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For intermediate to advanced early notation students

“Tandernaken, al op den Rijn” (sometimes also spelled T’Andernaken, or Tandernack) is the title of a popular 15th c. Middle Dutch tune, which was used as the slow-moving tenor line for virtuosic polyphonic settings by several 15th and early 16th century composers in Dutch, Italian, English, and German sources. In this 5-week series kicking off our 2024-2025 notation sessions, we will explore 5 of these wonderful settings, focusing at first on the ones transmitted in manuscript form, but also including some of the ones in early prints. Composers of Tandernaken settings include Tijling, Jacob Obrecht, Antoine Brumel, King Henry VIII, Paul Hofhaimer, Petrus Alamire, Ludwig Senfl, Alexander Agricola, and  Erasmus Lapicida.

Are you curious about the origins of our Western modern notation system? How was music written down in the 16th century? Would you like to know how to differentiate longa, breve, semibreve, and minim? Are you up for a fun challenge playing from historical clefs? And what about those ligatures? 

There is no time like the present to dip your toes (and fingers) into the wonderful world of original notation, specifically mensural notation, the system primarily used during the 14th-16th centuries. Being able to read from the original greatly enhances our understanding of how the music we love works and can give new insights for our performance practice. One might compare this process to how reading a work of literature in its original language reveals a world of nuances hidden in even the best of translations.

Sign up for this introductory notation class of four weekly sessions starting in late September 2024! Our sessions will focus on reading and playing practice. We will work from easily accessible 16th century sources. We will take baby steps, and the instructor will be available to answer all of your questions. Music and recordings will be provided and can be used for your individual practice at home between sessions. Open to all instruments and singers. All levels welcome - basic abilities on your instrument/voice and basic music-reading skills are a prerequisite.Sound files of the pieces are accessible for personal practice between classes.