EASTERN EARLY MUSIC FORUM


Dido and Aeneas

A workshop with Peter Holman

Saturday 23rd September 2006
The Old Chapel, Elsworth

M

ICHAEL Taylor's gloriously restored Old Baptist Chapel in Elsworth near Cambridge was the venue for our Purcellian adventures. The bright sunshine and ringing music brought out the best in this impressively restored building which is now so steeped in early music that even the cats are apparently fans of Bach's B Minor Mass (which is no mean feat if you've lived in a piano for 4 months)! Gem and Amber (the aforementioned cats) did not pass comment on the quality of our music but I'm sure they would be happy for me to speak for them when I say that we improved greatly throughout the day. This was achieved through the hard work of the singers and instrumentalists and under the expert guidance of Peter Holman.

 

I was not well acquainted with either Dido or Aeneas before this workshop. Having heard my attempt at Aeneas, I'm sure the other participants will attest to that fact. I found the day a fantastic opportunity to discover the work and others more familiar with it also found it rewarding. Some new discoveries for them were Peter's orchestral additions to the "conventional" edition which are apparently a flavour of what was once edited out. When Peter's edition knowledge fell short of encyclopaedic he could always refer to Clifford Bartlett's expertise shouted from the back of the chapel.

 

THE day ran very smoothly thanks to the attentiveness and organisational skills of Peter Holman, Selene Mills and Clifford Bartlett. A simple, tasty and substantial lunch was well earned and fuelled some productive afternoon work.

 

AFTER lunch the chorus were shepherded into another room which despite the lack of space for so many of us (I felt we gave a new meaning to the term "close harmony") proved a useful venue for a vocal workout with the aid of Purcell's Jehovah, quam multi sunt hostes mei. Nick Webb impressed us with his bass solo, entertaining everybody with his robust English-Latin pronunciation.

 

WE ended the day with a full run through with only a few brief stops. I admit to some bias (and so haven't mentioned my fiancee's stunning arias!) when I agree with Peter's verdict that some of it was done very well. Highlights for me were Selene Mills' brief appearance as one of many Didos, Eli Fosbrooke-Brown and Sarah Murphy as a pair of enchanting witches and the orchestra's Scottish dance accompanied by Clifford and Nick Webb foot-stamping on percussion.

 

Chris Paterson

 

Extracted from EEMF Newsletter 63, November 2006