Singers’ Retreat
October 15 ~ 16, 2005
San Francisco Theological Seminary
SINGERS ALERT! Deadline for Registration is October 7th
The Fall 2005 Singers' Retreat is scheduled for the weekend of October 15-16 when we return to the Conference Center at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Rafael. This highly anticipated event is for good sight-singers who enjoy singing Renaissance polyphony under the direction of Professor William Mahrt of Stanford.
This session's featured work will be William Byrd’Äôs Mass for Four Voices, a Renaissance classic. Byrd wrote only three Masses, one each for three, four and five voices. It was the time in his life in which he had begun to write liturgical music for small performances of recusants (Catholics who would not attend services of the established church), providing for the exigencies of a varying number of viable voices. Thus each Mass ’Äì in contrast to the Masses of Palestrrina, Lasso, or Victoria ’Äì is the only Mass for that number of voices and is thus the ideal setting of the Mass text. Byrd lavished every care in the composition of these pieces, well knowing that they would be performed often and thus required a certain density to retain interest over repetition. In his four-voice Mass, Byrd paid homage to his predecessor John Taverner by recalling the music of a Sanctus of Taverner’Äôs in his own Sanctus. We will be singing Tavenern’Äôs Sanctus for the study of Byrd’Äôs Mass, as well as motets of Byrd. This music is performed for family and friends Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
Professor Mahrt enhances the music with commentary on the composer, his contemporaries, as well as current related musicological matters. A continuous snack-bar, good companionship, and optional catered dinner are included. Tuition of $115.00 covers music, lectures, lunches, breakfast. Limited overnight accommodations are available. We welcome scholarship students. If you are not on our mailing list, want to receive a brochure or more information, please call Lee McRae 510.848.5591, or Ralph Prince 510.231.2470. E-mail: LMcR@aol.com