts, followed by an Allemande and Tripla in four parts.
Schein does not specify the instrumentation, and although he does say in the preface that he prefers to have viols included, the style hints at early violin writing, and is also reminiscent of the wind music of people like Bassano. Schein also says that in his next published work he will begin providing a written part for a keyboard, so it might be appropriate to use continuo in the Banchetto Musicale.

The Tutor Alison Kinder is a viol player with Chelys Consort of Viols and the Linarol Consort. She particularly enjoys working with viols and voices, and is the viol player in the female polyphonic group Musica Secreta, directed by Laurie Stras who ran a workshop for MEMF last year. Alison also enjoys a close exploration of the connection between music and dance with lutenist Lynda Sayce and two baroque dancers in Apollo’s Revels. More recently Alison has been playing with Sounds Historical, presenting innovative programmes around the Midlands, and is a co-founder of Banbury Early Music Festival. Alison runs the Rondo Viol Academy with colleague Jacqui Robertson-Wade, and regularly leads Forum workshops as well as teaching on various Early Music courses and summer schools. Occasionally she is allowed out of the viol playing department and onto recorders and baroque violin!

The Venue is Knowle Village Hall, St. John’s Close, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0NH
https://knowlevillagehall.co.uk/
Parking is pretty good around the village hall, as it is surrounded on three sides by public car parks owned by the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and at the front of the building on the forecourt we can usually park four/five cars. The first two hours in the public car parks are free but for longer stays a fee is charged.
The Hall is 1.5 miles away from the M42 Junction 5 and approximately 3.5 miles to the east of Solihull town centre. Nearby bus stops provide frequent transport links to Solihull Station and Dorridge Station.
The Organiser is Jane Warren please contact her by text if you need to, on 07472 793531
Booking is now open please book here by 10th July.

Thomas Morley - workshop for voices with Will Dawes and Katie Bank on 21st June 2025
2025-06-21 10:30 - 17:00 | Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA
Plaine and Easie? The life and music of Thomas Morley
Following a very successful double-act on Weelkes in 2023,Will Dawes (music) and Dr Katie Bank (historical background and context) return to present a workshop on Thomas Morley.
Thomas Morley was more than a composer and Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. He was a businessman, a mover and a shaker. He propagated trends that altered the English musical landscape and had the expertise and competence to bring major projects to fruition, even politically sensitive ones. As a musician, Morley had a range unlike most of his contemporaries. Though he is mostly known today for his Italian-style madrigals and fa-las, he also wrote evocative Latin polyphony and experimented in a variety of musical idioms.
The music will include secular and sacred music by Morley in up to 7 parts, with texts in Latin, English and Italian. We will be singing Agnus Dei, I follow, lo, the footing, De profundis, Phyllis, I fain would die now, Laboravi, Nolo mortem, It was a lover and his lass and Now is the month of Maying (but not as you know it…)

Katie Bank is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham. She has written and edited books and articles on English recreational music, William Byrd, Music in the Chapel Royal and musical-visual culture in Renaissance England. She was creator of ByrdCentral.com, a collaborative educational initiative between academics, teachers, and musicians that celebrated the quatercentenary of Byrd’s death, Katie is an avid choral singer and collaborates regularly with ensembles around the United Kingdom.

Will Dawes is a Choral Director and Baritone. He is Director of Chapel Music at Somerville College, Oxford, where he directs the only auditioned non-liturgical college choir in the University. He has directed the BBC Singers and the Eric Whitacre Singers as well as workshop days for Stile Antico and almost all the Early Music Forums in the UK. He was the founding Director of Music of Frideswide Voices, Oxford’s first group of 7-13 year-old girl choristers in over 500 years. For 16 years, he was a member of the triple-GRAMMY-nominated early-music ensemble Stile Antico and has also sung with some of the foremost choral ensembles in the UK including The Sixteen, The Cardinall’s Musick, Ora, Magnificat, Gabrieli Consort, Polyphony, and London Voices. He has twice curated a performance of the complete Latin works of William Byrd in 24 hours, both taking place in the church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, where he is Director of Music.

Venue Dorridge Village Hall http://www.dorridgevillagehall.org/ is at the end of a driveway (with a height barrier) off the B4101 between Dorridge and Hockley Heath and is easy to reach from the M42. The satnav is not pinpoint accurate so when you get near look for the following:
From Hockley Heath, the driveway to the Hall is the first right after the Railway pub, before the “Welcome to Dorridge” signs and the start of the built-up area.
From Dorridge centre, the driveway to the Hall is the first left after Dorridge Park. If you get to the Railway pub you have gone too far.
Dorridge train station is approximately 10 minutes’ walk away. Directions can be provided on request.
The Organiser is Marion Thompson, 07436 540608
Booking is now open – book here by 13th June

'Veni Domine, et noli tardare' - Sebastianist Music from Renaissance Portugal with Rory McCleery on 10th May 2025
2025-05-10 10:30 - 17:00 | Emmanuel Church, Loughborough, Forest Road, Loughborough, LE11 3NW
The Music
Musical settings of disconsolate devotional and biblical passages often presented Renaissance musicians with an effective and potentially covert vehicle for political commentary, and such is the case with works by many of the Portuguese composers living under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs. These musicians expressed through their compositions both the sadness of the people at being governed by a foreign power, and also the longing for the restoration of the Portuguese monarchy, a sentiment which found expression in the cult of ‘Sebastianism’, a belief that the young King Sebastian, who vanished in 1578 during an ill-advised military campaign in Morocco, might one day return to reclaim his throne. This was not to be, and it would not be until the accession of the music-loving John, Duke of Braganza as John (João) IV in December 1640, that the throne would be reclaimed from Spain.
Join our popular tutor Rory McCleery for an exploration of this fascinating and beautiful repertoire, including plangently expressive motets and mass movements by Duarte Lobo, Manuel Cardoso and Estêvão Lopes Morago.
Music will be provided on the day
The Tutor
Rory McCleery is an award-winning Scottish conductor, countertenor & musicologist. Internationally renowned for his compelling interpretations of a wide range of repertoire, he is particularly associated with the choral music of the Renaissance and Baroque, and is also increasingly known for his affinity with the music of contemporary British composers. Rory has appeared at prestigious venues including the Wigmore Hall and BBC Proms and has directed choirs and led masterclasses, study days and workshops in the USA, Spain, Germany, France and Italy. He features regularly on radio and television, including the recent BBC2 series ‘Art That Made Us’.

Rory is Founder & Artistic Director of The Marian Consort, with whom he performs internationally, including a recent televised tour of Japan. Rory has an extensive discography with The Marian Consort on both Delphian and Linn Records, including many first recordings of both new and historic music which have garnered a variety of accolades and awards including the Diapason D’Or, Presto Classical Album of the Year and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. When not researching and conducting, Rory is also active as a countertenor, performing as a soloist with ensembles including The Dunedin Consort, English Consort and Ensemble 1604.
Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short comfort break)
1.00 Lunch (bring your own as there are no facilities nearby)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 Tea break
4.00 Final session
5.00 Finish
The Venue
Emmanuel Church Centre, Forest Rd, Loughborough LE11 3NW
Free parking in the church car park further along the road (on the same side going out of the town) – separated from the church complex by a grassed area. Disabled parking is available at the church entrance.

Organiser: Philippa Bristow 07812 268246 or memfworkshops@gmail.com
Booking is now open: Book here by Friday 25th April

From Mexico with Tears: Lamentations by Padilla and López Capillas with George Parris on 12th April 2025
2025-04-12 10:30 - 17:00 | St.Faith & St.Laurence Church Hall, Balden Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B32 2EL, United Kingdom
We welcome back George Parris to tutor this workshop, for voices and all instruments at A440 pitch.
We will explore two settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah by outstanding composers: Juan Gutierrez de Padilla
(c. 1590-1664) and Francisco López Capillas (1608-1674). Both composers worked at the magnificent cathedral in Puebla, Mexico, where the music-loving Bishop Juan Palafox y Mendoza presided over the richest establishment of the Spanish Empire outside Spain. Their music represents a high point in the Spanish manner of sacred polyphony, exhibiting a use of voices and a tonal instability that is both remarkable and highly expressive.
Juan Gutierrez de Padilla was born in Málaga, in Old Spain, and was appointed maestro at Cádiz Cathedral in around 1616. He next appears at the Cathedral in Puebla in 1622 where he later became maestro and would spend the rest of his life.
Francisco López Capillas was born in Mexico City where he sang in the Cathedral choir and studied theology at the University. By 1641, he is found working as organist, cantor, and assistant to Juan Gutierrez de Padilla at Puebla Cathedral, but he later returned to Mexico City where he became maestro of the Catedral de México in 1654.
George Parris read Music at Cambridge University, following by a Master’s Degree at Oxford University, and then studied choral conducting and ensemble singing at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In 2011 he founded The Carice Singers, now a professional vocal ensemble, and works across Europe as a singer, chorus master, and conductor. His work is varied and far-reaching, from being Artistic Director of the Aurore Renaissance Music Festival in Helsinki, performing vocal works by Kaija Saariaho and Luciano Berio, and mentoring the next generation of choral composers on schemes for Cheltenham Music Festival, Spitalfields Music Festival, and the Three Choirs Festival.
Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks – PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MUG
10.30 Morning session (with a short break)
1.00 Lunch (bring your own /or use local pubs and cafes)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea break
4.00 Final session
5.00 Finish
Venue St Faith & St Laurence Church is very visible at the junction of Balden Rd & Croftdown Rd in Harborne, Birmingham, B32 2EL . There is a small amount of parking next to the church, and plenty more street parking on Croftdown Road.
The organiser is Jonathan Spencer. If, having booked, you need to cancel, please let him know on 07784 657563
Booking is now open- book here.

Hei Mihi, Domine - Workshop for Voices with David Allinson on 15th March 2025
2025-03-15 10:30 - 17:00 | Collegiate Church of St Mary’s , Stafford
Hei Mihi, Domine – Iberian Penitential Motets.

The Music. Join us for a day of plangently penitential motets to mark the season of Lent. For this workshop we explore music by some of the most celebrated composers of the Iberian ‘golden age’ of polyphony – Morales, Guerrero, Vivanco and Victoria – but also sing stunning motets by lesser-known composers, including Portuguese musicians Filipe de Magalhães and Aires Fernandez.
While the mood of these pieces can be anxious or gloomy, their texts focusing on sin, the Passion and the afterlife, the music is deliciously expressive and life-affirming (as every singer knows, it’s the saddest music that’s most enjoyable). Laden with suspensions and with moments of huge dramatic contrast, these mostly-unfamiliar works should offer participants a highly-rewarding day of emotionally-engrossing, technically-challenging singing.
As ever, the music list is subject to change according to forces signing up, and we especially need a strong contingent of Tenors and Basses to balance the likely strength in the upper voices. So please sign up early!
Music will be provided on the day.

The Tutor, Dr David Allinson is a freelance conductor, singer and academic with wide experience as a leader of choral workshops. His special love is Renaissance polyphony, and he has led countless workshops and singing holidays in the UK and Europe, working for every UK Early Music Forum, for organisations such as Run by Singers and for numerous private groups. He is known for his combination of scholarship, technical know-how and humorous positivity.
David has been the musical director of the Renaissance Singers (London) since 2010 and has conducted numerous other choirs including his own ensemble, Cantores. He is Honorary Vice-President of the Southern Early Music Forum. [More at www.davidallinson.com].

Venue: https://www.stmarysstafford.org.uk
St Mary’s is situated just off the main street (Greengate Street) accessible on foot by the side of Boots Chemist or the Ancient High House. Road access (drop-off only) off Earl Street. From Stafford Station (five minutes walk): turn left then immediately right over the river bridge, straight on through pedestrian area between Stafford College and law courts into St Mary’s Place. Regular direct trains from Birmingham New St.
Please note that the church does not have its own car park. We have arranged for a limited number of parking spaces in the church close, for those with limited mobility. Please telephone or message Tim Boardman (see below) if you would like to make use of one of these spaces, and please try to car-share where possible.
Details of town car parks can be found here . The website includes a link to a map. Note that some car parks are pay-by-phone only.
Timetable for the day:
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short break)
1.00 Lunch: bring your own or use local pubs and cafés (easily accessible from venue)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea break
4.00 Final session
The organiser for the day is Tim Boardman – tim.boardman.tb@gmail.com or 07794 837396
Booking closed

The Music of Thomas Tomkins - workshop for voices with Carys Lane on 15th February 2025
2025-02-15 10:30 - 17:00 | Coton Centre, Tamworth, Church Comberford Road, Tamworth, B79 9AA, United Kingdom
Thomas Tomkins
Perhaps less well known than predecessor William Byrd or his contemporary Orlando Gibbons, Tomkins is nevertheless a composer of wonderful invention and skill. His work,
like that of Gibbons, forms a bridge between the music of the renaissance and the baroque and comprises consort music in the form of madrigals, and liturgical music including both full anthems and the more modern verse anthems. Born in Wales, he was a chorister at St Davids cathedral. He held post as organist at Worcester cathedral for some 50 years from 1596 until the cathedral’s closure in 1646 due to the civil war, but was also a Gentleman Ordinary of the famous Chapel Royal in London, travelling frequently between the two jobs. In this workshop we will visit both his madrigal output, looking at works from his 1622 publication – Songs of 3,4,5 and 6 Parts- and music from his sacred output. Repertory will include, possibly his most famous piece, the great lament – When David Heard and also it’s companion piece the lesser known Then David Mourned. We will investigate his huge invention in the madrigalian fa-la-la in madrigals such as Too much I once Lamented and O Let me Die for True Love. And also enjoy some forgotten gems, such as an expansive 6 part setting of the psalm 120 Woe is Me, and possibly one of the greatest madrigals ever written, Music Divine.
Music will be provided, but if you would like to download it onto your tablet please contact liz.ashby@ntlworld.com and she will send you a link.

The Tutor Carys Lane studied at the Purcell School and Royal Academy of music, and in 1999 was awarded an ARAM from the Academy for her service to Music. Having graduated, her early career was spent specialising in early music and ensemble singing. She recorded and performed with nearly all the major professional ensembles and choirs in Britain at the time, including The Tallis Scholars, The Sixteen, I Fagiolini, The Cardinal’s Musicke, The Clerk’s Group, Tenebrae, and The Gabrieli Consort. Since then Carys has changed the focus of her career to coaching and teaching. She is now based in Oxford and teaches choral scholars at Magdalen, Merton and Queen’s and Christchurch Colleges, as well as offering lessons and classes across the university. She is the vocal consultant for The Oxford Bach Choir, and works with the Merton Girls Choir for whom she leads the probationers program. She has held coaching residencies at the university of Perth Australia, the University of Vermont, and Dartington summer schools. She teaches for the Rodolfus Foundation Choral Courses and for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. Ensemble singing has always been her primary musical passion, and she now works with The Martlet Ensemble, a professional small vocal ensemble whose remit is to work with students at University College Oxford, offering coaching to singers whilst performing with them.

The Venue The Coton Centre is on the A315 Comberford Rd on the north edge of Tamworth. The post code B79 9AA will take you to Rawlett school but if approaching from the north on the A513 it is on the left before the school and from any other direction is the next turning after the school. There is ample free parking on site.
Lifts are available from the station – just contact the organiser (below)
Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short comfort break)
1.00 Lunch (bring your own)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea break
4.00 Final session
5.00 Finish
Workshop Organiser: Elizabeth Ashby 07892 715401
Book here for this workshop before Sunday 2nd February

Tribus Miraculis - workshop with Stephanie Dyer 11th January 2025
2025-01-11 10:30 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church Hall, Blosssomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
Tribus Miraculis – Music for a Saturday after Epiphany
This workshop is for all voices and instruments and Renaissance wind instruments – cornetts curtals, recorders, sackbuts and shawms – are particularly welcome.
String players are also warmly invited to participate plus one continuo player, or others who come with their own instrument. A=440

The music we will be playing is in multi parts:
a12 – Jacob Handl – Tribus miraculis
a8 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina – Surge illuminare
a8 – Caspar Vincentius – Gloria tibi
a12 – Hans Leo Hassler – Jubilate Deo

Music will be provided on the day
Instrumentalists please bring a labelled music stand

The Tutor Virtuoso historical trombonist Stephanie Dyer enjoys an international career as Early musician, modern performer and educator. Born and raised in Cardiff, Stephanie studied at King’s College, Cambridge, Royal Academy of Music, London and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland. She performs with world-renowned historic brass group His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, of which she has been a member since 2016. Stephanie’s performance activities are diverse: equally at home in the theatre and recording studio as on the concert platform, she is trombonist and Cover Conductor for Disney’s Aladdin the Musical (UK/Ireland Tour, 2023–25), and is part of the 2024 Songs of Praise Christmas Special, to be broadcast Sunday 22nd December on BBC One.

A devoted teacher, Stephanie is Baroque Trombone professor at RAM, teaches trombone at the University of Cambridge and is a passionate workshop leader in the UK and internationally, including for the regional Early Music Fora (2021–), Beauchamp Adult Early Music Course (2024–); International Early Music Summer School, ?cinawka Górna (Poland, 2017–), Warsaw Sackbut & Cornett Festival (2021–); and for Alta Capella Vianensis (the Netherlands, 2022–).

Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short break)
1.00 Lunch (bring your own)
2.00 Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea break
4.00 Final session
5.00 Finish
The Venue Solihull Methodist Church is close to the centre of Solihull at the junction of Blossomfield Rd and Station Approach. It is right next to Solihull Railway Station and is well served by buses. There is a large car park with the entrance in Station Approach. If coming by car, use postcode B91 1LG for your satnav.
NB. If approaching from the west along Blossomfield Road, please note that there is no left turn into Station Approach. Either go completely around the roundabout and then turn right into Station Approach, or take the first exit at the roundabout into Streetsbrook Road and then turn left into the opposite end of Station Approach at the traffic lights.
Book here by 3rd January 2025
Workshop Organiser is Jill Davies – 07721 317030 or daviesmusic@btinternet.com

Praetorius Christmas Workshop with Patrick Craig on 14th December 2024
2024-12-14 10:30 - 17:00 | Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA
This workshop is for voices and any number of instruments – strings, including viols, wind and brass at pitch A440.
The German composer and music theorist Michael Praetorius (born Michael Schultze about 1571/2) was the son, and brother, of Lutheran pastors. After studying theology and philosophy in Frankfurt he later became organist and music director to the Duke of Brunswick, where he stayed for over 20 years. After the death of his employer, he travelled extensively in Germany working as music director in several north German courts where he met and worked with Schütz, Schein & Scheidt. Praetorius considered himself a pioneer in the introduction of the new Italian Baroque style into Protestant Germany.
We will work on a selection of his pieces for the festive season.
Music will be provided on the day Instrumentalists please bring a named Music stand

Patrick Craig is a countertenor who sang a thousand concerts with The Tallis Scholars while singing as a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral where he has worked for almost thirty years. He has also recorded extensively as a member of The Cardinall’s Musick. He lectures on choral music for the Arts Society and conducts singing workshops for organisations across Europe. He is the founder Director of this country’s preeminent all-female professional choir Aurora Nova.
Timetable for the Day
10 am: Registration and drinks
10.30am; Morning Session with a short break
1 pm: a free buffet lunch will be provided as part of a very generous legacy left by the late Heather Holt, our previous Treasurer – and much more.
2pm: Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea
4.00: Final session
5.00: Finish

Directions Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA has plenty of parking but there is height restricting barrier of 2m at the entrance, If you need to travel in your pantechnicon please inform the organiser who will arrange for it to be open!
Warning for sat nav users. The official postcode for the Village Hall B93 8QA may set your destination quite some distance from the Hall.
The What3Words location is ///sponge.flopping.wedding .
From Dorridge centre on the B4101 (Grange Road) the turning to the Hall is the first left after Dorridge Park. If you get to the Railway pub you have gone too far!
From Hockley Heath, the driveway to the Hall is the first right after the Railway pub, before the “Welcome to Dorridge” signs.
Please note: The M42 will be closed between junctions 6 & 7a the weekend of the workshop, which will affect anyone travelling southbound on the M42. Details of the closure and the diversions in place can be found here.
Dorridge Station (Chiltern Line) is about ½ mile away. Turn left out of the station and at the main road turn left under the railway bridge = Grange Road. The venue is on the left past the park.
The Organiser is Jonathan Spencer 07784 657563
To book click here

Music from England, Italy and Germany - Baroque String Workshop at A=415
2024-11-09 10:00 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
This Baroque string workshop is for violins, violas, cellos, double bass/violone, viols and continuo – to include theorbo. A=415
Music to be played will be:
John Blow (1649-1708) Chaconne for strings. John Blow was an English composer and organist who started his musical life as a chorister at the Chapel Royal where he became ‘proficient in music’. Obtaining a Doctor of Music, he later had a distinguished career as composer and organist at St Pauls Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, where one of his pupils was Henry Purcell, and the Chapel Royal. Although most of Blow’s music was choral, he wrote some instrumental music, one of which is the Chaconne.
Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Concerto Grosso in Fmajor Op 6 no 2. Archangelo Corelli was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer whose music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, and the importance of the violin. His concerti grossi are regarded as the epitome of the style and Opus 6 is a collection of 12 concerti of which we shall play no 2
Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716) Suite in E minor. Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716) was a German composer from Munich. One of his early employers offered him the chance to study music with the leading Italian composer, Corelli, in Rome. From there he returned to Germany, working to improve the various court orchestras where he was employed as Kapellmeister. After returning to Italy to study composition and violin, he finally settled in Germany where he enjoyed a successful career Like many of his contemporaries, Pez was heavily influenced by the French style and was one of many imitators of Jean-Baptiste Lully.
Ludovico Viadana (1560? – 1627) La Fiorentina. Ludovico Grossi da Viadana was an Italian composer, teacher and Franciscan friar who held various posts as Director of Music in several Cathedrals. He is known mainly as the first significant figure to make use of the newly developed technique of figured bass, one of the musical devices which was to define the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque era in music.
Music will be provided on the day. Please bring a labelled music stand.
The tutor, Oliver Webber is a London based Baroque violinist with three decades of experience in the field. He is director of the Monteverdi String Band, specialists in 17th century ensemble music. He also appears regularly with the London Handel Players and the Gonzaga Band, with whom he has recently been coaching students at Stavanger University. In the orchestral world, amongst various other posts, he has been a principal player and occasional guest leader of the Gabrieli Consort for around 20 years, in the process helping the orchestra explore aspects of historical performance such as all gut stringing and use of the French bow hold. He teaches baroque violin and viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he also runs classes on ornamentation for instrumentalists and singers. He complements his teaching and performing with research, editing, translation and string making.

Venue Please note that this has changed from St Nicholas Church, Warwick as the heating is broken. It will now take place in Solihull Methodist Church, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG. It is close to the centre of Solihull at the junction of Blossomfield Road and Station Approach (no left turn from Blossomfield Road). There is a large car park accessed from Station Approach. – it is right next to the Railway Station and well served by buses.Neither MEMF or the venue can accept any responsibility for property lost or damaged.

Organiser: Sheila Koch 07931 237076 or sheilakochuk@gmail.com

Booking is now open – book here by 19th October 2024

The Sacred Music of Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695) with Simon Harper
2024-10-12 10:30 - 17:00 | Angel Centre, Worcester
This is a workshop for singers and one keyboard player, exploring some of the sacred anthems by Henry Purcell, regarded as one of England’s greatest composers of the Baroque period.
Although Purcell wrote prolifically for the theatre throughout much of his life, as organist of both the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey he is remembered just as much as a master of choral composition, with his characteristic expressive textures and harmonies.
This workshop will focus on a selection of anthems for full choir in four, five and eight parts, including one of Purcell’s finest works I was glad, a setting of verses from Psalm 122, composed for the coronation of James II in 1685; the funeral sentences performed at Queen Mary’s funeral in 1965, as well as Purcell’s own funeral later the same year; and some shorter motets including the exquisite eight-voice setting of Hear my prayer, O Lord, full of Purcell’s characteristic expressive harmonic dissonances.
Music will be provided on the day

The tutor Simon Harper is a freelance singer, conductor and teacher. He read Music at the University of York, studied choral conducting with Paul Spicer, and was a member of the prestigious Genesis Sixteen scheme. As a Tenor Lay Clerk in Hereford Cathedral Choir, Simon has sung in live BBC broadcasts, participated in tours of the USA, performed in the Sistine Chapel, and sung at international events in Normandy to commemorate both the 75th and 80th anniversaries of D-Day.
Simon’s busy schedule as a choral conductor includes the directorships of Hereford Chamber Choir, Cotswolds-based Cantores Chamber Choir, Ledbury Choral Society, and Kington Choral Society. He has worked with professional orchestras – the Central England Camerata, period instrument ensemble The Musical and Amicable Society, and internationally renowned viol consort Fretwork. He has conducted premieres of works by composers including Kerensa Briggs, Liz Dilnot Johnson and Robert Peate at the Three Choirs Festival and the Hay Festival. Simon also teaches singing and A Level Music at schools in Malvern and Worcester.

The venue is the Angel Centre in Worcester Town Centre. There are plenty of car parks in Worcester, but the nearest all day ones are the Cattlemarket and Croft Road about 5 minutes walk away up the hill. It is also close to Worcester Foregate station.

Booking is now open – the booking form is here
Book by Friday 4th October
Organiser: Jill Davies daviesmusic@btinternet.com
Mobile on the day: 07721 317030

Mateo Flecha's 'Ensalades' with Anita Datta on 14th September 2024
2024-09-14 10:30 - 17:00 | St.Faith & St.Laurence Church Hall, Balden Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B32 2EL, United Kingdom
Those of us who were able to attend Anita Datta’s ’s last MEMF workshop will know we are in for a treat!
She will explore with us three of the ‘Ensaladas’ of Mateo Flecha el Viejo (1481-1553). So-called for their eclectic mixing of languages and musical styles, they depict allegorical dramas as a form of courtly and carnivalesque entertainment. Exploring the Ensaladas offers musicians liberty to play with sound and imagination, creating rich and atmospheric depictions of life and politics in early modern Europe through delightful polyphony.
Repertoire: La Guerra; El Jubilate; La Bomba and Riù Riù Chiù. There’s a Spotify playlist here with performances of all the pieces to get a flavour of what we’ll be doing.
The workshop is for SATB voices and pretty much any instruments – melody (which can double any vocal line in their range) or continuo. Especially welcome: sackbuts and cornets, early percussion, early Iberian instruments (e.g. Vihuela). There will be some percussion instruments at the workshop, so anyone who would like to bang a drum or rattle a tambourine is welcome to come as a percussionist. Pitch: A=440
Please note that Anita will need notice well in advance for instruments not in C so she can prepare parts.

The Tutor, Anita Datta, is a conductor and Early Music Specialist from East Yorkshire. She is the founder and artistic director of vocal ensemble The Swan Consort, and with them has performed at major music festivals across the UK and Europe. Graduating from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge as an organ scholar (2014), she is frequently engaged as an organist and continuo player, and has directed a number of early and contemporary operas. She is also a soprano, Indian Classical musician, and composer, having recently delivered commissions for Multitude of Voyces and the BBC Singers.
The Venue St Faith & St Laurence Church is on the junction of Balden Rd & Croftdown Rd in Harborne. There is a small amount of parking on site, and plenty more street parking on Croftdown Road.
The MEMF AGM will be held during the lunch break at 1pm.
Organiser: Jonathan Spencer 07784 657563 or jonathan-spencer@blueyonder.co.uk

Booking is now open – click here for the booking form.

Music for the Dedication of St Gertrude's in Hamburg 1607 with David Hatcher on 13th July 2024
2024-07-13 10:30 - 17:00 | Knowle Village Hall, St John’s Close, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0NN, United Kingdom
This workshop is appropriate for players of strings (violin and viol families), sackbuts, cornetts, double reeds (yes, crumhorns too, if a quorum can be reached!), recorders, lutes, keyboards and of course, voices. Pitch will be A440.
We shall be working on music by Michael and Hieronymus Praetorius, Orlando di Lasso, Pierre Bonhomme and their contemporaries that was performed during a service in 1607 for the dedication of the church of St. Gertrude in Hamburg.
“… After that was sung the Introit In nomine Jesu in eight parts by Bandovius [Bonhomme]. Next followed the Missa super Deus misereatur nostri, also in eight parts, by the excellent composer Orlando [di Lasso]. Instead of the Sequence was sung Alleluia by Handl [Jacobus Gallus], composed for twelve parts, but in three choirs. The first choir was sung by the boys and musicians in the chancel, the second [was played] by cornetts and sackbuts, the third by the organ… After that was sung Herr Gott dich loben wir, which Hieronymus Praetorius, our church organist, has composed for sixteen parts in four choirs… Following that was also sung the Cantate [Domino] in eight parts, by the same Hieronymus Praetorius, by the choir, organs, cornetts, and sackbuts all together. To conclude, Sei Lob und Ehr mit hohem Preis was sung by the congregation, choir, organ, and instruments.”
Hamburg, 7 January, 1609, Lucas van Cöllen, Pastor of St. Jacobi in that city.
The music is a fascinating snapshot of the German response to Monteverdi’s works in Italy, including the Vespers of 1610, showing considerable experimentation and inventiveness in the movement towards the baroque splendour of later years.
The tutor: David Hatcher is well known to MEMF regulars. David was born in Warwick and upon attaining the LTCL diploma two years after taking up music, he went on to study viola da gamba with Charles Medlam and recorder with Philip Thorby at Trinity College of Music, London. He began his career based in England, touring America, Israel, France, Germany and the Netherlands. He has broadcast for both the BBC and independent radio and television. In 1987 he moved to Japan where he was to remain for the next 9 years, taking an active part in that country’s flourishing early music scene. He has recorded with Evelyn Tubb, The Consort of Musicke, I Fagiolini, Sprezzatura, and the Japanese ensembles Chelys, Ensemble Ecclesia and the Bach Collegium of Japan.
David now lives in Leominster on the Welsh Marches and has appeared with Fretwork, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Globe Theatre, The Consort of Musicke, Musica Antiqua of London, The Corelli Orchestra, The Harp Consort, Glyndebourne Opera and many other period orchestras and ensembles.
He has taught on numerous summer schools, including the Cambridge Early Music Summer School, the Easter Early Music Course at Monmouth and Sastamala Gregoriana in Finland, and is in demand as a tutor for many weekend and day courses.
Past projects include performing in Damon Albarn’s opera ‘Dr Dee’ and performing and recording with I Fagiolini in their hugely successful interpretation of Striggio’s 40-voice mass. He performed in the inaugural season of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014 and in the highly acclaimed production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle in 2014 & 2015. He is a founder member of The Linarol Consort of Viols, the UK’s only consort specialising in the earliest repertoire for that instrument.
Knowle Village Hall https://knowlevillagehall.co.uk is 1.5 miles away from the M42 Junction 5 and approximately 3.5 miles to the east of Solihull town centre. Nearby bus stops provide frequent transport links to Solihull Station and Dorridge Station.
There is very limited parking on site but there are several carparks very close by – some only take payment with the PayByPhone app.
Booking is now open – click here for the booking form.

Music by Marc'Antonio Ingegneri with Gareth Wilson on Saturday 22nd June 2024
2024-06-22 10:30 - 17:00 | St Philip’s Church Centre, Dorridge, B93 8DX
The workshop is suitable for singers of all voice types plus cornetts, sackbuts, dulcian/bassoon, strings/viols, theorbo, organ/harpsichord and recorders, A=440.
Introduction The Cremonese composer Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (1535/36-92) is remembered chiefly as the teacher of Claudio Monteverdi while, for well over 400 years, his own achievements have been left to sit in the shadows. This workshop will look at the music Ingegneri wrote for the major events of the church year, from Advent through to the Assumption, allowing participants to experience the extraordinary range of moods achieved and musical techniques employed by a composer whose remaining output is comparatively small but extremely varied.

The tutor Gareth Wilson is Director of Girton College Chapel Choir, university of Cambridge, where he is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Music, is Director of Music at Christ Church Chelsea, Academic Professor at the Royal College of Music, and is an examiner for the Royal College of Organists. While his repertoire covers music spanning over 500 years, his growing discography has focused upon neglected or unrecorded Renaissance polyphony with instruments. He has now recorded four volumes of music by Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, all of which have entered the Specialist Classical Charts and have been met with critical praise.
Music will be provided on the day if you book by Friday 7th June
Instrumentalists please bring a labelled music stand

Venue St Phillip’s Church Centre, Manor Road, Dorridge, B93 8DX
To get to the church, drive along the B4101 from the Knowle direction into Dorridge and under a railway bridge. There is a Sainsbury’s garage on the right after the bridge and you need to turn right after this onto Manor Road where the church is immediately on the right. There is some parking at the church and free street parking by the church and nearby.
There is also a large public car park immediately behind the church. To get to it you turn right immediately after going under the railway bridge and before the Sainsbury’s garage. This is a station over-spill park which is available on Saturdays at £5 for the day. There is a footpath at the back of the car park which takes you to the back door of the church so you do not need to walk all the way round by the road.
The station is 5 minutes walk away – 2 left turns then right into Manor Road
Timetable for the Day
10 am: Registration and drinks
10.30am; Morning Session with a short break
1 pm: Lunch (bring your own or use pubs and cafés nearby)
2pm: Afternoon session
3.30 approx Tea
4.00: Final session
5.00: Finish.
Booking has now closed.

Music and Ritual in a C16th Florentine Convent with Laurie Stras on Saturday 11th May 2024
2024-05-11 10:30 - 17:00 | Angel Centre, Worcester
This workshop is for upper voices, all viols, lower pitch recorders and dulcians. We would also welcome one or two continuo keyboard players (there will be one instrument provided). Instrumentalists may expect to be asked to sing or listen at times.
Instrumentalists please bring a labelled music stand.
The Music
The Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript, MS 27766 in the library of the Brussels Conservatoire, is the only surviving manuscript of polyphonic repertoire from a sixteenth-century convent. The two nuns named on its binding, Clemenzia Sostegni and Agnoleta Biffoli, lived at the convent of San Matteo in Arcetri, which later became home to Suor Maria Celeste Galilei, ‘Galileo’s Daughter’.
The manuscript contains 78 works for equal voices that would have adorned the convent’s worship at its most solemn feasts and for its daily devotions. This full day workshop will introduce you to this fascinating record of the musical lives of Florentine nuns at the end of the Renaissance, exploring its song, psalmody, motets, and imitation masses.
Music will be provided on the day, or can be sent in advance as PDFs to download and print, or read from a device. (If you want advance copies please let the organiser know as soon as you have booked.)
Laurie Stras is Professor Emerita of Music at the University of Southampton and director of the ensemble Musica Secreta, with whom she has made six critically acclaimed recordings of polyphony from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Her research focus over many years has been the music and musical activities of women in Renaissance Ferrara and Florence: she is currently preparing a Cambridge Element on the Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript, and Musica Secreta have recently recorded this repertoire for a forthcoming album https://musicasecreta.org/
Laurie is an expert in the convent music of C16 Italy and has undertaken extensive research into the original sources, music often written by women for women.
The Venue – The Angel Centre is located in central Worcester, on the corner of The Butts and Angel Place. The entrance is at the side, in Angel Place, directly opposite the excellent Francini’s café (recommended for lunch.) Look out for the WEM banner by the door. There is no parking immediately outside, but the Cattle Market car park (off the Butts) is a five-minute walk away, up the hill, and costs £6 per 24 hrs, or Croft Road is slightly further (by the Racecourse) and slightly cheaper at £4. (Both carparks are Pay and display or Ringo, post-coded WR1 3NZ and are accessed from Croft Road).

Click here to open link
Worcester Foregate Street station is very close by in the Main (Foregate) Street.
Neither MEMF nor the venue can accept any responsibility for property lost or damaged.

Timetable for the day
10.00 Registration and drinks
10.30 Morning session (with a short break)
1.15 Lunch break – bring your own or use local shops and cafes
2.00 Afternoon session with tea break
5.00 Finish

Click here for the booking form
This is a direct link, rather than seeing the form on this page as mentioned below. Payment details are on the form.

The Triumphs of Oriana with Tutor Giles Underwood on 20th April 2024
2024-04-20 10:30 - 17:00 | Coton Centre, Tamworth, Church Comberford Road, Tamworth, B79 9AA, United Kingdom
The Triumphs of Oriana – a workshop for voices.
In 1601 Thomas Morley published a collection of madrigals in honour of Queen Elizabeth. There were 25 pieces in the publication from 23 different composers. All the works ended with the lines:
Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana:
Long live fair Oriana.
This day of singing will include a selection of these 5- and 6-part madrigals, written by some of the foremost composers of the day; Morley himself, Mundy, Tomkins and Farmer as well as some writers who are less well known. These pieces are full of joy, movement and soloistic writing, being consort pieces, not choral. They were intended to be sung in drawing rooms across the land, and use commonplace pastoral imagery as well as more elevated language, all for the glory of the Queen.

Giles Underwood has a varied career as a bass-baritone, voice teacher, vocal coach and conductor. He is Professor of Singing at The Royal Academy of Music, having previously held a professorship at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD). He studied Biology at Oxford before going on to postgraduate and opera studies at GSMD under Professor Susan McCulloch. He runs a successful teaching practice in Oxford and taught in Cambridge from 2004-13. Since 2013, he has been Director of Music at University College, Oxford, where he runs the Chapel Choir and the two ensembles in residence – Martlet Voices and The Martlet Ensemble. These groups give student musicians the opportunity to work alongside professional performers in rehearsal and concert. He is a tutor for the Cambridge Early Music Summer School and Chorworks at Duke University in North Carolina.
Giles has sung with many of the UK’s leading vocal ensembles, most notably I Fagiolini, Contrapunctus, Magnificat and Gallicantus. He has been a soloist for The Academy of Ancient Music, The Gabrieli Consort and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has performed a variety of operatic roles, including Don Giovanni, Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La bohéme) and Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia). In recital, he has sung English and Swedish song for Oxford Lieder, Wolf and Schumann in Wigmore Hall and Strauss in the Purcell Room.
The Venue: The Coton Centre is on the A315 Comberford Rd on the north edge of Tamworth. The post code B79 9AA will take you to Rawlett school but if approaching from the north on the A513 it is on the left before the school and from any other direction it is the next turning after the school. There is ample free parking on site.
Lifts can be arranged from the station which is 1 1/2 miles from the venue. Please contact the organiser after you have booked
Booking is now closed.
Link to Booking Form

The Garden of Love – Anthems from the Song of Songs : Vocal workshop with tutor Sally Dunkley on 17th February 2024
2024-02-17 10:30 - 17:00 | St Philip’s Church Centre, Dorridge, B93 8DX
The Music: The sensuous love poetry of the biblical Song of Songs has long proved an inspiration to composers and found its way into use in the Catholic church mainly by way of metaphorical reference to the Virgin Mary.
Our workshop day features settings of Song of Songs texts by 16th-century composers from various European countries. Some are well known names, such as Palestrina and Gibbons, while others are rarer discoveries – Clemens non Papa and Vincenzo Bertolusi. All are delightful to sing.
The Tutor, Sally Dunkley, has enjoyed a long career as a professional consort singer, as a student in the Clerkes of Oxenford, then with the Sixteen from its very first concert, and the Tallis Scholars too. She started making performing editions when few were readily available; some are now published by Oxford University Press (series ‘Musica Dei donum’) and the Church Music Society. She is delighted to share her experience through workshops, summer schools and talks – this is her second visit to MEMF.
The workshop is from 10.30 to 5pm with refreshments at 10am, lunch 1-2 (bring your own or use shops nearby) and a tea-break.
Directions to St Philip’s church Centre – drive along the B4101 from the Knowle direction into Dorridge and under a railway bridge. There is a Sainsbury’s garage on the right after the bridge and you need to turn right after this onto Manor Road where the church is immediately on the right. There are plenty of disabled parking places at the church and some free street parking by the church and nearby. There is also a large public car park immediately behind the church. To get to it you turn right immediately after going under the railway bridge and before the Sainsbury’s garage. This is a station over-spill park which is available on Saturdays for £5 for the day, payable through PayByPhone. There is a footpath at the back of the car park which takes you to the back door of the church so you do not need to walk all the way round by the road.

Booking is now open – please scroll down for the booking form.

The Battle of Lepanto: workshop with Tutor Gawain Glenton on 13th January 2024
2024-01-13 10:30 - 17:00 | Trinity Church,Stafford
The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7th, 1571. This colossal naval battle pitted the combined forces of Europe’s Catholic states (under the overall command of Don Juan of Austria) against the Ottoman Empire and resulted in a major defeat of the Ottoman fleet. Galleys came from Spain, Genoa, The Papal States, Savoy, Tuscany and elsewhere. The Venetians were the dominant presence however, providing more than twice as many galleys as any other member of the Holy League.
For Venetians the battle of Lepanto became the defining military victory of the era and was celebrated for decades to come – in part because a decisive victory of this magnitude was rather unexpected. It was used as a major propaganda coup and was self-consciously built into the Venetian myth.
The focus of the annual celebrations was a procession (or andata) to the church of Santa Giustina culminating in a Mass of thanksgiving. Several Venetian composers wrote large-scale music for this event, including Giovanni Croce, Andrea Gabrieli, Claudio Merulo and Giovanni Bassano. This workshop will explore this fascinating aspect of Venetian musical culture.
This workshop is for singers of all voice types, plus cornetts, sackbuts, dulcians and string instruments. Recorder players are welcome, but should be prepared to also sing and/or play a different instrument. A = 440.
The Tutor Gawain Glenton is a specialist cornetto player whose work as a soloist and an ensemble musician takes him all over the world. He is a member and co-director of the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble and also a popular workshop Tutor.
Music will be provided on the day.

The Venue Trinity Church (www.trinitychurchstafford.org.uk) ST16 2BZ, is a spacious modern building in Stafford town centre. The main church space, where the workshop will take place, is on the first floor; a lift is available. The church website includes a link to a map. The church is a ten-minute walk from Stafford railway station.
Details of town car parks can be found here and here. Note that some car parks are pay-by-phone only. The church has a small number of parking spaces (about 8); these will be available for those bringing bulky instruments or those with limited mobility. Please telephone or message Tim Boardman if you would like to make use of one of these spaces, and please try to car-share where possible. Tim’s mobile: 07794 837396.
Please note: There are extensive roadworks and diversions in operation around Stafford centre that will continue well into 2024. If you wish to use the long stay Doxey Road car park (no. 13a on the Borough Council map) it is currently accessible from Chell Road by car, but may not be on the 13th. From the A34 north of the town centre follow the new link road (Pans Road) signposted Telford A518. At the first roundabout take the first exit into the car park, by Sainsbury’s. Currently,Trinity Church can be accessed via Chell Road/Broad Street. If there are any changes in the interim affecting access to the church, I shall post an update on this page.
NB There is also a small independent car park on Mount Street, immediately behind Trinity Church: SIP Car Parks Limited Sheridan Centre Mount Street Stafford ST16 2BZ. Charge is £5 for the day. It does tend to fill up quite early, but may be worth a try as it is cheap and convenient.
Booking is now open – please scroll down for the booking form.

Angels and Shepherds: Christmas workshop with Philip Thorby on Saturday 2nd December 2023
2023-12-02 10:30 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church, Bossomfield Road,, Solihull, B91 1LD, United Kingdom
Angelus ad Pastores
This year we have invited Philip to tutor our pre-Christmas workshop. Philip has found some wonderful music on the theme of Angels and Shepherds in the Christmas story. There will be music by Christoph Buehl, Hans Leo Hassler, Johann Hermann Schein and Agostini Soderini.
The angels are generally, well, angelic, but the shepherds are revealed as zither-strumming, boisterous and (as depicted by Schein) initially very grumpy at being woken up by the heavenly host.
The workshop will be for voices, violins, viols, cornetts, sackbuts, curtals, recorders and continuo. The pitch will be A440. Tenor viol players/violas please note that most pieces have octave-treble rather than alto clef parts.
Instrumentalists please bring a labelled music stand.

Philip Thorby is one of our most popular and respected tutors. He specialises in early Italian Music. Many people will have seen his wonderful Zoom lectures during the lockdown period, which are still available to watch on this website.

Venue is Solihull Methodist Church, next to the Railway station SatNav B91 1LG. There is a large car park with the entrance in Station Approach.
NB: If approaching from the west along Blossomfield Road, please note that recent road layout changes mean there is no left turn into Station Approach. Either go completely around the roundabout and then turn right into Station Approach, or take the first exit at the roundabout into Streetsbrook Road and then turn left into the opposite end of Station Approach at the traffic lights.
Booking is now closed.

What About Weelkes?! - workshop with Will Dawes and Katie Bank on 4th November 2023
2023-11-04 10:30 - 17:00 | Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA
2023 has seen a huge outpouring of love for one of Britain’s finest ever composers – William Byrd. However, 1623 also saw the death of another really very fine, and almost certainly more fun, or at least more emotionally obvious composer, Thomas Weelkes. Stories abound as to his behaviour, and his music has some quite extraordinary texts and backgrounds. So with that in mind, we ask you – what about Weelkes? The session will including singing (led by Will Dawes) and historical background and context (led by Dr Katie Bank).
The music will include’ When David Heard’, ‘O Care Thou Wilt Despatch’, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, ‘Death Hath Deprived Me’, ‘O Lord Arise’, ‘Thule the Period’, and ‘As Vesta Was’.

Katie Bank is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham. She has written a book on English recreational music called Knowledge Building in Early Modern English Music (Routledge, 2021) as well as academic articles in journals such as Early Music and Renaissance Studies. She is webmaster and creator of ByrdCentral.com, a collaborative educational initiative between academics, teachers, and musicians celebrating the quatercentenary of Byrd’s death, but she mostly writes about Weelkes. Katie is an avid choral singer and collaborates regularly with ensembles around the United Kingdom.
Will Dawes is a Choral Director and Baritone. He is Director of Chapel Music at Somerville College, Oxford, where he directs the only auditioned non-liturgical college choir in the University. He has directed the BBC Singers and the Eric Whitacre Singers as well as workshop days for Stile Antico and almost all the Early Music Forums in the UK. He was the founding Director of Music of Frideswide Voices, Oxford’s first group of 7-13 year-old girl choristers in over 500 years. For 16 years, he was a member of the triple-GRAMMY-nominated early-music ensemble Stile Antico and has also sung with some of the foremost choral ensembles in the UK including The Sixteen, The Cardinall’s Musick, Ora, Magnificat, Gabrieli Consort, Polyphony, and London Voices. He has twice curated a performance of the complete Latin works of William Byrd in 24 hours, both taking place in the church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, where he is Director of Music.
Venue Dorridge Village Hall http://www.dorridgevillagehall.org/ is at the end of a driveway (with a height barrier) off the B4101 between Dorridge and Hockley Heath and is easy to reach from the M42. The satnav is not pinpoint accurate so when you get near look for the following:
From Hockley Heath, the driveway to the Hall is the first right after the Railway pub, before the “Welcome to Dorridge” signs and the start of the built-up area.
From Dorridge centre, the driveway to the Hall is the first left after Dorridge Park. If you get to the Railway pub you have gone too far.
Dorridge train station is approximately 10 minutes’ walk away. Directions can be provided on request.

Booking is now open – please scroll down for the Booking Form. Book by Saturday 28th October

Mysterious Motets from 1539 with Patrick Allies
2023-10-07 10:30 - 17:00 | St.Faith & St.Laurence Church Hall, Balden Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B32 2EL, United Kingdom
Assembled in Catholic Milan, these five-part Latin motets took a mysterious journey across the Alps in the 1530s and were published in Protestant Strasbourg. The collection features a range of composers of the day, from the well-known (Jacques Arcadelt) to the extremely obscure (Simon Ferrariensis).
The five motets chosen for this workshop represent the breadth of compositional styles and moods in the volume, from Johannes Lupi’s stirring Ascension motet Apparens Christus to the Marian devotion of Maistre Jhan’s Pater noster-Ave Maria.

Patrick Allies is Artistic Director of the London-based vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro, with whom he has made five acclaimed recordings of Renaissance music with Delphian Records. Under Patrick’s direction, the group has taken up invitations to perform in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Malta and the USA. Closer to home, Patrick and Siglo de Oro have performed several times at Wigmore Hall.
Patrick is currently Musical Director of The Ripieno Choir and Conductor of Imperial College Chamber Choir. Most recently, Patrick has spent a term as Acting Director of Music at King’s College London, conducting the chapel choir. He is currently a member of the REMArkables, the professional development scheme of the European Early Music Network.
Alongside his work as a conductor, Patrick is a DPhil student in music at the University of Oxford, where he has taught at St Peter’s College. Patrick’s research, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, involves fifteenth-century choirs and their performance spaces.
The Venue St Faith & St Laurence Church is on the corner of Croftdown Rd and Court Oak Road in Harborne. There is a small carpark in the church grounds (the approach is from Croftdown Rd but you have to be heading westwards to get into it). On-street parking is also available in Croftdown Rd.
Buses run regularly from Birmingham City Centre to stops within a few minutes of the church.
Booking is now open.

Baroque String Workshop with Oliver Webber 23rd September 2023
2023-09-23 10:30 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
A journey from England to Germany and Italy for violins, violas, cellos, double bass/violone, viols and theorbo.

The composers on the menu for today’s workshop represent a variety of styles of the late Baroque period. Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716), a German composer from Munich, was heavily influenced by the French style of Jean-Baptiste Lully. His Suite in D minor is a perfect example of Lully’s style. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) remains one of the greatest English composers. The instrumental pieces in his semi-operas, such as King Arthur, offer a delightful variety of quintessentially English dances. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is famous for having written literally hundreds of concertos for solo instruments. Perhaps less well known are his concertos for strings, with no solo instrument, in which he delights in the rich sonorities of the string orchestra. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was one of the most prolific and eclectic composers of the late Baroque. He wrote for many different combinations of instruments incorporating French and Italian styles as well as folk traditions from eastern Europe. We will be playing the Lustige Suite which is largely French in conception with an overture and a suite of dances, but with a few distinctive quirks of its own.
Music will be provided. Please bring a labelled music stand and your own mug

The Tutor: Oliver Webber is a baroque violinist from London with three decades of experience in the field. He is the director of the Monteverdi string band, specialists in ensemble music of the 17th century, and appears regularly with the London Handel Players and the Gonzaga Band. Among other posts, he has been a principal player and occasional guest leader of Gabrieli (Consort) for around 20 years, in the process helping the orchestra explore aspects of historical performance such as all gut stringing and use of the French bow hold. He teaches baroque violin and viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he also runs classes on ornamentation for instrumentalists and singers. He complements his teaching and performing with research, editing, translation and string making. In his spare time he enjoys cycling, watching cricket, and reading about European late antiquity.

Venue St. Nicholas Church, St. Nicholas Church Street, Warwick CV34 4JD is located on the southern edge or Warwick – adjacent to St Nicholas Park and opposite the south entrance to the castle.
There is no church car park, but St Nicholas Park car park (CV34 4QY) is directly behind the church, accessed via the A425 Banbury Road. This is a ‘pay and display’ car park 7 days a week. The maximum charge is £7.00. Payment is by card or the RingGo App.
Warwick station is less than 10 mins walk away. From the exit walk to the Coventry Road and turn right. At St John’s junction at the traffic lights, cross straight ahead towards St John’s Museum. Turn right into St Nicholas Church Street – the church is on the left at the end of this road.
Neither MEMF or the venue can accept any responsibility for property lost or damaged

Booking is now open – please scroll down.

William Byrd weekend- two workshops 9th & 10th September with Alison Kinder & Helen Charlston (9th only) + AGM
2023-09-09 10:30 - 2023-09-10 17:00 | Knowle Village Hall, St John’s Close, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0NN, United Kingdom
To mark the 400th anniversary of William Byrd’s death we present two individual workshops this weekend and a short concert on Saturday at 5.30 pm.
The MEMF AGM will take place in the lunch break on the Sunday.

Saturday 9th September 2023
Psalms, Songs and Sonnets of 1588
with Tutors Alison Kinder and Helen Charlston
This workshop is the first of MEMF’s celebratory Byrd weekend and will focus on small-scale pieces for voices and instruments. This day is for viols, low recorders (especially basses, great- and contra- basses) and voices, and will focus on pieces from the ‘Psalms, Songs and Sonnets’ of 1588. Pitch A=440
The Music is likely to include Blessed Is He, All As A Sea, Though Amaryllis Dance, but will be chosen to best suit the forces available once applications have closed. We will spend time all together, but also have access to a couple of breakout rooms where instrumentalists will be able to work on a consort song with Helen singing. The day will finish with an informal mini-concert to include pieces we have worked on.
In addition, you are invited to submit for performance at the mini concert a piece of Byrd (or Weelkes) prepared in advance, for any forces (so a viol fantasy, consort song, madrigal…). Please email Jill Davies (daviesmusic@btinternet.com) before 6 September if you would like to offer a piece for the concert. Friends and relatives are welcome to attend at 5.30 pm.
Sunday 10th September 2023
William Byrd on a Grand Scale
The Sunday workshop is for everyone – Singers, viols, recorders, brass, double reeds, anything at pitch A=440 – and will be Tutored by Alison Kinder. Everyone is welcome singing or playing as we celebrate this masterful composer.
The Music
Byrd – The Great Service (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis)
Byrd – Domine Quis Habitabit a9
We thought that as Thomas Weelkes shares Byrd’s anniversary, we ought to allow him a piece as well! So we will include a Weelkes anthem – either ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, or ‘O Lord Arise’
Music will be provided on the day. Instrumentalists please bring a labelled music stand

TheTutors

Since winning the London Handel Singing Competition in 2018, Helen Charlston has crafted a place for herself at the forefront of the classical music scene in the UK and abroad. A founder participant of the Rising Star of the Enlightenment programme, she regularly works alongside the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. She is a BBC New Generation Artist (2021-23) and recently won the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Awards.
https://www.helencharlston.com/

Alison Kinder is a viol player with Chelys Consort of Viols, who this year released a recording of consort songs and instrumental music by William Byrd with Helen singing. Alison is a regular tutor for the various early music fora and on courses including the Easter Early Music Course and NORVIS. She is also a member of the Linarol Consort, who play on a set of viols copied from the earliest surviving viol, made in Italy by Francesco Linarolo in about 1540. Alison has a love of working with singers, and one of her favourite places to be is as the viol player for the female polyphonic ensemble Musica Secreta.
https://www.alisonkinder.co.uk/
https://linarolconsort.com/

Venue: Knowle Village Hall is 1.5 miles away from the M42 Junction 5 and approximately 3.5 miles to the east of Solihull town centre. Nearby bus stops provide frequent transport links to Solihull Station and Dorridge Station.

Booking is now open – please scroll down

Treasures from the Baldwin Commonplace Book with Rory McCleery on 15th July 2023
2023-07-15 10:30 - 17:00 | Coton Centre, Tamworth, Church Comberford Road, Tamworth, B79 9AA, United Kingdom
Treasures from the Baldwin Commonplace book
John Baldwin (c.1560 – 1615) is one of the lesser-known but hugely important figures in the history of the music of Elizabethan England. A singer (at both St George’s Windsor and as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal) and composer, Baldwin was also a professional music copyist responsible for My Ladye Nevells Booke, a compendium of William Byrd’s keyboard music, as well as the compilation or completion of a number of important manuscripts of vocal and consort music.
Chief among these is Baldwin’s idiosyncratic ‘Commonplace’ book – now housed in the British Library, it seems to be a repository for Baldwin’s personal favourite pieces, written out, unusually for the time, for the most part in score and without texts. Works by all of the great composers of the age – along with many by less familiar figures – can be found, as well as madrigals by Marenzio and historic pre-Reformation pieces.
We will be singing a selection of these, including masterpieces by Byrd (Tristitia et anxietas) and Tallis (Loquebantur variis linguis), fantastic pieces by William Mundy and Nathaniel Giles, a Marenzio madrigal and works by earlier composers, as well as something by Baldwin himself!

Rory McCleery is a popular Tutor whom we welcome back to MEMF. He is an award-winning Scottish conductor, countertenor & musicologist. Internationally renowned for his compelling interpretations of a wide range of repertoire, he is particularly associated with the choral music of the Renaissance and Baroque, and is also increasingly known for his affinity with the music of contemporary British composers. Rory has appeared at prestigious venues including the Wigmore Hall and BBC Proms and has directed choirs and led masterclasses, study days and workshops in the USA, Spain, Germany, France and Italy. He features regularly on radio and television, including the recent BBC2 series ‘Art That Made Us’.
Rory is Founder & Artistic Director of The Marian Consort, with whom he performs internationally, including a recent televised tour of Japan. Rory has an extensive discography with The Marian Consort on both Delphian and Linn Records, including many first recordings of both new and historic music which have garnered a variety of accolades and awards including the Diapason D’Or, Presto Classical Album of the Year and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. When not researching and conducting, Rory is also active as a countertenor, performing as a soloist with ensembles including The Dunedin Consort, English Consort and Ensemble 1604.
Venue: The Coton Centre is on the A315 Comberford Rd on the north edge of Tamworth. The post code B79 9AA will take you to Rawlett school but if approaching from the north on the A513 it is on the left before the school and from any other direction is the next turning after the school. There is ample free parking on site.
Lifts are available from the station which is 1 1/2 miles from the venue.
Refreshments are served from 10 am.
Booking is now open until 7th July.

Sweelink and Scheidt with George Parris on 3rd June 2023
2023-06-03 10:30 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church Hall, Blosssomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
We are delighted to welcome George Parris having had to cancel his planned workshop in the Spring.
This workshop celebrates the figurehead of the Netherlands’ ‘golden age’: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621). Primarily known as the organist of the city’s Oude Kerk — where his improvisations earned him the nickname among his contemporaries as the Orpheus of Amsterdam — Sweelinck was prolific across other genres including chansons, madrigals, and motets. In this workshop we will combine instruments and voices to perform one of his crowning glories, the 5-part Magnificat, along with one of his 153 settings of the Pseaumes of the Genevan Psalter in which Sweelinck mixes grand sacred gestures with colourful madrigalian writing.

Foremost among Sweelinck’s many pupils was Samuel Scheidt (1587-1684) from Halle, a key figure in late-Renaissance/early-Baroque music, who studied with Sweelinck between 1608-9. The Orpheus of Amsterdam’s influence is still prevalent in one of Scheidt’s most sublime motets for eight voices, Christ lag in Todesbanden, from 1620. It will be a day of glorious music and hopefully some new discoveries for everyone, both musically and linguistically!
The workshop is for double SATB choir, strings/viols, cornetti, sackbutts, 2 x chamber organs and theorbo (A=440)
George Parris grew up in deepest South Warwickshire and now works as a professional singer, the Founder and Artistic Director of The Carice Singers (named after Elgar’s daughter), an Associate Conductor of Ex Cathedra and one of the Co-Artistic Directors of the Aurore Renaissance Music Festival in Helsinki, Finland. He has degrees in Music from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford and studied Conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki between 2017-2020. As a singer he has been trained in early music and ensemble singing, performed contemporary choral works with the Helsinki Chamber Choir and has appeared as a soloist alongside the Helsinki and Finnish Baroque Orchestras in works by Stradella, Purcell and Gilles.
Solihull Methodist Church is close to the centre of Solihull, at the junction of Blossomfield Rd and Station Approach. It is right next to Solihull Railway Station, which is also served by buses. If coming by car, use postcode B91 1LG for your satnav; there is plenty of parking. The hall is a separate building to the church and is clearly signed.
Refreshments are served from 10 am.
Booking is now open.

The Sacred Music of Giovanni Battista Casali in C18 Rome with Peter Leech on 20th May 2023
2023-05-20 10:30 - 17:00 | Barnt Green Church Hall, The Parish Centre, Sandhills Road, Barnt Green, Birmingham, B45 8NR, United Kingdom
EXPLORING GIOVANNI BATTISTA CASALI (1715-1792)
Rome in the eighteenth century, far from being the backwater described in many scholarly narratives, was a cosmopolitan melting pot of cultural influences from all over Europe, where the palaces and private chapels of Cardinals from widespread lands resonated to the sound of instrumental and vocal music composed by the city’s numerous permanent or itinerant maestri. Likewise, Rome’s churches resounded with contemporary concertato choral settings in addition to the stile antico repertory perpetuated in the Sistine Chapel and papal basilicas. Depending on where they were employed, church composers had to be adept with many different techniques, whether in the form of imitative Palestrinian polyphony (though with much longer and more daring melodic constructs than would have been acceptable in the late 1500s), grand polychoral designs (often with orchestral accompaniment), or quasi-operatic, multi-movement masses akin to those performed in other European Catholic capitals such as Vienna, Madrid and Lisbon.
In the anglophone world, most of the church composers active in Rome after the death of Alessandro Scarlatti (1725) are unknown, unresearched and unperformed. Their music manuscripts languish in thousands of volumes held by Rome’s music archives, just waiting to be explored. One such composer is Giovanni Battista Casali, maestro at S Giovanni in Laterano and the Chiesa Nuova (with additional connections to many other churches) who is mentioned by countless scholars as a leading mid-century composer, teacher, and organist, yet few of his works are known (even in Rome today), other than a handful of motets and one or two masses. In the S Giovanni archives alone there are over 500 works attributed to him.
This workshop will explore a variety of settings by Casali, including unaccompanied motets for Lent and Advent, concertato Vespers psalms for organ and basso continuo (often with virtuoso solo content) and polychoral works. It will be a showcase of the breadth and depth of Casali’s contribution to sacred music in Rome, a field in which the workshop leader Peter Leech has been immersed for the better part of 20 years.
We will be performing with voices and bass instruments.

Peter Leech is a musician with diverse skills and interests, including late sixteenth-century continental polyphony, Catholic court musicians in seventeenth-century England, early Russian Orthodox church music, seventeenth-century instrumental music and the music of late Georgian and early nineteenth-century English composers. He has over 30 years experience as a choral and orchestral conductor, composer and musicologist. www.peterleech.com
The Venue Barnt Green is on the B4120 off the A441 Birmingham to Redditch road and close to junction 2 of the M42. There is limited parking at the church, but plenty of street parking. Refreshments served from 10.00.
The station is a five minute walk away.
Booking is now open – see below.

The Music of Robert Parsons with Bill Carslake on March 25th 2023
2023-03-25 10:00 - 17:00 | Coton Centre, Tamworth, Church Comberford Road, Tamworth, B79 9AA, United Kingdom
BOOKING IS NOW CLOSED AS THE MUSIC HAS BEEN PRINTED.
The composer Robert Parsons
Parsons, you who were so great in the springtime of life, how great you would have been in the autumn, had death not come. This Latin epitaph by the copyist, Robert Dow, is from a collection of partbooks produced in the 1580s, a decade or so after Parsons’ death. Robert Parsons (c. 1535-1572) is remembered today as a masterful life cut short when he drowned in the Trent. His music provides a remarkable link between the opulence of late 15th century composers such as those in the Eton Choirbook (e.g., Cornysh, Browne) and the emotional precision of artists like Shakespeare and Tomkins (who was born in the year Parsons died). It’s as if Parsons channelled his grandparents and grandchildren all at once. We will be singing the following pieces: O bone Jesu sings the soaring lines of Roman Catholic England before Henry VIII’s birth; Retribue is a detailed discussion of faith from the fraught period after Henry’s death; and Ave Maria is so pure and timeless that it is almost an icon for the ear.
The Tutor, William Carslake, studied orchestral conducting with Martyn Brabbins, Jorma Panula and Ilya Musin, and singing with David Lowe and Peter Alexander Wilson. He was a busy bass-baritone soloist before he decided to focus exclusively on conducting and composing. He has since held two composing residencies at Banff Centre, Canada. He composes music inspired by outdoor places such as Greenland, the Cairngorms and, currently, peatlands in Ireland. He has composed for the Finzi Trust and Imperial College Sinfonietta, and is currently writing for Orchestra of the Swan. He is Artistic Director of Farnborough Symphony Orchestra and co-directs the Farnborough Young Composers’ Competition. He was Music Director for the Royal Ballet’s Elizabeth in 2016 and 2018. He enjoys directing programmes for EMF forums and Lacock Courses.
The Venue The Coton Centre is on the A315 Comberford Rd on the north edge of Tamworth. The post code B79 9AA will take you to Rawlett school but if approaching from the north on the A513 it is on the left before the school and from any other direction is the next turning after the school. There is ample free parking on site.
Please let the organiser know if you are travelling by train and require picking up from the station which is 1 1/2 miles from the venue.

The Noodle Factory with Paula Chateauneuf on 25th February 2023
2023-02-25 10:00 - 17:00 | Dorridge Village Hall, Grange Road, Dorridge, B93 8QA
The Noodle Factory is a gentle introduction to the art of improvisation, ornamentation and decoration in the manner of the great 16th- and 17th-century Improvisation Masters.
Some people think one needs to be born with an ‘Improvisation Gene’ to be able to extemporise, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. All that’s required is to learn some basic techniques which can be ‘plugged in’ to a given situation. 16th- and 17th-century writers recognised this, and their fascinating improvisation manuals contain all the materials you could ever need or want to learn to improvise, and expand your ear and musical imagination. This workshop will be a taster session for anyone who would like to try their hand at doing some early improvisation – it’s very informal and no prior improvisation or early music experience is necessary to take part. However this course is designed to be inclusive – more experienced improvisers are also welcome and will benefit just as much.
The day will consist of various sessions during which different aspects of early improvisation will be covered, starting with a brief introduction to each subject. We’ll explore the materials in 16th- and 17th-century manuals and how to use them practically, and then apply those techniques to learn to extemporize on ground basses, create variations on popular tunes, and add your own graces and ornamentation to pre-composed pieces. There will be both solo and ensemble opportunities. Improvisation enhances, intensifies, and ‘seasons’ performances, and helps you to make a piece your own. Singers and instrumentalists are welcome (Pitch A+440) – come along and dip your toe in the water!
The Tutor: Paula Chateauneuf’s playing has been described as “one of the most exciting things on the pre-classical concert circuit”. A Fulbright Scholar to London, she soon established herself there as one of early music’s leading soloists and ensemble players and became the linchpin of numerous groups including the Gabrieli Consort, New London Consort and Sinfonye. She has also performed with the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, English Concert, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, Handel and Haydn Society, Avison Ensemble, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and Jordi Savall’s Le Concert des Nations.
Paula’s repertoire spans medieval music to the baroque, with particular expertise in early improvisation and the music of early 17th-century Italy. Her knowledge and skill in the art of basso continuo has made her one of the most sought-after accompanists in early music, resulting in fruitful collaborations with many leading singers. Her wealth of experience in early opera has led to involvement as both repetiteur and continuo player for numerous international opera houses, including Bayerische Staatsoper, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Venue Dorridge Village Hall is at the end of a driveway (with a height barrier) off the B4101 between Dorridge and Hockley Heath and is easy to reach from the M42.. The satnav is not pinpoint accurate so when you get near look for :the following:
From Hockley Heath, the driveway to the Hall is the first right after the Railway pub, before the “Welcome to Dorridge” signs and the start of the built-up area.
From Dorridge centre, the driveway to the Hall is the first left after Dorridge Park. If you get to the Railway pub you have gone too far.
Booking is now open until 17th February – scroll down for the booking form.

English Catholic Composers in Exile with David Allinson on 21st January 2023
2023-01-21 10:00 - 17:00 | Collegiate Church of St Mary’s , Stafford
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange Land?”
This should be a marvellous day of music which ranges from bombast to pathos, from protest to serenity. Seasoned tutor David Allinson will set the music in context and shepherd us through.
William Byrd was not alone among church musicians in holding to the Catholic faith in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, at a time when it was increasingly perilous to do so. But several of his most talented contemporaries chose to leave England and work in exile. Peter Philips settled in Flanders, becoming a priest; Richard Dering worked in Brussels at a convent of English nuns. Perhaps liberated from native tradition, their music doesn’t feel particularly English; they absorbed the latest Italian style.
Byrd stayed in England and his talent shone openly, even as he endured an internal exile of faith. The Latin-texted music of his mid-career seems to articulate the anxiety and anger of recusant Catholics, whereas his last works serve the community’s need for liturgical music that may be used in secret domestic contexts. And always with Byrd, there is a scintillating level of inspiration, mixing native tradition with the latest continental innovations.
Our programme focuses principally on Byrd’s music – 2023 is, after all, the year in which we celebrate the 400th anniversary of his death – but we set him in wider context as a Catholic composer by sampling a Marian motet by Peter Philips (Ave Regina caelorum) and an Italianate motet by Richard Dering (Factum est silentium). As we will be singing in the beautiful Collegiate Church of Saint Mary, Stafford, much of the programme is Marian, with Byrd’s Salve Regina, Ave Maria and other pieces.
The planned repertoire needs lots of Tenors in particular (and some can-do singer flexibility about awkward ranges!), so please sign up in good time.
Venue St Mary’s Collegiate Church, St Mary’s Place, Stafford, ST16 2AP
St Mary’s is situated just off the main street (Greengate Street) accessible on foot by the side of Boots Chemist or the Ancient High House. Road access (drop-off only) off Earl Street. From Stafford Station (five minutes walk): turn left then immediately right over the river bridge, straight on through pedestrian area between Stafford College and law courts into St Mary’s Place. Regular direct trains from Birmingham New St.
Please note that the church does not have its own car park. We have arranged for a limited number of parking spaces in the church close, for those with limited mobility. Please telephone or message Tim Boardman if you would like to make use of one of these spaces, and please try to car-share where possible. Tim’s mobile: 07794 837396.
Details of town car parks can be found here . The website includes a link to a map. Note that some car parks are pay-by-phone only.
Neither MEMF nor the venue can accept any responsibility for property lost or damaged.
Tutor David is a specialist in early music choral works who has led workshops for every regional EMF in England, as well as EMF Scotland. He is a regular and popular tutor for MEMF workshops.

Scroll down to book your place

Benevoli Mass for four choirs c 1650 with Robert Hollingworth
2022-12-17 10:00 - 17:00 | St Philip’s Church Centre, Dorridge, B93 8DX
Expect a wonderful day with one of our favourite Tutors to get you in the spirit of Christmas! Robert has not told us which of Benevoli’s four masses we will be singing – he is still editing them! This is an opportunity to discover a really important figure – a lost link if you like – in the world of multi-choir music in the mid-seventeenth century: ORAZIO BENEVOLI. We will get to know a newly edited mass for four choirs and this time (unlike so much Venetian music) the choirs are manageable by all voices so plenty of male voices please
We will also be singing Sweelinck’s Hodie Christus Natus Est to get us in the Christmas spirit and there will be mince pies!
Pitch =A440 suitable for strings, recorders, cornetts, sackbuts and dulcians doubling the choral parts, and continuo including theorbo and bass instruments.
Robert founded I Fagiolini in 1986 and has spent much of his life thinking around how to present music of a different time and context to contemporary audiences. He has presented all the group’s signature projects but also directed the English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, BBC Concert Orchestra and some of the world’s finest chamber choirs including Accentus, NDR Chor, BBC Singers, RIAS Kammerchor, Capella Cracoviensis, VOCES8 and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble. He succeeds Mark Deller as Artistic Director for the Stour Music festival from 2020, and is Reader in Music at the University of York where he directs ‘The 24’ and runs an MA in Solo-Voice Ensemble Singing. During lockdown he created and presented ‘Sing The Score’ on Youtube and the podcast ‘Choral Chihuahua’ with Eamonn Dougan and Harry Christophers. He likes Monteverdi and Monty Python.
Booking is now open..

Song of the Birds - a Workshop for voices with Anita Datta
2022-11-12 10:00 - 17:00 | Solihull Methodist Church Hall, Blosssomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1LG, United Kingdom
The natural world has been a source of musical inspiration to singers and composers across the centuries. Taking its Janequin’s playful Chant des Oyseaux as a point of departure, this workshop explores the wide-ranging influence of bird calls on the early choral repertoire. This will include Vautor’s Sweet Suffolk Owl, Casulana’s Vaghi Amorosi Augelli alongside more familiar reference points including La Claire Fontaine, and Sumer is Icumen In (… seasonal!). The workshop also incorporates an invitation to try out bird-call inspired motifs within medieval and renaissance improvisational structures, in direct response to Janequin’s quirky paradigm.
Anita Datta is a Tutor new to MEMF. She is a conductor, soprano and organist from the East Riding of Yorkshire. Founder and Director of The Swan Consort, she is a specialist in music of the European Renaissance and Baroque. With The Swan Consort she has recently toured to Spain, and directed performances across the UK including for Ryedale Festival, Brighton Early Music Festival, and London Festival of Contemporary Church Music. She is currently pursuing further studies in Orchestral Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, in which capacity she made her debut conducting the orchestra of Welsh National Opera in June 2022. Drawing her musical knowledge together her academic expertise in Social Anthropology, she sits on the boards of English Touring Opera and the National Centre for Early Music, with special responsibilities for advising on Education, and Inclusivity and Relevance

Solihull Methodist Church is close to the centre of Solihull, at the junction of Blossomfield Rd and Station Approach. It is right next to Solihull Railway Station, which is also served by buses. If coming by car, use postcode B91 1LG for your satnav; there is plenty of parking. The hall is a separate building to the church and is clearly signed.
Booking is now open.
