Stairways to Heaven: Hexachords, Ficta, and Pillars (oh my!)
Coach: Malachai Bandy
Location: St James Episcopal Church
Description: Last season, Malachai led a Play Day centered on Fauxbourdon and its many symbolic meanings in works by Dufay, Layolle, Morales, and Monteverdi. By popular demand, this Play Day continues our tour of compositional techniques from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, to bolster your understanding of early-modern counterpoint––both the musical tools themselves and the more symbolic/mystical “stuff” they pack onto the page. Thus, like its earlier installment, this session treats a variety of sacred and secular repertoire, both English and Continental, as a laboratory for examining compositional clues hiding potent symbolism for centuries (right under our noses!), that require some light initiation to decode. Specifically, two of the most foundational and widespread––yet often misunderstood––elements of composition will come into sharper focus: musica ficta (accidentals) and hexachords (six-note scales) and their solmization syllables (ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la). After some practical exercises and a scavenger hunt through gorgeous repertoire, these ubiquitous symbolic elements will happily scurry out of hiding, ready to jump off the page to meet you in your future musical endeavors.
Class Materials: CLICK HERE