Polychoral music in the Venetian tradition

HITEM/EMSNS Workshop

“Making the Walls Sing”

A workshop by Thomas Baeté, with polychoral music from the Venetian tradition

The Halifax Institute of Traditional and Early Music (HITEM) and the Early Music Society of Nova Scotia (EMSNS) together are pleased to invite vocalists and instrumentalists to a workshop with Flemish early music specialist Thomas Baeté, in which participants will make glorious music from various locations in St. George’s Round Church.

The workshop will start with a short introduction to the cori spezzati practice of using spatially separated choirs singing in alteration, which originated in Venice’s San Marco Basilica during the late Renaissance and early Baroque. This will be followed by a practical session during which participants will be interpreting polychoral pieces by Willaert, Gabrieli and Monteverdi from the balconies of the church.

Admission to the workshop is by donation (free for EMSNS and HITEM members), and is open to all. To participate, please pre-register at info@tradandearlymusic.ca.

Based in Belgium, where he teaches in Brussels and Leuven, Thomas Baeté plays the viola da gamba and the medieval fiddle, which he also uses to accompany his singing. His musical activities have brought him to over 20 European countries, as well as Morocco, Peru, Colombia, the USA, Canada, Georgia and Japan. He founded the ensemble ClubMediéval, which supports his passion for polyphony of the 14th century, while his project Transports Publics highlights music of the 17th century.

HITEM is a multi-generational community music school based in Halifax, Nova Scotia (K’jipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki), whose innovative programming includes both traditional music and early music. The EMSNS exists to open lines of communication related to early music activities within the community, to nurture early music making at all levels, to encourage performance opportunities and to build audiences that enjoy early music.