Le Chant des Oyseaux
Choral workshops
1st ANDANTE CHORAL WORKSHOP
29th May - 1st June 2025
in Alix (Beaujolais)
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
France
Franck Pellé-Rolland, musical director
MUSIC IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
We are happy to present our choral workshop in Beaujolais (France).
Alix is a small village located in the south of Beaujolais, in the 'Pierres Dorées' area, 30 kilometers north west of Lyon.
The countryside means that you have to travel by car. Carpool !
REHEARSALS IN THE ROTUNDA
Our choral workshop is held in the rotunda of the former convent church in neo-classical style, with excellent acoustics, favourable for voice. The memory of the canonesses of the 18th century still lingers here…
REPERTOIRE
For mixed a cappella choir
Music of the Renaissance by « Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal »
The Tudor dynasty (Henry VIII, Queen Mary, Elizabeth I, among others), whose history has been fictionalised in a successful television series, ruled England throughout the 16th century. The Chapel Royal was home to some of England's finest musicians. Among them were Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, both Catholics, who adapted flexibly, prudently and skilfully to the successive religious reforms. Queen Elizabeth jointly granted them the exclusive privilege of importing, printing, publishing and selling music and printing music paper for twenty-one years. Together, they published the ‘Cantiones quæ ab argumento sacræ vocantur’ in 1575. During our 2025 course, we'll be singing two pieces by Thomas Tallis from this collection, and we're looking forward to it !
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Thomas TALLIS (ca.1505-1585) Salvator mundi I listen to
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Robert PARSONS (ca.1535-1572) Ave Maria listen to
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Thomas TALLIS (ca.1505-1585) O Sacrum Convivium listen to
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William BYRD (ca.1540-1623) My minde to me a kingdome is listen to
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Thomas TALLIS (ca.1505-1585) If ye love me listen to
We are presenting an Andante workshop. Participants are expected to master the music beforehand. (MP3s available).
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
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Our workshop will be held from Thursday 29th May, at 9:30am, to Sunday 1st June 2025, at 4:00pm.
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Two daily rehearsals : 9:30am-12:00pm ; 2:30pm-6:00pm.
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The workshop will end with a performance.
ACCOMMODATION & MEALS
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There are different possibilities in the villages of the surrounding area (not in Alix itself) : B&Bs, holiday cottages, hotels in Villefranche-sur-Saône, etc.
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We can share lunch in the restaurant of the village. Accompanying spouses are of course welcome to join the group for lunch.
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We do not organize dinners; free evenings.
OUR PARTICIPANTS HAVE THEIR SAY.
" I come back regularly, both for the repertoire on offer and for the progress I've made in practising polyphony. Everything always runs smoothly thanks to the good organisation and the audio files received beforehand allow you to work effectively before the course." Joëlle M.
" We worked on Franco-Flemish works from the Renaissance : original compositions with a skilful construction and sometimes complex interpretation. Our choir conductor helped us to observe and appreciate the finesse, agility and mobility of these works, a way of making us understand and appreciate the timelessness and modernity of this remarkable and joyful 'early music'. I thoroughly enjoyed this discovery. " Marie-José C.
"I've taken part several times in the Ascension workshop in Alix, where we sing Renaissance polyphony, often little known. The workshop is very well organized and the bucolic setting of Alix very pleasant. We work in depth in a concentrated atmosphere where humor has its place. The teaching approach develops your listening skills, helps you to understand how this music is built and how to make it resonate in choir, with all its nuances. It's all the more enjoyable when all participants arrive well-prepared, thanks to the files they've been given in advance." Cécile J.
PROGRAMMES OF OUR PREVIOUS WORKHSOPS
MAY 2024 WORKSHOP
Franco-flemish music of the Renaissance
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Jean RICHAFORT (ca.1480-ca.1548) O quam dulcis
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Jacob OBRECHT (ca.1457-1505) Salve Regina
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Josquin DESPREZ (1450-1521) Gaude Virgo Mater Christi
MAY 2023 WORKSHOP
Hortus conclusus - Music for the Virgin Mary in Andalusia during the Renaissance
for mixed a capella choir
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Cristóbal de MORALES (ca.1500-1553) Ave Regina Cælorum
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Rodrigo de CEBALLOS (ca.1530-1581) Hortus conclusus
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Francisco GUERRERO (1528-1599) Ave Maria a4
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Francisco GUERRERO (1528-1599) Dulcissima Maria
MAY 2022 WORKSHOP
« Music for a while shall all our cares beguile. »
Divine moments of English music for mixed a capella choir
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Thomas TOMKINS (1572-1656) Music Divine
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William BYRD (ca.1540-1623) Sing joyfully
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Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) Music for a while
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Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) Cantate Domino
2021 WORKSHOP
Franco-Flemish music of the Renaissance for mixed a capella choir
Josquin DES PREZ (ca.1450-1521)
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De profundis clamavi
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Ave Verum Corpus
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Salve Regina
2020 WORKSHOP
Italian sacred music of the Renaissance for mixed a capella choir
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (ca.1525-1594)
Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (extracts) :
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Surge, amica mea, speciosa mea
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Quam pulchra es
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Guttur tuum sicut vinum optimum
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Veni dilecte mi
MAY 2019 WORKHOP
Spanish sacred music of the Renaissance for mixed a capella choir
Tomás Luis de VICTORIA (1548-1611) 'Ave Maris Stella'
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Regina Cæli Lætare
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Kyrie (Missa Ave Maris Stella)
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Ave Maris Stella (odd stanzas)
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Ave Regina Cælorum
MAY 2018 WORKSHOP
Portuguese music of the Renaissance for mixed a capella choir
The influence of Evora Cathedral
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Estêvão LOPES MORAGO (ca.1575-ca.1631) Oculi mei
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Manuel CARDOSO (ca.1566-1650) Introitus (Missa pro defunctis)
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Duarte LÔBO (ca.1565-1646) Audivi vocem de cælo
MAY 2017 WORKSHOP
For mixed a capella choir
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Roland de LASSUS (1532-1594) O Bone Iesu
MAY 2016 WORKSHOP
For mixed a capella choir
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Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643) Missa ‘Ave Domine Jesu Christe’
MAY 2015 WORKSHOP
For mixed a capella choir
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA (ca.1525-1594) Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (extracts) :
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Adiuro vos filiae Hierusalem
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Caput eius aurum optimum
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Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum
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Pulchra es amica mea.