Madrigals in May
Even the English weather couldn’t stop the members of the Schola Cantorum ascending the Cloisters’ Tower on the morning of May 1st to welcome in the traditional start of summer by singing madrigals.
Although the rain and overcast conditions made it seem summer was still a long way off, the sound of the 16th century songs resounded over the rooftops of Oundle, and delighted the sizeable audience of at least seventy who had assembled below the tower to hear the early morning minstrels. The performers and audience alike were then treated to a breakfast of hot bacon rolls in the Headmaster’s house Cobthorne.
The Schola Cantorum also performed a concert of sacred and secular music for the Eve of May Day in the beautiful Georgian church in the nearby village of Stoke Doyle on the evening of April 30th. The audience filled the church and were entertained with renditions of madrigals, folk songs and other works by composers including Henry Purcell, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, W.A. Mozart and John Rutter.
Alastair Tighe