Here you can find some information
about my choral activity, which is (besides theoretical physics) my
great passion. I
started singing tenor more or less by accident in the Dutch student
choir C.S.G. Gica in 1995
and have enjoyed singing ever after. Currently I sing as a tenor in the
Coral Polifónica
de
la Facultad de Ciencias of the Universidad de Granada, but I am
also a proud member of Cuarteto Madrigal,
a cute vocal
quartet of "aficionados" that enjoys the challenge of singing one
person a voice.
Although I appreciate almost any form of vocal music, my real musical interests concern choir music, with a special weakness for late medival and renaissance composers (actually for Flemish polyfonists, but most of their foreign comtemporaries are welcome as well). As a matter of fact, my pseudonym, Byrt, is a pun, refering to the great English composer William Byrd (c. 1540 - 1623).
Here is a short overview of my choral curriculum:
A few more links to
Finally, as an indication of the skills of the renaissance composers, have a look at this proportion canon by Josquin Desprez (c. 1450 - 1521), from the Agnus Dei of his Missa L'Homme armé super voces musicales:
Although I appreciate almost any form of vocal music, my real musical interests concern choir music, with a special weakness for late medival and renaissance composers (actually for Flemish polyfonists, but most of their foreign comtemporaries are welcome as well). As a matter of fact, my pseudonym, Byrt, is a pun, refering to the great English composer William Byrd (c. 1540 - 1623).
Here is a short overview of my choral curriculum:
- C.S.G. Gica: A student choir in Groningen (the Netherlands) of between 40 and 60 members. It is here where I made my first contact with choir music and felt in love straight away. I sang here between september 1995 and august 1998.
- Stella Cantorum: A cute vocal double cuartet, build out of members of C.S.G. Gica who met to sing renaissance songs in a small setting. Stella Cantorum was also known as "het Schützkoortje" (the small Schütz choir) as its voices were chosen such what we were able to sing Jauchzet dem Herren alle Welt by Heinrich Schütz. Stella Cantorum lasted from may 1996 till june 1998.
- Durham Choral Society: A choir of over 100 members in Durham, Great-Brittain, specialised in singing (classical and romantic) orchestral choir work. I sang here from november 2001 untill may 2002.
- Kamerkoor Orlando: A small chamber choir of about 20 members in Leuven, Belgium, specialised in renaissance music. I sang with them from september 2002 untill july 2004.
- Coro de la Facultad de Ciencias: The faculty choir of the Science Faculty of the University of Granada, Spain, consisting of between 25 and 70 members (changing over the years). The choir started in may 2006 and I am proud to be one of the founding members. I still sing with them.
- Cuarteto Madrigal: The same idea as with Stella Cantorum, but now in cuartet, i.e. one person a voice. Madrigal started in november 2007 and we still enjoy going on.
- Ars XXI: A chamber choir of about 25 singers, whom I have seen and admired many times in Granada. I have sung a few months with them, between september 2010 and april 2011, but had to leave them for perosnal reasons (for the moment).
A few more links to
- the list of concerts I
have
participated in,
- an overview of
the works I have sung,
- my musical tastes and hopes,
- the scores I have edited recently,
- links to
choral scores and Choral
Public Domain Library
Finally, as an indication of the skills of the renaissance composers, have a look at this proportion canon by Josquin Desprez (c. 1450 - 1521), from the Agnus Dei of his Missa L'Homme armé super voces musicales:
Three voices (alto, tenor and bass) all sing the same melody, but with different speeds and in different rythms, as the different rythm indications at the beginning of the score show. The tenor sings in a 4/4 measure, where the first three notes are half notes each. The bass also sings in a 4/4 measure, but now the first three notes are quarter notes, while the alto sings in a 3/4 measure with the first three notes being quarter notes, such that an effect of triplets is obtained. The funny symbols at one third and two third of the score are the indication where the tenor and the bass respectively should stop when the alto has sung the whole melody (Source: O. Hamburg, "Muziekgeschiedenis in voorbeelden", Aula 1968).
Last change: 6 july 2011.