Past workshops

Favourite Renaissance music from the Voces8 songbook. Works by Byrd, Gabrieli, Mouton, Allegri, et al.

In the spirit of fall, we'll explore famous lament and other ground bass compositions by Monteverdi, Purcell, and others, which will become a springboard for learning about figured bass and trying out some improvisation and playing of divisions.

Come on a journey through the musical works of composers such as Willaert, Engelmann, Holborne, and Paul Desmond, and discover the ingenuity and expertise of these musicians from the Renaissance, Baroque, and twentieth-century jazz periods.

Step into the festive spirit with a playful exploration of Renaissance carol settings. In this workshop, we'll discover how familiar seasonal melodies like "Puer nobis nascitur" and "Vom Himmel hoch" are cleverly reimagined through shifting meters, moving gracefully between duple and triple time. You'll learn to feel these rhythmic changes with ease and confidence, while enjoying the rich harmonies and lively character of 16th-century music.

Music frequently employs repetition as an organizational principle, seen in forms like the canon, fugue, and chaconne, where a musical idea is reiterated and transformed. A canon is a contrapuntal technique where a melody is imitated by another voice entering usually at the same pitch and later time, playing against itself. A fugue is a more complex form built on a main theme (the subject) that is introduced in different voices and different pitches and then developed harmonically and structurally. A chaconne is a form of variation, favoured in the Baroque period, that presents a repeating bass line or harmonic progression, over which melodic variations occur.

In this workshop, we will be exploring these "repetitive" forms through the compositions of Gabrielli, Telemann, J.S. Bach, Johannes Mattheson, Caspar Jager and their contemporaries.

The workshop will look at and play numerous examples of music "that repeats itself" in different forms including canons, passacaglias and fugues. We will play music by Bach, Frescobaldi Jager, Mattheson and Purcell to name a few.

Lutenist Jonathan Stuchbery invites you to explore the consort music of John Dowland as we celebrate 400 years since he died in February 1626. Alongside excerpts from Dowland's famous Lachrimae, or Seven Teares, we will examine his widespread popularity through selections of consort dances published by others in collections from continental Europe.

Stéphane has a special interest in French music. After sharing Charpentier’s Concerts pour violes last year, Stéphane brings us orchestral selections from Lully’s Bourgeois gentilhomme. All excerpts are available in their original form playable with strings, oboes, bassoons, as well as in arrangements for recorders. All together, this will make for a fun afternoon of exploring French dance movements, including the Ouverture, Chaconne des Scaramouches, Canarie, and the most famous Marche des Turcs.

Celebrating spring in Toronto and Paris with the music of Boismortier, Charpentier and Campra. Why not!

Explore the evolutions of multi-part musical forms: from middle age sacred canons to renaissance secular tunes, from 3-voice to 5-voice polyphony.

Highlights of our popular fundraising event:

• Musical program: Enjoy a variety of music performed by TEMPO members and friends
• Refreshments: Tea, coffee and delicious homemade treats
• Sales tables: Explore recorders, CDs, early music scores

Admission is PWYC (Pay What You Can); tax receipts are available for donations of $20 or more (cash preferred, cheques and e-transfers accepted).

Instrumental versions for broken consort of pieces originally dedicated to the voice. Works by well-known Baroque composers George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach as well as works from the Italian Renaissance by Cipriano da Rore and Vittoria Aleotti. This workshop will also be the opportunity to explore a work by medieval composer Johannes Ciconia.

We will explore vocal and choral settings of English-language texts from the 16th century onwards, including works by Byrd, Tallis, Elgar, and Vaughan Williams.

This workshop will offer a mix of sacred and secular music. We will explore Buxtehude’s Missa Brevis in 5 parts, as well as Bach’s little organ fugues. We will also play dances by Praetorius and Bartok, and a few English madrigals.

As it will be December, of course I will bring music for the holidays, but I will be trying to surprise you with some lesser-known tunes from the Middle Ages to today. There will be a lot of variety!

This workshop will explore how works for 5 and 6-part ensemble by Parsans, Philips, and Johnson navigate both English traditions and broader European influences. From Parsan’s courtly Protestant music, Philips’ Catholic expatriate works, and Johnson’s secular contributions to the theatrical world, they demonstrate how each contributed to the rich tradition of Renaissance polyphony and ornamentation.

We will hone ensemble listening and playing skills with music in two, three, four, and multiple parts, from the 16th to the 20th century.

Hooman Tootoonchian will introduce us to ancient Persian rhythmic patterns. He’ll discuss the history, structure, and uses of these rhythms to give everyone a deeper understanding of their cultural context. Bring your own drums or use the ones he'll have on hand. We’ll play some pieces that complement the percussion program. In addition, there will be a selection of pieces from traditional Persian music, Renaissance music, and various folk traditions from around the world. These pieces will feature complex and irregular rhythms for participants to identify, analyze, and play along with.

We'll enjoy 4 short movements of Bach that are not usually performed on recorders, to give them a chance to melt-into, dance-around, and nerd-out to Bach’s unparalleled genius. And two Handel favourites to finish the time.

Stéphane brings us a beautiful concert suite by Marc Antoine Charpentier. The work is originally composed for viola da gamba, but is playable on modern string instruments. Not only that, but there is a delightful arrangement for recorders. There is even a harpsichord part available! This Sunday we will play through the all six movements: Prelude 1 & 2, Sarabande, Gigue angloise, Gigue francoise, and Passecaille.

Highlights of our popular fundraising event:

• Musical program: Enjoy a variety of music performed by TEMPO members and friends
• Sales tables: Explore recorders, CDs, early music scores, and all kinds of surprises!
• Refreshments: Tea, coffee and delicious homemade treats

Everyone is welcome to come to this annual event with concerts and refreshments! Admission is PWYC (Pay What You Can); tax receipts are available for donations of $20 or more (cash preferred, cheques and e-transfers accepted).

We will reinvigorate our ensemble skills: listen to tuning, timing, and stylistic consistency, through a variety of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire.

Ensemble repertoire from Byrd, Palestrina, Bach, along with popular tunes from Handel, Purcell, and the Beatles.

Music by Byrd, Tomkins, Handel, Purcell, Corelli and Holst.

Joy and felicity set the tone for a musical voyage. We'll be playing composers like Fux, Schein, Tansman and Shannon, followed by some Irish airs.

Sometimes love is more bitter than sweet, and more painful than ease. Whichever it is, it is always worth it. We'll explore some works by Monteverdi, Purcell and Holborne.

Madrigals for both instrumentalists and singers! The animal kingdom has always inspired composers to write wonderful music. Bird-pieces come first to mind, since birds are such incredible singers themselves, but how about baboons? Fleas? Oysters, anyone? Come and sing and play as we explore delightful renaissance madrigals devoted to the animal world. Music by Weelkes, Gibbons, Ravenscroft, LeJeune and more.

We shall explore spring music in agricultural societies, before the Industrial Revolution. Featuring music by, among others, Monteverdi, Morley, Byrd and di Lasso.

Highlights of our popular fundraising event:

• Musical program: Enjoy a variety of music performed by TEMPO members and friends
• Sales tables: Explore recorders, CDs, early music scores, and all kinds of surprises!
• Refreshments: Tea, coffee and delicious homemade treats

Everyone is welcome to come to this annual event with concerts and refreshments! Admission is PWYC (Pay What You Can); tax receipts are available for donations of $20 or more (cash preferred, cheques and e-transfers accepted).