Medieval singing:
early polyphony, Saint Martial and Notre Dame schools, from the 11th to the 13th century
October 19 to 23, 2024
PURPOSE
- Invitation to move in the footsteps of a yesteryear music with a today’s perspective.
- Learning monodies in all their textuals and melodics diversities.
- Learning polyphonies
- Initiations to the « neumes » and other musical writings from the Middle Ages.
- Initiation to the Pythagorean temperament.
REPERTOIRE
- The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Martial in Limoges was the most important monastic site in the Limousin region in the Middle Ages. The main medieval manuscripts of the School of Saint Martial containing polyphony (tropes, sequences and the first organa) in the style known as ‘Saint Martial’ date from the end of the 11th century and the first half of the 12th century.
- The Monastery of Las Huelgas in Burgos, Spain, was and still is a women’s monastery. The manuscript known as ‘de Las Huelgas’ contains monodies and polyphonies mainly in the style of the School of Our Lady (second half of the twelfth century and first half of the thirteenth century). While many of these songs can be found in other sources, some are unique pieces.
GENERAL CONTENT
- Body preparation of the singer and voice
- Oral transmission: learning by listening and imitation (without scores)
- Work on listening and harmonic accuracy, search for timbres
- Work on breath dynamic, sustained sounds and melisma
- Text interpretation search (e.g. spoken/sung)
- Initiation to the medieval writings
TERMS OF PARTICIPATION
Teenagers and adults, women and men, of any level, no prior knowledge required.
This course will adapt to everyone’s abilities and is aimed at beginners as well as experienced singers. The teaching method lends itself to mixing levels in a single group while maintaining an individualized approach.
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Biography
After a degree in Speech-Language Pathologist, the singer Els Janssens continued her musical training at the Jazzstudio in Antwerp (B), then in classical singing at the Conservatories of Antwerp (B) and Liège (B). She then went to specialize in baroque and renaissance music at the Toulouse Conservatory and in medieval music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (CH).
Today, Els Janssens leads an international career, enthusiastically venturing into twelve centuries of so-called “classical” music. With Mora Vocis, of which she is the artistic director since 2011, Els Janssens designs concerts and shows of medieval and contemporary music, sometimes mixing circus, theater, video, dance, thus giving an important place to the body as an instrument and extension of the voice.
Numerous audio and video recordings (and their awards) testify to collaborations with renowned musicians (Ensemble Leones, Mora Vocis, Ensemble Dialogos, Solistes XXI, Oensemble recherche, Ensemble Meitar…). Els Janssens gives an important place to creation and live work with composers of our time. In this same light, improvisation regains ground, thanks to various encounters with artists from very varied countries and styles.
In parallel with her career as a multilingual singer-performer, Els Janssens teaches singing and stage presence in the form of an internship or master class. She also works with various artists and ensembles as a musical, linguistic and scenic advisor.
Ⓒ : François MARIOTTI