Bel Canto and Early Music
at the
Hoch Conservatory - Music Academy
in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium - Musikakademie
Sonnemannstraße 16, Frankfurt am Main
Room 3019
(Take the elevator to the 3rd floor and exit to the right and go right again - all the way to the end)
Office hours (Student Counselling/Advice): Mondays 2:00 - 2:30 PM, Room 3019 (no appointment neccessary!)
Contact and Directions to the Conservatory
More Information on Edmund Brownless
Hoch Conservatory in Wikipedia
Gesangsprojekt Gynasium-Konservatorium - Singing Project Gymnasium-Konservatorium
Edmund Brownless
Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance, McGill University in Montréal, Québec.
External Studies (Early Music) with Richard Levitt at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Basel, Switzerland
Voice Lessons (Bel Canto) with Cornelius L. Reid in New York.
Masterclasses with Alfred Deller, Andrea von Ramm, Nigel Rogers and Emma Kirkby.
Teaching methods and goals:
An emphasis on Bel Canto technique from the 17th - 19th centuries - as the ideal vocal technique for early music.
Repertoire, Style and Performance Practice of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Music.
Historical Pronunciation of English, French and German.
Full staging of Baroque Operas with Baroque Gesture, Dance and Costume.
Musical Studies
Music Studies Department
Postgraduate Studies, Complementary Studies
Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy (IGP)
Elementary Music Pedagogy (EMP)
Early Music Department
Pre-College-Frankfurt Program (PCF)
Preparation for Music Studies (also with the goal of studying Early Music)
Music Education for Youth and Adults (ANE)
Bel canto Technique:
Voice majors and voice minors receive c. 30 (or 15) minutes teaching in the Bel Canto technique.
Repertoire:
Students receive c. 30 (15) minutes teaching in repertoire.
Although students may study all periods of music they are encouraged to sing Early Music as part of their studies.
Singing Project Gymnasium-Konservatorium
As part of the Music Education for Youth and Adults Department (ANE) the Singing Project Gymnasium-Konservatorium
(GPGK) allows a larger number than usual of young singers between the
age of 14 and 19 (perhaps younger if highly talented) to take singing
lessons at the Hoch Conservatory - Music Academy.
One of the aims of the project is to better prepare young singers for entrance auditions for programs such as Pre-College Frankfurt or the Music Studies Department at the Hoch Conservatory. The teaching includes a weekly 20 minute individual voice lesson as well as a group session (2 hours) every second week covering repertoire, ensemble music and preparation for concerts, which are organized regularly.
Since 1997 the Singing Project Gymnasium-Konservatorium has organized many concerts of vocal music as well as a full staging of Engelbert Humperdinck's Opera Hänsel und Gretel.
One of the aims of the project is to better prepare young singers for entrance auditions for programs such as Pre-College Frankfurt or the Music Studies Department at the Hoch Conservatory. The teaching includes a weekly 20 minute individual voice lesson as well as a group session (2 hours) every second week covering repertoire, ensemble music and preparation for concerts, which are organized regularly.
Since 1997 the Singing Project Gymnasium-Konservatorium has organized many concerts of vocal music as well as a full staging of Engelbert Humperdinck's Opera Hänsel und Gretel.
Music Education for Youth and Adults (ANE)
• Age limits: c. 14 - 19
• Admission requirements: Entrance Audition (ANE)
• Semesters begin: April 1 (SS) / October 1 (WS)
• Application deadline: February 15 (SS) / August 15 (WS)
for more Information:
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium (in English)
Early Music Department
Early Music Department
Bel canto Technique:
Students in the Early Music Department receive c. 30 (or 15) minutes teaching in the Bel Canto technique. Since the Medieval period one can read of the use of
two registers and the advantages of this in singing. Singers have
always used both registers in order to sing more effectively. Bel Canto
has its roots in the Middle Ages and Renaissance and was the vocal
technique of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries: the ideal
technique for high Renaissance and Baroque music.
Repertoire:
Students
in the Early Music Department receive c. 30 (or 15) minutes teaching in
repertoire, style, ornamentation and historical pronunciation.
Semester Project in Early Music Singing
In a cycle of four semesters the major singing schools of the 17th century will be studied. The
birth of baroque vocal music was in Italy at the beginning of the 17th
century. Students begin by singing as well as reading about the music
of
Caccini, Peri, Monteverdi et al. and learn about the beginnings of
opera and the solo song. The influence of Italian music will be shown
on the other
schools: Germany, England and France. Each term one
of these schools will be studied and a
concert will be given at the end of each semester. Solo and
ensemble work will be offered, covering performance practice,
historical pronunication and style. Lectures and readings of source
material will be given by various teachers in the Early Music
Department and visits to museums and libraries will be organised.
An evening of instruction in the rhetorical reading of poetry will also be offered.