Where folk and early music meet…
HISS 2026 will run from
Monday 17th to Friday 21st August
We look forward to seeing you in Beverley
for another happy and creative week of music-making!
HISS (Historically Informed Summer School) is a unique midweek course in beautiful surroundings that brings together expert musicians from the worlds of folk, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music
Join us for a week of creative, inspiring music making that finds common ground across genres
17th to 21st August 2026
2026 marks the 300th anniversary of the death in 1776 of Michel Richard Delalande [de Lalande], who was a French Baroque composer and organist in the service of the “Sun King” Louis XIV. He wrote orchestral music and grand motets. We will certainly be making the most of the opportunities that repertoire offers. Some 77 Grand motets survive. Amongst these are Laudate Dominum, written for 5 & 6 part choir and orchestra, and Super Flumina Babilonis, for similar forces.
2026 also marks the 350th anniversary of the death of Francesco Cavalli. A Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period, he succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading opera composer of the mid 17th-century. La Calisto is perhaps the best known in modern performances. He also wrote Vespero della Beata Vergine Maria (in 1656), in a grand polychoral style in the manner of Monteverdi’s famous 1610 work.
“HISS successfully embraces and celebrates the links between early and folk music. A wonderful range of material is explored. It is a very inclusive course and as a participant you are both supported and challenged to learn new things!”