Scaynes Hill Village Centre, near Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17 7PG

A live workshop directed by Lizzie Gutteridge.

This workshop will offer an introduction to some of Machaut’s most famous works, alongside a few less familiar numbers and a brief foray into the earlier Montpelier Manuscript where music from the previous generation provides us with some context. We’ll cover the poetic song forms of virelais & rondeau, including the well known Douce dame jolie and Ma fin est mon commencement. Where these are monophonic we’ll look at approaches to building an arrangement with drones and countermelodies. We’ll take some time to get used to navigating the forms and relishing the harmonies in the polyphonic works, which can be startling at first to the modern ear but have a logic and richness that’s worth pursuing. Meanwhile we’ll tackle some of the easier mass movements and also the Hoquetus David, composed in one of Machaut’s more backward looking moments, and will compare with an earlier hocket from the Montpellier manuscript, and while we’re there we’ll take a look at one or two motets on the same tenor.

Electronic booking form

Paper booking form and further details