Editorial
An enormous amount of time and effort has gone this month into arranging and re-arranging our events for the year, so I hope you will enjoy them. There are four
forms enclosed, probably a record.

David Fletcher’s renaissance consort day for voices and instruments is on February 24th at Burnham. David does an amazing job arranging four varied sessions for everyone and I always look forward to it. He’s happy to try to accommodate requests and I know there are plans for renaissance flute and medieval music sessions.

We expected to have Peter Collier’s baroque chamber music day, also at Burnham, in March but this proved impossible to arrange so it will be held on Sunday 29th April, giving us two workshops in April. Peter has the course library of the Baroque Week so he has a huge choice of music to offer. I hope to see lots of you there.

To fill the gap in March we have been lucky to get Bill Carslake who will run a workshop on the music of Samuel Scheidt, a composer we’ve managed to neglect in the past. It will be at Amersham Common, and as someone who lives in Amersham I recommend asking for a lift from the station if you are coming by train. David Butler, the organiser, is co-ordinating offers and request for lifts, but I’m happy to provide instructions on the best route if anybody wants to walk from Amersham station.

The other April workshop, on Sunday 15th at Benslow, was to have been on the music of the 18th century pleasure gardens, but this has had to be postponed due to clash with one of Steven Devine’s concerts. Instead we have Julian Perkins with music by Charpentier, including his Te Deum which includes the well-known Eurovision Network theme. For the first time we are able to offer lunch as part of the day - provided that thirty-five people book for it - so we hope you will decide to have it.
Victoria Helby

Chairman’s Chat
I was very sad to hear that Peter Berg died just before Christmas. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for a number of years, which meant he was unable to play the viol or violone but he still came to the Beauchamp summer schools as a singer until the disease got too bad. We enjoyed various musical activities together over many years, in particular the weekend courses, often on quite obscure topics, that he ran with his wife Kathleen. I sang or played next to Peter at more Beauchamps than I can remember and it was always a great pleasure to have his company - he will be much missed.

I am looking forward to the Scarlatti Stabat Mater on the 20th of January. My only other experience of this splendid work was either at a recorder course or perhaps at an SRP meeting when I was playing the soprano 2 part on a descant recorder (yes, I know - it was a very long while ago). I was doing well until I reached page 2 of the part when I seemed to be at odds with the rest of the group. I eventually twigged that my page 2 (printed on the right hand of an A3 page) was actually that of soprano 1 but unfortunately the page break was at a different bar. I think a similar problem is unlikely with our event.

I'm also looking forward to my Renaissance Day, for which I already have a number of applications, though the form has only been sent out with this magazine - the Internet has its uses.
David Fletcher