Ockeghem November 24th 2001

For singers of Renaissance music whose interest lies in the music of the fifteenth century rather than music of the high Renaissance period, a chance to spend a day exploring the music of Ockeghem was not to be missed, especially as the tutor for the day is a highly regarded scholar, respected internationally for the depth of his knowledge of the music of the period.

Those of us who assembled for David Fallows' workshop on Saturday, November 24, were full of expectation and looking forward to the challenge of performing a repertory that, I suspect for many of us, is still largely unknown in spite of the CD recordings currently available. When I was a student (way back in the 'Dark Ages'!), Ockeghem was a name in a text book; he was, the text said, highly influential figure in the development of European polyphony, but not one phrase of his music was provided by way of illustration!

We began the day feeling confident as we tackled a group of short works including motets and Marian antiphons; initial ensemble difficulties were resolved as we experimented with different groupings for our SATB forces. Modern church halls do not have quite the same ambience as medieval cathedrals, not the acoustical properties that serve to project complex polyphony and allow the various sections of the choir to hear themselves clearly. Perhaps for this reason we never quite solved our intonation problems throughout the day. We were challenged by the rhythmic intricacies of some of Ockeghem's contrapuntal lines but rewarded by David's insightful comments and the sheer joy of getting on the inside of this repertoire.

The confidence we gradually established was eroded when David presented us  with the challenge of singing a short Ave Maria, first from a modern transcription and then from facsimile. This provoked much discussion on the insights to be gained from such an exercise.

The afternoon session was given over almost entirely to the study of the mass Au travail suis. David very generously allowed us to take home photocopies of his transcription. Again it was the rhythmic intricacies of the melodic lines which caught us unawares, but David was patient as we struggled to find the 'right' tempo for individual sections of this interesting mass, unknown to almost all of us I think.

We reached the end of the day somewhat chastened by our shortcomings, but pleased to have the opportunity to explore this fascinating repertoire from within. Our thanks go to David for his patience and for making the day so informative and rewarding.