Voices and Viols
Part of our Summer Schools programme, this week will be the perfect opportunity to spend time with like-minded musicians, and to develop your skills under the guidance of a world-class team of tutors: course director and vocal tutor Clare Wilkinson, vocal tutors Carys Lane, Giles Underwood and Nicholas Hurndall Smith, and viol tutors Alison Crum and Alison Kinder. Clare offers a warm and personal approach, aiming to provide an experience as close to tailor-made as possible for participants.
The voice of my beloved
The Song of Songs: sacred love songs by Palestrina, Lassus, L’Héritier, Gombert and others
The Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, stands out in the Bible as a detailed expression of erotic love and physical passion. It is a lyrical but fragmentary drama; there is a female lover, ‘black and comely’, and a male lover, ‘white and ruddy’. They move from city to bedchamber, walled garden to mountainside; seeking, meeting, seeking again.
The fathers of the Christian church, perturbed by its voluptuous charge, sought holy – wholesome – meaning in its verses; Renaissance composers, perhaps (on the contrary) actively seeking out voluptuousness, were evidently drawn to the book. Many singers now would name their favourite pieces amongst the hundreds of resulting motets.
We will immerse ourselves in the Song’s dream-like, visionary atmosphere, taking Palestrina’s settings as a starting point. These form a set of twenty-nine, an unparalleled number among his contemporaries – what significance did this extraordinary text have for him?
Composers’ enthusiasm for the Song means we have a very rich repertoire to select from; as well as the Palestrina, there are settings by Lassus, L’Héritier, Gombert, Leonora d’Este, de Monte, Clemens, Gallus, Isaac, Le Jeune…
This unique course is custom-made for small consorts of voices or viols (ideally pre-formed by participants). Repertoire will be personally selected and adapted for your group by Clare Wilkinson, in consultation with a team of internationally renowned tutors. The emphasis is on friendly, collaborative music-making at a high level.
Two sessions each day will be spent with your ‘home consort’. In addition, there will be mixed sessions where singers and players combine in different ways, and various workshops, talks and larger-scale pieces.
Instead of working towards a concert, we will perform for each other informally in ‘musical gatherings’ over the course of the week.
A typical day’s schedule might be:
- 09.00 Optional warm-up
- 09.30 Session 1: Consort groups
- 11.00 Coffee
- 11.30 Session 2: Consort groups
- 13.00 Lunch, followed by free time (informal music if you wish; or or snap up a space in Giles or Carys’s ‘voice clinics’!)
- 15.00 Session 3: a talk, workshop or larger-scale piece
- 16.15 Tea
- 16.45 Session 4: Consort groups in different combinations
- 18.30 Dinner
- 20.00 Short ‘musical gathering’
- Afterwards: Informal music as you wish; Benslow’s bar is open!
This example timetable is subject to change.
Music will largely be provided one month before the course in pdf form, via Dropbox, and participants will need to print this at home to bring, or read from their iPads. Repertoire may be supplemented during the course week. Do bring your own music for free time if you wish.
Pitch will be A = 440
Arrival and departure times: Participants should arrive in time for tea at 4pm on Sunday 19 July 2026; the first session will start at 5pm. The course ends with breakfast on Sunday 26 July 2026.
Is the Renaissance course for me?
The course is open to experienced singers and viol players who are confidently able to hold a line alone. Tutors will create a comfortable environment, so you are relaxed enough to be at your best! Music will largely be provided one month before the course in pdf form, so you can get familiar with almost everything in advance.
For viol players, this is a fantastic opportunity to learn about an earlier style of viol playing from two leading experts, and to explore the rich repertoire composed with this sound in mind. This course is for confident, rhythmically secure players. We welcome both Renaissance viols and later soundposted instruments, with plenty of opportunity to specialise in one, or to explore wider repertoire with both. A small number of instruments may be available to borrow.
For singers, this is a consort singing (one-per-part) course. We welcome those who have sung one-per-part before (ideally bringing pre-formed consorts), and also confident choral singers who feel ready to take the step to one-per-part in a friendly environment (to this end, we may be able to offer a 2-per-part option for part of the week, if numbers allow). As far as we know, this is the only consort-singing course in the country.
Participants are often surprised by how high the standard is: you will need either to be an excellent sight-reader, or take time to look at the music beforehand. Clare thinks hard about how to put everyone in a consort with singers of similar abilities, but getting this right requires everyone to be honest about what they can do. At the tutors’ discretion, combinations of singers may be changed during the week if this is necessary to maximise everyone’s enjoyment.
Pre-formed consorts of voices or viols are particularly welcome, and Clare is happy to help facilitate the creation of these.
Consorts will be expected to work autonomously, as well as under the direction of our tutors, and we will help you build the skills to do this. There will be a focus on being a good chamber musician and colleague, as well as singing and playing to the best of our ability.
The course is open to over-18s, or over-16s if accompanied by an adult. Bursaries are available. This would be an ideal course for music students and those at the beginning of a professional career, as well as dedicated amateurs.
After applications have closed, the line-up will be finalised with a view to ensuring the right balance of voices and instruments. Non-singing/playing observers are also welcome, by arrangement; contact us for details.
Applications will open in December 2025.
Venue
Our 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 about 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.
