Palestrina on the Beach

Trinity College Chapel

Berbiguier, Etude

How sweet is this? Listening to Palestrina by the lake!

Music History Instruction at the RCM’s Mississauga location could not possibly be any more delightful than this totally chilled class ‘en plein air’ and completely away from the hustle and bustle of the city; extension cords courtesy of Canadian Tire and on-line resources provided by NAXOS.

What would Palestrina have thought? I’m sure that absolutely dumbfounded and with a silly grin on his face, he would have silently nodded his wholehearted approval!

The title of this post, especially for those in the music world, is a direct allusion to ‘Einstein on the Beach’, the watershed operatic work by Philip Glass.

(Neither Palestrina nor Glass, the first of these recordings is from a recent concert presented by ‘Fresca’ at U of T’s Trinity College Chapel, and the second (contrast of styles: careful!) is one of several RCM Examinations Grade 8 Studies, as promised to my diligent Friday students who are in various stages of exam prep! Fatigued at the end of a long teaching day, it was enjoyable to push the use of rubato to enhance the Fantasia-like character of this Etude)
Find out more about Joe Ringhofer’s innovative classroom approach (very Jean Brodie, don’t you think?) at the RCM link for the Cawthra Adamson Estate.

Joe can also be contacted directly at joeringhofer@sympatico.ca

When splendid weather beckons, moving flute lessons out-of-doors is a no-brainer, assuming the student is agreeable: Kuhlau and assorted duets and trios sound especially fine in an outdoor setting! In this case we gave Joe and his students full run of these majestic, historic grounds, although we were waved over and welcomed to join the class and listen for as long as we wished, as several parents of Joe’s students had chosen to do.

Lounging lakeside on a delicious, sun-dappled July afternoon…a cool, on-shore breeze with an engaging, personable speaker to guide you through various periods of music history…what more can I say?