Southern Early Music Forum

Renaissance workshop for voices and instruments
2025-02-23 10:30 - 17:00 (Europe/London) | Headcorn Village Hall, Church Lane, Headcorn, TN27 9NR
Directed by Peter Wendland.

A background note by Peter Wendland about the music is available at this link.

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and paper booking form (PDF)

Further details and paper booking form (Word)

Palestrina, Prince of Music - workshop for voices
2025-03-29 10:30 - 17:00 | Bosham, United Kingdom
Directed by David Allinson

Bosham, near Chichester

Online booking form (preferred)

Further information and paper booking form.

Purcell for singers, strings, and continuo
2025-05-17 10:30 - 17:00 | Blackbridge Community Centre, Three Acres, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1RS, United Kingdom
Ben England (of “Choir of the Earth” and “Homechoir” fame) will direct music by Purcell for singers, strings, and continuo at baroque pitch (A=415).

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and postal booking form (PDF)

Gibbons Verse Anthems for voices and instruments
2025-06-28 10:30 - 17:00 | Findon Village Hall, High Street, Findon, West Sussex, BN14 0TA, United Kingdom
Directed by Bill Hunt

Bill writes: In 2023 I had the pleasure of leading a workshop featuring verse anthems by William Byrd, the father of this musical form. This year we shall feature anthems by Orlando Gibbons to celebrate his quatercentenary (died 1625), in whose hands it arguably reached its finest expression.

The vocal scoring of sacred music from this period is not easy to replicate with modern voices – it is very clear that the voice ranges for which it was typically written are significantly different from the normal SATB ranges that we know today. To give you an idea, ‘Cantus’ or ‘mean’ usually denotes what we would now call ‘mezzo’: ‘Contratenor’ means a high tenor range (not a falsetto ‘countertenor’) and is sometimes best achieved by combining a normal tenor with an alto in a kind of pantomime horse arrangement. ‘Tenor’ was the name given to what we would recognise as baritone; and Bassus means a ‘real’, i.e. low bass voice.

Instruments: Viols of all sizes and soft wind (recorders, flutes) with a supporting role for well-behaved curtals in the chorus sections. Organ and lute are also welcome to join.

Places for Sopranos and for Recorder players are now full. Applicants will be put on a waiting list for possible vacancies.

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and postal booking form (PDF)

Workshop for instruments directed by Emily White (Headcorn)
2025-10-05 10:30 - 17:00 | Headcorn Village Hall, Church Lane, Headcorn, TN27 9NR
We will cover a wide range of music, from France, Scotland, Germany and Italy and ranging from 5 to 22 parts: Jean Mouton – Reges terrae congregati sunt; Robert Carver – O bone Jesu; Melchior Vulpius – Verbum caro factus est; Giovanni Gabrieli – Sonata XX in 22 parts.

Open to the following instruments: Cornetts, sackbuts, curtals/dulcians, recorders, viol and violin family, plucked continuo.

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and paper booking form

Palestrina workshop for voices directed by David Allinson (Challock)
2025-11-15 10:30 - 17:00 | Challock Memorial Hall, Blind Lane, Challock, TN25 4AU, United Kingdom
Directed by David Allinson

David Allinson writes: This year the early music world has been celebrating the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth. An astonishingly productive composer, he wrote over a hundred settings of the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, etc.), many of which remain unheard and unrecorded today.

For this workshop, we will explore Palestrina’s supreme mastery in the so-called ‘parody’ Mass genre. In this type of setting, the composer bases their Mass on a pre-existing polyphonic model — generally a motet or chanson – expanding and rhapsodising on the source material in each ‘movement’.This should be a harmonious, varied and enjoyable day of singing that sheds light on some of Palestrina’s loveliest Mass settings.

While final repertoire choices depend on the forces signing up, it is hoped to include a movement from some or all of these Masses: O sacrum convivium, Sicut lilium, O magnum mysterium and Je suis deshéritée – along with the polyphonic source motet or chanson. Divided voice parts are frequently required (especially tenors) so strong singers are encouraged to sign up early so that the desired Masses can be included.

More basses needed!

Altos will be put on a waiting list (unless accompaied by at least one bass).

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and postal booking form.

Workshop for voices and instruments directed by Alison Kinder (Boxgrove)
2025-11-15 10:30 - 17:00 | Boxgrove Village Hall, The Street, Boxgrove, PO18 0EE, United Kingdom
A European Advent

Alison Kinder will take us on a musical tour of western Europe. Come and explore some glorious – but less familiar – music appropriate to the approaching Advent season.

Subject to the forces available (especially tenors!), the music will include: Ecce Dominus Veniet a8 (Praetorius); O Lieber Herre Gott a7 (Schutz), Spiritus Sanctus a7 (Merulo); Ad te Levavi (Palestrina); Veni Domine (Morales); Laetentur Coeli (Byrd); and Gibbons’ 6 part setting of Lift up your heads.

Applications are welcome from singers (all voices) and players of instruments appropriate to the period (strings – viol and violin families; loud and soft wind; and continuo instruments).

Online booking form (preferred).

Further details and postal booking form.

Workshop for voices and Renaissance instruments directed by Gawain Glenton
2026-02-08 10:30 - 17:30 | Headcorn Village Hall, Church Lane, Headcorn, TN27 9NR
The workshop will focus on the music of Giovanni Croce (1557-1609), who was a leading Venetian composer of his day. His sacred music shows a development from the even-textured style of Palestrina to the more modern Venetian style, using multiple choruses, solo voices, crisp instrumental rhythms, and basso continuo.We intend to include his 10-part Dialogo de Chori d’Angeli and movements of his 16-part Missa Jubilate Deo.

Open to all voices and the following instruments:Cornetts, sackbuts, curtals/dulcians, recorders, viol and violin family, plucked continuo. Violin family players do not need to have a baroque instrument.

Pitch A440.

Online booking form (preferred).

Further details and paper booking form

A Party in Augsburg with Lizzie Gutteridge
2026-05-02 10:30 - 17:00 | Scaynes Hill Village Centre, Lewes Road, Scaynes Hill, West Sussex, RH17 7PG, United Kingdom
Music of the early 16th century German Town and Dance bands

Director: Lizzie Gutteridge

Online booking form (preferred)

Further details and postal booking form

This workshop is for players of all Medieval & Renaissance instruments at A=440. Players of loud winds are encouraged to also bring a quieter alternative instrument with them for occasional calmer moments. There will be a few pieces in which percussion and drone instruments, such as bagpipes and hurdy-gurdies in G & D, can be used.All music will be provided in a booklet which may be purchased at the end of the day for £7.00. Music will be in a score of treble, treble 8 and bass clefs. Other clefs may be requested in advance.

Workshop for voices and instruments directed by Alison Kinder
2026-11-21 10:30 - 17:00 | Fishbourne Church Hall, Fishbourne Road West, Fishbourne, PO19 3XT, United Kingdom
We hope to include the pieces we didn’t have time to cover in her November 2025 workshop.

Full details will be posted at a later date.
