Workshop:
Improvised Polyphony
Tim Braithwaite, Cappella Pratensis

The dusty old composer sits in his dusty old study, agonising over each note, and carefully choosing the right piece of the puzzle that will complete his masterpiece. This is, with a little bit of creative license, more or less how I was taught to think about Renaissance counterpoint: as an academic skill reserved for the more mathematically inclined musician. However, over the last few decades, counterpoint has increasingly been recognised as the language of improvisation, reframing the skill as a vibrant and living musical language. Drawing on historical visualisation and memorisation techniques, this session aims to introduce the participant to the basic building blocks of improvised counterpoint.

This session is led by Tim Braithwaite, director of the Cappella Pratensis, a renowned ensemble based in the Netherlands, which has championed historically-informed performance of polyphony - both 'from the book' and improvised - over the past forty years. 

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This session is open to all, whether you sing professionally, for fun, or simply enjoy listening to early music. A bar selling refreshments will be open from 7pm.