Masterclass - Around the pipes of Jerusalem

Medieval organ masterclass
by Christophe Deslignes
Around the pipes of Jerusalem
masterclass open to all keyboard players
Claudia Caffagni, moderator

Registration

Open to all keyboard players and to those with experience in medieval organetto. Eight students will be admitted, based on the date of registration.
Once the maximum number is reached, further applicants may attend as auditors.
Please send your CV and musical repertoire of lessons.

There are two types of participants:
- active students, who will play and attend lessons with M° Deslignes,
- auditors, who will attend lessons.

The discovery in Bethlehem of what are considered the oldest organ pipes in the Christian West—now preserved in Jerusalem—and the research developed within the JERUS-IT-ARTS project provide an opportunity to reflect on the current state of research and experimentation in medieval organ reconstruction.

The masterclass will also highlight emerging approaches to repertoires for medieval organs between the 12th and 15th centuries (positive, portable, and large organs), and will give new impetus to improvisational practices. It is intended for advanced students as well as professional organists who wish to discover and deepen their knowledge of medieval music and the historical uses of the organ in its various forms.

For the masterclass, organ builder Walter Chinaglia will provide a reconstruction of the organ depicted in the Stephen Harding Bible (12th century), as well as a copy of the positive organ shown in a painting by Hugo van der Goes (c. 1480; portrait of Sir Edward Bonkil). Copies of 14th-century portable organs will also be made available to participants.
Christophe Deslignes’s masterclass is divided into theoretical and practical sessions, including alternatim practice, improvisation on plainchant, and interpretation of early keyboard repertoires (e.g. the Robertsbridge Codex, Codex Faenza, Buxheimer Orgelbuch).