Designed in collaboration with UCLA Early Music Ensemble (EME) guest viol coach Niccolo Seligmann, this November 2016 concert formed around a series of gems of English viol, or viola da gamba, repertoire. Combining UCLA students, faculty, staff, and Los Angeles community members, the program placed the “Cries” of historic England and of contemporary Southern California into dialogue.
As director of the UCLA EME for the 2016-17 school year, I wrote a series of successful grant proposals to fund masterclasses with guest artists, ensuring that ensemble members learned from a diverse series of talented musicians. Increased interest and recent refurbishments to UCLA’s viol collection led us to hire gambist Niccolo Seligmann as guest viol coach through one such grant. Seligmann spent the fall academic term teaching both seasoned gambists and students brand new to the instrument. Around “In Nomine’s” by Christopher Tye and William Byrd and other pieces by Michael East and John Jenkins, we crafted a concert that juxtaposed English joys and sorrows. Other concert highlights included Sheryngham’s exquisite”A gentill Jhesu” from the Fayrfax Manuscript, Thomas Morley’s raucous “Will You Buy a Fine Dog?”, and pieces by Henry Purcell, John Dunstable, and Guillaume Du Fay, in addition to Richard Dering’s “City Cries.”
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