Andrew Lawrence-King is teaching and performing at the
Edinburgh International Harp Festival, 4th-9th April 2014.
See below for detailed information on The Harp Consort in Concert, Workshop and Courses.
Also see below for free downloads of workshop and course materials.
ALK @ EIHF
Passacaille d'Armide
from Chorégraphie
Concert: Sunday April 6th 7.30pm. Tickets here
Chorégraphie: Music for Louis XIV's dancing-masters
THE HARP CONSORT
Andrew Lawrence-King (Italian baroque triple harp)
Karin Modigh (baroque dance)
Raoul Auger Feuillet published a book that would forever change the history of dance. Earlier treatises described dances in words, but Feuillet’s 1700 Chorégraphie uses a carefully defined notation to indicate movements, floor patterns and rhythmic phrasing. Bound together with this volume were two collections of dances notated in the new system, 15 by Feuillet himself and 9 by Louis Pécour, dancing master at the Académie Royale, set to music from Lully’s operas and ballets.
Feuillet’s book preserves in glorious detail the noble style of French dance from the court of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” who himself appeared in countless masques and ballets, dancing both in elegant heroic roles and in witty grotesques. Some scenes are set in the imaginary landscape of a pastoral idyll, others depict great cities, dark prisons, or exotic foreign lands; Harlequins and acrobats tumble across the stage.
Noble amateurs were so highly accomplished that the most popular theatre choreographies were taken up as ballroom dances. Similarly, harpsichordist Jean Henri D’Anglebert re-arranged for solo instrument some of Lully’s grandest orchestral dance-music, including the famous Passacaille from Armide, choreographed by Pécour.
Together with Moliere’s dramas, operas by Lully and Campra, and dances by Beauchamps, Pécour and L’Abbée, Feuillet’s Chorégraphie is one of the crowning achievements of the French Baroque.
Workshop: Il Corago - Action! Action! Action!
Monday April 7th 0915-1145 Tickets here
An anonymous circa-1630 guide for a theatrical Artistic Director, Il Corago, gives us a fascinating insight into the cross-connections between poetry, music, dance, acting and swordsmanship. In this course, Andrew Lawrence-King and Karin Modigh explore words and rhythms in the context of historical dance, period fencing, and Shakespeare’s advice to actors.
According to the ancient Greeks, to Roman orators, and 17th-century writers, what are the three secrets of great performance? Bring your eloquent hands, your dancing feet, and your swordfighters’ reflexes!
For musicians, actors, singers & dancers*....
... or anyone looking for some Action!
*All participants will be encouraged to try everything,
to explore new skills and relate them to their existing talents.
DOWNLOAD COURSE MATERIALS HERE
Selected Country Dances
transcribed for harp
Part I (easy) here
Part II (moderate) here
Part III (difficult) here
Listen to computer play
Picking of Sticks
Listen to computer play
The Old Mole
Listen to computer play
Greenwood
Listen to The Harp Consort
play The Wherligig
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL COURSE
Playford’s country dances -
Celtic choreography meets European elegance
Four Day Course Details here
John Playford’s The English Dancing Master, first published in 1651, was a huge success in its own time. Today, it is a vital source for folk-musicians, dancers and early-music players.
But what is this music, published in London City but representing popular, country celebrations? What is this English dancing-master doing with all these foreign tunes: Scots, Irish, Italian, Spanish and French?
How can we create an accompaniment for Playford’s tunes? What are the musical priorities in the 17th century? And how can we make the music dance?
Download course materials (see left column)
and listen to examples.
(All participants should download all three Parts)
Listen to The Harp Consort
play Scotch Cap & The Whish
ADVANCED LEVEL COURSE
The Noble Art of French Dance
Allemandes, Courantes, Minuets, Sarabandes, Gigues & Chaconnes
from the Versailles court of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
Four Day Course Details here
French dance styles defined musical fashion across Europe and were imitated in England, Scotland and Ireland. Andrew Lawrence-King shows how to turn ‘true movement’ into swinging rhythms for harp solos, and guides you through fashionable French ornamentation.
Music by Lully, Purcell, Couperin, Carolan.
Download course materials here Style Sheet here
Listen to
Corbetta Fantasie de Chaconne from the CD La Harpe Royale
Andrew Lawrence-King (Italian Baroque Triple Harp)