Our Baroque course is offered in collaboration with the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM). Laurence Cummings, our course director, is the Music Director at AAM and all of our instrument tutors are principals of their sections at AAM. They all work both as teachers and performers.
‘I adore the mix of nationalities, ages, professionals and amateurs, newbies and returners – lovely to see old friends and make new ones every year.’
‘I really enjoyed the structure of each day – it was not tiring and it left more than enough time to learn and enjoy the opera.’
‘If you’re mad ~ and/or nerdy ~ enough to want to put on a complete baroque opera from scratch in less than a week, this course is heaven on earth!’
‘Orchestral sessions and chamber music, coached by some of the top musicians in the country, with daily informal concerts and an opera performance in Cambridge.’
‘All the music tutors, are extremely helpful. Above all, Laurence – his unfailing, positive, supportive, clear direction and wealth of knowledge which allows him to get the best out of all so disparate a group is mindboggling at times.’
‘Really well put-together and catered to a singing standard both for the singers of the course and for anyone who was trying choral singing for the first time.’
‘Probably the performance, and then the music, and the sociability of all the participants. I thought this last was particularly enjoyable this year.’
‘The sense of camaraderie and achievement you get from putting on a performance with other people who are all working towards the same thing.’
‘Good. Having the opportunity to perform the chamber music which we have practiced and to give the opportunity to perform other pieces, solo or in group.’
Louis Grabu: Albion and Albanus
Join Cambridge Early Music’s 2027 Baroque course for a staged production of Grabu’s Albion and Albanus. A close allegory of the Stuart dynasty, Albion and Albanus follows Arthur’s story and rise to King; encountering mythological figures in, perhaps, a too close reflection of the fraught contemporary politics of the time. Featuring a rarely used edition produced by musicologist Bryan White, Cambridge Early Music offers participants a unique opportunity to revive a forgotten gem of Restoration theatre.
With music by Louis Grabu and a libretto by John Dryden, Albion and Albanus was initially intended to be a prologue to Dryden’s opera King Arthur “But some intervening accidents having hitherto deferred the performance of the main design, I proposed to the actors to turn the intended prologue into an entertainment by itself, as you now see it, by adding two acts more to what I had already written.”
The composer, Catalan violinist Louis Grabu trained in Paris before moving to England. Grabu’s arrival in London coincided with the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London – a turbulent background set against his early compositions for Charles II’s court. Despite this, Grabu flourished in London, being sworn in as Master of the Music at court in June 1666. Leaving the royal court in 1673, Grabu returned to writing music for the theatre, reappearing in the history books in the winter of 1684 with Albion and Albanus. The premier of the opera was sadly interrupted by Charles II’s death on 6 February 1685. It was finally produced on 3 June, but ran for only six nights before being interrupted by the Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion against the Crown. Grabu continued to write for the theatre, contributing suites for revivals of other plays such as The Maid’s Tragedy, The Double Marriage and Oedipus. On 4 December 1694 he was given a passport to travel to Holland or Flanders with his wife and two children. Nothing more is known of him.
Each day we will offer instrumental classes in sectionals, choral and orchestral sessions, with opportunities for smaller ensemble and individual sessions in the Chamber Music. The vocal allocations for the opera will be organised in advance, alongside the Chamber Music for both instrumentalists and singers. Please indicate on your application if you are interested in singing a solo and if possible include a short sound clip of your singing.
Tuition on the course will incorporate historically informed techniques and style through our Baroque dance tutors Kath Waters and Mary Collins. Dancers applying to the course will receive coaching and direction from Kath Waters over the course of the week in preparation for the public performance. Inspirational dance specialist Mary Collins, whose research and expertise inspires musicians to look afresh at the dance music which is at the heart of the Baroque repertoire, will be available to coach instrumentalists, singers and dancers in specialist sessions exploring the unity of music, dance and gesture.
Alongside the opera, we also run a Chamber Music programme which feeds into the course’s nightly informal concerts. The aim of the Chamber Music is to provide a wider musical context surrounding the opera, the opportunity to play in a small-group setting with other students on the course and to have some fun playing music you might not know! All of our Chamber Music sessions are led by one of our tutor team.
During the week there will be opportunity for everyone to perform in the informal concerts. The informal concerts are a welcoming performance environment where you can explore new repertoire after coaching from our team of tutors. In any of the informal performances, there is no expectation of a ‘perfect’ performance – the tutors want you to be comfortable and confident! The Chamber Music programme will feed into the course’s informal evening concerts, but there is no expectation to perform.
A typical day’s schedule might be:
- 09.00 – physical warm-up: stretch class for musicians, including an introduction to baroque dance and stagecraft for everyone. Dancers will have a technique class led by Kath Waters.
- 09.45 – technique and sectional/vocal/dance classes
- 11.00 – coffee
- 11.30 – sectional/vocal/dance classes
- 13.00 – lunch break
- 14.00 – Free time
- 15.00 – Chamber Music
- 16.00 – tea
- 16.30 – tutti session
- 18.30 – dinner
- 20.00 – informal students’ concerts
- Later – Benslow Music’s bar is open
Tuition will incorporate historically informed techniques and style. Mary Collins will also be available to coach instrumentalists on their dance movements to show how studying dance steps can enhance your musical performance. A selection of music for many combinations of instruments and voices will be provided; you are also invited to bring your own sets of parts and scores.
Participants should arrive in time for the welcome at 4pm on Sunday 18 July. The course ends with breakfast on Sunday 25 July. On Saturday 24 July, course members will participate in a public representation of Albion and Albanus at a venue in Cambridge.
Is the Baroque course for me?
Applications are invited from dancers, proficient singers and confident players of gut-strung Baroque instruments (violin, viola and cello), with Baroque bows (some instruments and bows may be available to hire), bass viol, violone, recorder, baroque flute, oboe, bassoon, lute family and harpsichord/organ (suitable keyboard instruments are provided). Pitch: A=415.
Players should have a good mastery of instrumental technique, but not necessarily any experience of Baroque playing. However, the wind players need to be fluent and confident on their Baroque instruments, able to sight-read solos with confidence. Continuo players should have a good knowledge of figured bass.
Singers should be experienced and fluent sight-readers; they may be encouraged to take solo parts as well as singing in ensembles. The opera will be staged, so while no stage experience is necessary, an openess to moving and acting is encouraged!
Dancers should have some experience of the Baroque style, with a working knowledge of the basic steps.
Pre-existing groups are welcome to apply together, and may bring prepared music for coaching in some of the chamber music sessions. Non-singing/playing observers are welcome if we have space.
Venue
Our 2026 course will be held at Benslow Music, Hitchin, just a 30-minute train ride from Cambridge or London. An ideal base for exploring some of England’s most beautiful countryside, the historic town of Hitchin with its fine parish church is a destination in itself. There is also plenty of free parking.
Benslow Music has ten designated rehearsal and practice rooms, including two halls suitable for larger ensembles and public events. They possess a fine Goble harpsichord modelled on a 1727 Christian Zell original as well as virginals, a spinet and a restored Broadwood square piano dating from the 1820s.
Benslow Music provides a wide range of comfortable bedrooms with ensuite or shared bathroom facilities, enviable catering and all sorts of rehearsal and practice rooms. The beautiful gardens provide an inviting space in which to relax and regather energies between sessions. Additionally, all summer school participants will be able to make use of Benslow Music’s extensive music library during their course. Find out more about accommodation on Benslow Music’s website.
Fees and bursaries
Find all information on fees and on how to pay the deposit.
The Selene Webb (née Mills) Memorial Bursary Fund supports those whose financial situation would prevent them from attending our courses without assistance, particularly music students and those setting out on a career in music. Find out more on how to apply for a bursary. Partial bursaries are available for dancers from The Early Dance Circle – The EDC welcomes applications from anyone who would like to learn more about the practice of early dance. For further details, please see their website.
In collaboration with the Academy of Ancient Music.
