At the beginning of August I attended my first Norvis* Summer School, held in Barnard Castle School, County Durham. This was a celebration of music making – Early Music to be precise – music from Elizabethan to Baroque era, up to mid 1700s. I met met exotic instruments such as the chalumeau, crumhorn and cornamuse. One lady brought her Northumbrian small pipes. Then there were the expected Baroque instruments, violins, cellos, viols of all sizes, lutes, a Scandinavian theorbo, which looked quite different to the standard theorbo, also present, recorders, harpsichords and Baroque guitars. The pitch was A415. I was there to learn more about harpsichord playing.

The busy days were divided into the following sessions, daily tuition on your own instrument, ensemble playing, Baroque orchestra (my preferred option) or choir, then a wide choice of various activities to end the day. Evenings were concert times, sometimes presented by the tutors, but often presented by participants. The playing standard was high, many people were grade 8+, so although advertised as being for all standards, it was not for beginner/ elementary standard.

The harpsichord sessions covered Elizabethan fingering, figured bass, music by William Byrd and Louis Couperin, techniques for loud and quiet playing, tuning systems, ornamentation, interpretation and recommended books. In the ensemble sessions we had a different tutor every day to listen to our efforts, which I thought would be confusing, but it wasn’t. It was very interesting to hear different views on our music-making, and I learnt a lot in those sessions. Our group had a very interesting line-up; voice, violin, recorder, bass viol, theorbo (I was delighted at being in such close proximity to one!) and myself on harpsichord. The Baroque orchestra sessions were equally enlightening, listening to the conductor easing the sounds he wanted from the orchestra. Since the part handed to the harpsichord had just a bass line and no figuring, I was “guessing” the harmonies most of the time!

The end of the week saw everybody really tired, but very happy. The amount of organisation which goes into such an event is phenomenal, and the fact it ran so smoothly is down to so much hard work. Participants came from all over the globe, over 80 of us. Oh – and I even managed a session on the organ in the school’s chapel!

*Northumbrian Recorder and Viol School, but now embracing all early instruments. www.norvis.org.uk

The Swaledale Festival finished on 10th June. Our unique local festival offers an eclectic mix of music, from Medieval to 21st century compositions, and across all genres, classical, jazz, folk and world music. Add in guided walks in the beautiful countryside, talks and exhibitions, to make a feast of the arts packed into a fortnight. The concerts take place in beautiful churches in Swaledale and Wensleydale, and comprise one hour’s duration intimate afternoon concerts, and full length evening concerts, making two concerts daily. I spent a lot of time driving between venues during the fortnight!

The Festival aims to bring the “big names” along with respected musicians at the top of their field, local musicians and a young artists’ platform. Often, there is an unusual instrument(s) featured in a concert. Many of the musicians perform concerts in local care homes, bringing top quality live music to those who cannot travel to the venues. Schools are also visited, giving children a much needed taste of live music, and the chance to meet the instruments, especially “endangered” instruments. These are the likes of the bassoon, bass trombone, tuba, oboe and the harp, which too few young people are learning. The knock on effect is that orchestras may be struggling to find enough players in the future to perform the rich repertoire of classical and film music.

In 2022, the Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. It has gone from strength to strength to its present successful format under director Malcolm Creese. However, it relies heavily on volunteers and sponsors to provide financial and practical support. With this extra input, the Festival remains exciting and innovative while keeping ticket prices very reasonable. People come from far and wide, often combining a holiday with the Festival. I have sat next to Europeans, Americans, Canadians, as well as people from around the UK. In following posts I will write about the concerts I attended.