What are the special challenges in performing Renaissance choral music?

I think the biggest challenge is that early music should not sound like it looks! The physical appearance of music can strongly influence the way we perform it. Whether it’s a beautifully typeset modern score, or a facsimile of an original part-book, printed music is two-dimensional – and music is not! There’s a lot of sense in the maxim: don’t let the notes get in the way of the music.

There are issues peculiar to early choral music, such as (a) there are often few or no performance markings (dynamics, tempo, etc.) in the original sources; (b) there may be a text that will need interpreting and contextualizing; and (c) there are accepted audio models in a host of recordings, which constantly affirm an imaginary “ideal” renaissance sound: we need to decide whether or not to follow these interpretations. It is certainly appropriate to acknowledge that this music can have a timeless – and sometimes almost hypnotic – beauty, but we should remember that early music was very often functional art, not merely decorative. We need to be mindful of the original context of the music, and give careful thought to our re-creative process.

For me, the text is often the key to the musical interpretation. Once meaning and context are established, then it is time to explore the nuances – little rhythmic twists, or subtle verbal accentuations, or some detail of word-painting. These are the things that can inject real life into the music.

Is there a French Renaissance/baroque (16th-17th C.) vocal performance style that differs from other European countries? If yes, would you describe it?

I often encourage my voice students to explore French repertoire, and often the reaction is “I can”t (or sometimes more emphatically, as though to warn me off, “I don’t”) sing in French.” It is indeed hard to grasp the very fluid nature of this language, with its vowels, nasal consonants and liaisons that are, quite literally, foreign to us English speakers.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier and his contemporaries developed a style of recitative that had the freedom and flexibility to suit the French language, together with a graceful melodic style, with its all-pervasive, stylized graces and ornaments. This “courtly” element has ancient roots in French music, going back to the Middle Ages, and I don’t think there is any other repertoire that calls for such grace and poise from its performers.

Could you contrast the choral singing styles and training in England versus the United States?

I suppose that European choral singing, with its ancient links to church and state, contrasts somewhat with the situation in the USA. National trends and social demands have created a great patchwork of traditions in both continents and individual countries.

My experience of performing and teaching in the USA has revealed some essential differences in focus and approach. I think that affection for the “British choral sound” is still alive and well in the States – the annual Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, for example – but there seems to be a growing divide, for example, between the ambitions and approaches of the vocal and the choral departments at many universities. Indeed, for departments, one might read “compartments.”

Here in the USA, young, still-changing voices are often encouraged in the vocal studio to develop a large, soloistic and more operatic sound. The possible outcome of this is a big, “wobbly” sound from a depressed larynx. I am not too fond of this sound even in a solo voice, but chorally, it can wreak havoc with any attempts to produce a well-balanced choral blend with good intonation.

I cannot ignore the “V” word: the question of the appropriateness of vibrato in renaissance music is always a hot issue. The lack/removal/reduction (choose your own word!) of vibrato is often characterized in American choral circles by the phrase “straight tone” – and this is rarely a positive construct! It suggests a constriction of the voice and of the singing mechanism, and a removal of expressive qualities, which I would strongly discourage. I believe that judicious use of vibrato is as desirable and essential to early repertoire as it is to any other. But it has to be a conscious activity – one may apply vibrato to a note or phrase, just as one might use other qualities of expression: volume, timbre, shape.

What would constitute the “perfect” Renaissance voice?

I think the perfect early music voice is one that can scale the heights and plumb the depths of expression, one that is agile for coloratura and ornamentation, and as capable of nuance as any good singer in any genre.

In addition to maintaining their individual instruments, consort singers need additional skills, such as superb blend and excellent intonation. They need to know when – and how – to step forward in the soundscape, and when to keep a low profile. I am fond of saying that while I sang with the Tallis Scholars, for example, I spent a lot of time trying NOT to be heard! Listening to and blending with the voices on either side of me was a constant challenge and thrill.

Consort singers also need a good knowledge of music history and theory, significant language skills, and the ability to adapt to the different demands of different conductors. In other words, they need to sing with eye, ear, voice and brain: but also with heart! Whether singing early music, or any other kind, if you take out the passion in the voice, then you lose the life in the music.

Who is the French composer whose music you most like to perform and why?

That is a hard question! This repertoire is a constant voyage of discovery for me. I love Charpentier, with his combination of facile melody and wonderfully deep harmonic language, but I hope I continue to discover new gems – such as Delalande’s Lamentations.

You performed for many years as a member of the Tallis Scholars. What is one of your most remarkable memories?

I sang in over 400 performances with the Tallis Scholars, and made a lot of friends (many of whom died several centuries ago!). I have many great memories – singing in Rome for the Palestrina/Lassus Anniversary in 1994, singing Allegri’s Miserere in the Sistine Chapel as the Michelangelo restoration was finished … but I think the most memorable moment was walking into St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice for the first time – and then singing in that spectacular building.

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A chorister from the age of seven, Philip Cave has been involved with choral music all his life. He studied music at Oxford University with Simon Preston and was a Choral Scholar and Lay-clerk at Christ Church Cathedral, where he also directed the College Choir, the Cathedral Voluntary Choir, and sang with the Schola Cantorum and the Clerkes of Oxenford. During the following years, he taught music, performed as a soloist and conducted several ensembles including the Oxford Harmonic Society, a city choir of 120 voices, with whom he performed much of the standard choral society repertoire.

He was a founding member of the Tallis Scholars with whom he gave over 400 performances, and for many years a lay-clerk in New College Choir, directed by Edward Higginbottom. He has performed, toured and recorded with the Hilliard Ensemble, The Sixteen, the Choir of the English Consort, the King's Consort, the Schütz Choir of London and the Cardinall’s Musick.

Since moving to Washington, he has sung with the Washington Bach Consort, the Folger Consort and the National Gallery Vocal Ensemble, giving performances at the White House, the Kennedy Center and the National Cathedral.

As a soloist, he has performed under many celebrated conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Leonard Bernstein and Sir Roger Norrington, and at venues including the Beethovenhalle in Bonn and the Sydney Opera House. He has performed frequently at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London, and has shared the concert platform with many distinguished musicians, including Sir Peter Pears, Sting and Sir Paul McCartney.

In 1991, Philip founded the vocal ensemble Magnificat, which specializes in the restoration and performance of neglected masterworks of the baroque and renaissance periods. The ensemble has toured and performed in England, Spain, Greece and the USA, and has made ten CD recordings, which have attracted much musical acclaim:

“The performances are guaranteed to refresh even the most jaded palate.” (Early Music Review)
“A flawlessly blended ensemble that can meet any technical challenge.” (American Record Guide)
“Cave and his small chorus spun sustained wonders of supple phrasing and clean textures, supported with sound of clarion purity.” (Los Angeles Times)

Active as a vocal and choral clinician and teacher, Philip has led many master-classes and workshops in the UK and USA. He holds a DMA degree from the University of Maryland, an MA from Oxford University and is a Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music, and of Trinity College, London, and an Associate of the Royal College of Music. A recipient of the 2004 American Musicological Society’s Noah Greenberg Award, and of the London Handel Society’s Byrne award for performances of the music of Handel, he is also an honorary Fellow of London’s Academy of St Cecilia.

Philip moved to the USA in 2000 and lived in California, Connecticut and Washington, DC, before moving to New York. He is Executive Director of Chorworks, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes the study and performance of choral music and Director of Music at All Souls Episcopal Church in Washington, DC.

At the 2010 Washington Early Music Festival, Mr. Cave performed with Orpheus on Friday, June 4 (Motets and Airs by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and his contemporaries) and then led a workshop on Saturday, June 5 (Voix Humaines – Early French Choral Music Workshop).