The course
The 7th International Study Week of Trecento Music will be held in the city of Arezzo from July 17th to 23rd , 2023: a course specializing in medieval music under the expert guidance of Kees Boeke (Ensemble Tetraktys, fiddle, recorder), Claudia Caffagni (Ensemble laReverdie, medieval lute, medieval notation), Jill Feldman (voice) and Claire Piganiol (medieval harps, portative organ).
We offer courses in fourteenth-century musical notation, analysis and use of instrumentation, with special emphasis on the relationship between poetic text and music. On a practical level, courses are held for medieval ensembles including voice, medieval lute and harp, fiddle, organetto and recorders.
The theme of this edition will be the works of Antonello da Caserta
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This year for students under 26 years of age there will be a 200€ scholarship, reducing the course fee to 200€ !! This year the Study Week of Trecento Music will take place in the Confraternità dei Laici, on the Piazza Grande in the heart of the city of Guido Monaco.
Repertoire
The course is conceived for all students who wish to deepen their understanding of medieval repertoire while developing their skills in performance.
Anthonello de Caserta
Anthonello de Caserta, also known as Anthonellus Marot, apparently was an abbot (he is called ‘Abbas’ in the ascription for the rondeau Più chiar che’l sole, although it is unknown to which order he belonged. Regrettably, virtually nothing is known from his life; the Visconti family in Milan may have employed him around 1395, and from archival documents we know he was in Pavia in 1402.
Anthonello wrote both in the French and the Italian style and it is remarkable that only his
French songs appear in ModA, wholly in accordance with its focus on the French style. However, his known output of six ballatas and one madrigal in Italian is comparable to his known French output of nine or ten works. He is the best-represented composer in what is thought to be the earlier layer of ModA, the gatherings II, III and IV. It has been suggested that he collaborated with Matheus de Perusio in the compilation of ModA, which is supported by the fact that Matteo wrote a Contratenor for his rondeau Più chiar che’l sole.
Whereas Matteo’s output in ModA is extremely diverse, Anthonello’s output consists solely of his French songs: five ballades, one virelai and two rondeaux. These are all finely crafted in the highest Ars Subtilior style but differ from many other Ars Subtilior works in ModA in an important respect: their direct expressive appeal. Anthonello was a master of writing expressive melodies, with a great sense for carefully prepared melodic and harmonic climaxes, as his by-now famous two works Amour m’a le cuer mis and Beauté parfaite beautifully demonstrate.
Anthonello exploited the Ars Subtilior style to its fullest and seems to have been fond of its
rhythmic intricacies. He was one of the first composers—possibly the first—who used fractional proportion signs, such as in Amour m’a le cuer mis. These fractional proportion signs are unique in ModA. In Anthonello’s Dame d’onour he seems to use similar fractional signs, but in fact there they are used as common mensuration signs. Yet, despite all this rhythmic and mensural complexity, Anthonello still manages to write expressive melodies in this work, which, incidentally, cites parts of the famous bird song virelai Par maintes foys by Jean Vaillant. In Beauté parfaite, Anthonello uses an intricate combination of coloration and mensuration changes.
Ballades
Amour m'a le cuer mis
Beauté parfaite
Dame d'onour en qui
Du val prilleus (or Du ciel perileus)
Notes pour moi ceste ballade
Nulle pitie de ma dame (possibly by Antonello)
Rondeaux
Dame d'onour c'on ne puet esprixier
Dame zentil en qui est ma sperance
Virelai
Tres nouble dame souverayne
Ballate
A pianger l'ochi
Con dogliosi martire
Deh, vogliateme oldire
Madonna, io me ramento
Or tolta pur me sey
Più chiar ch'el sol (with a fragmentary third voice)
Madrigal
Del glorioso titolo d'esto duce
Kees Boeke
Kees Boeke was born in Amsterdam. He studied recorder with Frans Brüggen and cello with Anner Bijlsma at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. After graduating with honours in 1969, he founded the Quadro Hotteterre. He was also a member of Kees Otten’s Syntagma Musicum for many years and a cofounder of Sour Cream (1972), Little Consort Amsterdam (1978), and Mala Punica (1989).
In 1970, Kees Boeke began his teaching activities in The Hague and at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. Since 1990, he is Professor of Recorder and Early Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zürich, Switzerland. In 2005, he was named full professor of Medieval and Renaissance Music studies at the Institut für Alte Musik in Trossingen, Germany.
He has given seminars and master classes in recorder and early music around the world including the Deller Academy (Lacoste, France 1972-1982), Corsi Internazionali di Musica Antica (Urbino, Italy 1975-1982), Early Music Festival, Vancouver and has been artistic director of the International Early Music courses at San Floriano (Polcenigo, Italy 1983-1993). From 1989 on, he collaborated with the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, for whom he produced Ludovico da Viadana’s Vespers (Salmi a 4 cori, 1612) in 1994.
In 1996, Kees Boeke began his work as musical director for the ensemble Cantica Symphonia with whom he has made recordings of the Motets by Costanzo Festa and Masses by Guillaume Dufay. He has been invited as guest conductor by the vocal and instrumental ensemble “L’Homme Armé” in Florence and by the ensemble Ars Nova Copenhagen for concerts in Holland, Belgium and Denmark. Over the years, he has collaborated with the Hilliard Ensemble in concerts and recordings of the music of Heinrich Isaac, Orlando di Lasso, and Philippe de Monte.
Kees Boeke has recorded over 70 records and CD’s for Teldec, Das Alte Werk, EMI, RCA, Nuova Era, Channel Classics, Arcana, Symphonia, Attacca, Erato, Philips, Stradivarius, Glossa, Mirare and his own label Olive Music.
In the realm of contemporary music, Kees Boeke forms an electronic recorder duo, Duix, with Antonio Politano. The ensemble specializes in performance on bass recorders, with emphasis on new music by Italian composers. Kees Boeke is himself an active composer (Donemus, Amsterdam, Sheetmusicnow.com ) and editor of early and contemporary music (Zen-On, Tokyo; Schott, London).
Since 2001 he has worked closely with Professor Laurenz Lütteken (University of Zurich) in projects and seminars in the field of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. In 2003, he started his CD label Olive Music, along with his wife, singer Jill Feldman. In addition, the two founded a new ensemble "Tetraktys" for medieval music. The Tetraktys programs include, among other things, the Trecento, Chansons by Dufay and contemporaries, the Squarcialupi Codex, the complete recording of the Chantilly Codex, works of Ciconia, sacred and secular works by Matteo da Perugia, the Songbook of Johannes Heer etc.
Since 1980 Kees Boeke lives in Tuscany, where he produces extra virgin olive oil.
Claudia Caffagni
Claudia Caffagni was born in Bologna into a musical family. She started studying the lute with her father Mirco at the age of thirteen and later with Federico Manicola. From the beginning of her musical education, she has held a deep interest in problems of performance practice in repertoire that covers the wide range of early music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque.
She obtained her diploma in Lute performance in 1989 at the Royal College of Music in London, where she studied with Jakob Lindberg. She then specialized in German baroque lute repertoire for a year at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Hopkinson Smith. Apart from her practical studies, she became particularly interested in the sources, notation and treatises of medieval repertoire especially. In 1984, she founded her Ensemble LaReverdie, one of the most important groups internationally active in the reconstitution of pre-renaissance music. With this ensemble she has performed at the most prestigious festivals of all Europe. She has recorded sixteen CDs for ARCANA, in co-production with WDR. All CDs have obtained prizes including the Diapason d’Or de l’Année 1993, and "Finalist" in the 2010 and 2013 Midem Classical Awards, Early Music.
In 1995 she obtained a master (with honours) in Architecture at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, with a thesis entitled: "Il temperamento in musica e in architettura: "La Schola Riccatiana" (Fidia Edizioni d’Arte, Milano-Lugano, 2011). This thesis was published by the editor Leo Olschki for her lecture for the Fondazione Cini di Venezia in 2010, dedicated to Giordano Riccati.
She recently published an article entitled "Omaggio a Johannes Ciconia. Marce Marcum imitaris: un modello per i mottetti di Ciconia" for the magazine Marcinum, 2012. A new article will come entitled "A new edition of the Italian Trecento motet Marce, Marcum imitaris" for the Journal of the Alamire Foundation.
To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Ensemble LaReverdie (1986-2006) she prepared a new critical performing edition of Guillaume Du Fay's Missa Sancti Jacobi, directly transcribing the Mass from its main manuscript source, the Codex Q15 from the Bologna, Civico Museo Bibliografico Library. It was presented in 2014 for the "Premio Luigi Gaiatto" promoted by the Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi where it received an honorable mention.
Claudia has been a teacher of Early Music performance practice at the Conservatory "G. Tartini" in Trieste and has held seminars and courses in lute and medieval music in Italy and abroad. Since 2005 she has taught international early music courses in Urbino, Parma, at the Accademia Internazionale di Musica (Scuola Civica) in Milan. From 2007-2015 she has taught medieval and renaissance notation as well as plectrum lute at the Department for Medieval and Renaissance Music at the University of Music in Trossingen.
Jill Feldman
Jill Feldman held a teaching position for many years at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, the Royal Conservatory Den Haag, and has regularly held master classes and workshops for the Amici della Musica of Florence, for the Academia de Musica Antiga de Lisboa, the International Early Music Seminar - Tel Aviv, at the IYAP of Antwerp, at the Cursos Internacionales "Manuel de Falla" in Granada, in Japan and South Korea.
She studied singing with Lillian Loran in San Francisco and graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Later she specialized in the field of early music in Basel under the guidance of Andrea Von Ramm.
She made her debut in three major productions: Monteverdi's Orfeo in Berkeley, California, the Erismena by Cavalli at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, and the highly successful Ordo Virtutum of Hildegard von Bingen with the medieval group Sequentia.
From 1981 to 1986, Jill Feldman has sung with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants. With this ensemble, she recorded twelve albums including Marc Antoine Charpentier’s opera Médée in the title role, which received the Gramophone Award (London), Prix Charles Cros (Paris) and the Grand Prix du Disque (Montreux) in 1985 . Since then, she has taken part in over fifty recordings.
In 2003 she founded the record label Olive Music with her husband, Kees Boeke , for which they have recorded four medieval programs: Trecento (from Machaut to Ciconia), Chansons by Guillaume Dufay, O tu cara sciença mie musica (Squarcialupi Codex) and Chantilly Codex; Consort Songs by William Byrd and his contemporaries, Leçons de ténèbres by Charpentier, Delalande, Couperin, and "Songs" by Charles Ives.
Jill Feldman was invited by conductors such as Frans Brüggen (Die Schöpfung by Haydn), Andrew Parrot (Carmelite Vespers Handel), Jordi Savall (Motetti of Delalande), Nicholas McGegan (the cantata Tirsi Clori and Fileno and Handel's oratorium Susanna) and Rene Jacobs (l’Orontea by Cesti and Xerse by Cavalli). She has performed the role of Armida in Stradella’s Lo schiavo liberato at the Teatro di Modena and the role of Vita in La Vita Humana by Marrazzoli at the Tramway in Glasgow. In the field of contemporary music, she collaborated with the ensemble Duix with which she gave concerts at the Villa Medici in Rome, Santa Maria della Grazia in Milan, Cuenca in Spain and at the Ysbreker Festival in Amsterdam.
Claire Piganiol
After starting her musical education on the piano, Claire Piganiol studied recorder and modern harp in the Conservatoire de la Vallée de Chevreuse near Paris (France), where she also discovered historical harps during the course of her studies. Her fascination for these rarely played instruments led her to musical studies in Milano, Toulouse and Basel, where she obtained a Master in early harps in 2012.
A Master in instruments from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance directed by Kees Boeke at the Musikhochschule Trossingen allowed her to specialize in this repertoire. Academic studies in history and in musicology (Maîtrise in Université Paris-Sorbonne, France) gave her the opportunity to start research work on the iconography, organology and playing techniques of her instruments.
Claire participates in several ensembles in France and abroad: ensembles Roselis, Isabella, Tetraktys, Gilles Binchois, Les Riches Heures, Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, I Ragazzari, Celacanto, Kesselberg…
She has performed at various venues, such as the festivals Oude Muziek Utrecht, Les Riches Heures Musicales de Simiane-la-Rotonde, Festival de Musique Ancienne d’Urbino, Wunderkammer Trieste, Festival de Davos, Festtage Basel, Festival International de Musiques Sacrées de Fribourg, Musiksommer am Zürichsee; the Opera of Lille, Luzerner Theater, Semperoper Dresden; castle of Versailles, Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris and in the Einsiedeln monastery. The Ensemble Duvinsela, with whom she plays the double harp, has won the first prize of the Biagio Marini competition in August 2014.
She is professor of historical harps at the CNR of Besançon and regularly leads introductory courses and workshops for early instruments; she is a member of the faculty of the International Course of Medieval Music Performance in Besalú, Spain, and the Laboratory for Historical Harps in Rangendingen, Germany.
Schedule
Arrival: Sunday, July 16 afternoon
6.30 pm: Opening meeting between professors and students
8 pm: dinner with everybody, followed by directions for the course
Monday, July 17
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Individual lessons singers and instrumentalists
1.15 pm: lunch break
2.30 pm: practice and rehearsals
3.00 pm: Trecento notation 2 (advanced )
4.00 pm-7 pm: Ensemble coaching 1, 2, 3
Tuesday, July 18
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Individual lessons singers and instrumentalists
1.15 pm: lunch break
2.30 pm: practice and rehearsals
3.00 pm: Trecento notation 2 (advanced)
4.00 pm-7 pm: Ensemble coaching 4, 5, 6
Wednesday, July 19
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Individual lessons singers and instrumentalists
1.15 pm: lunch break
2.30 pm: practice and rehearsals
3.00 pm: Trecento notation 2 (advanced)
4.00 pm-7 pm: Ensemble coaching 1, 2
Thursday, July 20
10.00 am: Art tour of Arezzo, and guided visit of the Piero della Francesca fresco cycle "The legend of the true cross" by Machtelt Brüggen Israels.
class-free afternoon
(for individual practice and ensemble rehearsals)
Friday, July 21
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Individual lessons singers and instrumentalists or Ensemble coaching
1.15 pm: lunch break
2.30 pm: practice and rehearsals
3.00 pm: Trecento notation 2 (advanced)
4.00 pm-7 pm: Ensemble coaching 5, 6
Saturday, July 22
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Individual lessons singers and instrumentalists or Ensemble coaching
1.15 pm: lunch break
2.30 pm: practice and rehearsals
3.00 pm: Trecento notation 2 (advanced)
4.00 pm-7 pm: Ensemble coaching 5, 6
Sunday, July 23
9 am: Claudia Caffagni group lesson: Trecento Notation 1 (for all participants)
10 am: Kees Boeke group lesson: How to address a Trecento song (text, musica ficta, instrumentation - for all participants)
11am-1pm: Rehearsals
1:15 pm: lunch break
3pm-6pm: General rehearsal for final concert
7pm: Final Concert
Collective dinner after the Concert
Monday July 24 morning: departure
Arezzo
A city of ancient origin, Arezzo became an important Etruscan and Roman center, home of the Christian diocese as early as the fourth century. It was occupied by the Lombards in the late sixth century A.D. and strongly influenced by this population.
In the Middle Ages Arezzo became a powerful free city, often governed by its bishops, who were Counts of the Holy Roman Empire. It was at war with Siena, but especially with Florence, who subdued the city in 1384. Since this date, except for two extended rebellions in 1502 and 1529 to 1530, its history merges with that of the dominant city and then with that of Tuscany.
The present historical center retains all the charm of the illustrious past, and its monuments are enriched by the works of great medieval and Renaissance artists, such as Cimabue, Piero della Francesca, Andrea della Robbia and Giorgio Vasari.
Arezzo, the birthplace of Guido d'Arezzo as well as of the great poet Francesco Petrarca, is also internationally known as the natural stage for a famous movie: the most beautiful sights of its historical area have been used as the setting of some scenes in Roberto Benigni's film "La Vita è bella”, winner of three Academy awards in 1999.
Modern and industrious Arezzo is a city of art of the past and present, where the ancient flavours of the cuisine go hand in hand with quality artisanship in the goldsmith tradition.
Arezzo, the city of the Saracen Joust, the Antique Fair, and the "Guido d'Arezzo" International Choral Competition.
Arezzo, a gem set among the rolling Tuscan hills and the birthplace of famous personalities: as the distinguished Italian poet Giosuè Carducci said: "Arezzo would be enough to illustrate the glory of Italy".
Events



Info
The course is limited to 24 students, on a first come first serve basis. In the case that inscriptions exceed the number of available places, a selection will be made on the basis of the obligatory curriculum vitae that must be attached to the entry form. You will be informed as soon as possible if you are accepted or rejected.
The registration fee is € 400.00 and includes:
- Lessons with teachers of the courses of your choice; all collective lessons and participation in the final concert.
Lodging and meals are to be reserved and paid directly by the students. We can assist in finding rooms or B&B's in town online.
There will be two collective dinners organized by the course at a fixed price of ca. 20€, one on the day of arrival and one after the final concert.
For groups of at least 3 people who apply for registration at the same time, a reduction of 50 € per person is provided.
For applicants under 26 years of age there will be the possibility of a 200€ scholarship, generously granted by the Stiftung Lyra, Zurich.
The total amount (400 €) of the course fee must be paid by bank transfer when applying.
Bank transfers mentioning “Settimana Musicale del Trecento” should be made to the following account:
Olive Music v.o.f.
Triodos Bank, Netherlands
IBAN NL75 TRIO 0390478784
BIC TRIONL2U
or with PayPal.
The application forms must be submitted no later than June 15th, 2023 using the online application form. Acceptance is on a first come first serve basis, so it is better not to be too late! The application must be accompanied by the Curriculum vitae of the student in pdf format: you can upload the CV immediately after submission of the application or by clicking on this link. If appropriate, specify in the application form the names of other members of your ensemble (in order to obtain a price reduction). The application will be considered complete and therefore definitively accepted AFTER RECEIPT OF PAYMENT OF DEPOSIT (the total fee, € 395) by bank transfer mentioning “Settimana Musicale del Trecento” to the account below.
Olive Music v.o.f.
Triodos Bank, Netherlands
IBAN NL75 TRIO 0390478784
BIC TRIONL2U
or with PayPal.
Applications must be received no later than June 15th, 2023. Confirmation of acceptance or rejection will be given as soon as possible. In case of a negative response, the fee will be refunded in full or, on request, the application will be placed on a waiting list (and refunded later if no free places become available). In the case of cancellation on the part of the student received before June 20th, the registration fee for enrollment will be refunded, withholding € 50 to cover administrative expenses; for cancellations after June 20th, you can no longer obtain a refund.
ATTENTION COVID 19
Our courses are given indoors. Therefore a Green Pass proving complete vaccinations with booster is required.
For the moment, unvaccinated people can obtain a 48 hour green pass with an antigen test, officially done in a pharmacy or test center. Self tests are not accepted. The course will not pay for these tests.
A mask must be worn at all times indoors with the exception when one is singing or playing a wind instrument. Hopefully rules will relax by July!
Arezzo is located in Tuscany, on the border of Marche and Umbria, well connected to the main airports in the region (Pisa and Florence) and the adjacent regions (Perugia). By Car: Arezzo can be reached by car from Florence or Rome via the Autostrada del Sole (A1 Milan-Naples) exit at Arezzo. From here it is about 10 km to reach the city center. Follow the indications for Parcheggio Pietri.
To reach San Pier Piccolo from Parcheggio Pietri: https://goo.gl/maps/W7kTRDQP59PmTwdD7 By Train: the Arezzo train station is on the Bologna-Rome railway line. There are daily Intercity trains to/from Florence, Rome and the rest of Italy. The TFT (Trasporto Ferroviario Toscano), operates the lines for Arezzo-Sinalunga and Arezzo-Stia.
To reach San Pier Piccolo from train station: https://goo.gl/maps/C47rLm6Wgss By Bus: Arezzo is connected to the Valdichiana, Valtiberina, Pratomagno, Casentino and Valdarno, a network run by bus companies ATAM, LFI and SITA.
From the Florence Peretola -Airport Amerigo Vespucci
By car: take the Highway A1 direction Roma, exit Arezzo;
By train: Shuttle (6 €) or taxi (22 €) from the airport to Santa Maria Novella station. From there take the train in the direction of Arezzo, Chiusi, Foligno or Rome (excluding EuroStar).
From Pisa airport Galileo Galilei
by car: take the A11 motorway up to Florence and then the A1 up to Arezzo;
by train: take bus to station Pisa Centrale, then the train to Florence Santa Maria Novella, and from here, take trains direction Arezzo, Chiusi, Foligno or Rome (excluding EuroStar).
Distances from Arezzo: Cortona 29 km; Florence 74 km; Siena 89 km; Perugia 92 km; Roma 218 km.
Enrollment
Contacts
Eleonora Nardone | eleonora.nardone@gmail.com | |
Kees Boeke | kees@settimanamusicaledeltrecento.it | tel. +39 333 5001624 |
Jill Feldman | jillann52@me.com | tel. +39 333 5029039 |
Kees Boeke ksboeke@gmail.com | ||
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