Sounds Historical Music Workshop
On Thursday 30th January, the Music Department welcomed early music ensemble, ‘Sounds Historical’, for an interactive concert and whistlestop tour of music from the medieval period through to the 1700s.
Led by baroque recorder player and flautist, Heidi Fardell, the group guided pupils through the developments of notated and improvised music, showcasing copies of manuscripts dating back as early as 1000 AD and the evolution of historical instruments over time.
Pupils joined the musicians to sing ancient Gregorian chant by female composer Hildegard of Bingen, discovering the relationship between modes and modern day scales.
The group heard how recorders and flutes evolved over 1000 years, and explored the timbre and structure of instruments such as the gittern, lute, crumhorn, theorbo, as well as the magical sound of renaissance viols.
The concert ended with a performance of a Haydn quartet on baroque instruments, after which pupils were invited up to explore and play the instruments heard.
Pupils were buzzing with praise after the event and clearly enjoyed the opportunity to hear historical music played on the instruments it was written for. A treat for all!
