In the 15th and 16th century polyphony was one of the most important export products of the Low Countries. Composers, singers and compositions from this area were appreciated all over Europe, and local polyphonic traditions were confronted with French-Flemish music culture. The mutual interaction between polyphony of the Low Countries on the one hand and of Italy and Austria on the other has been adequately documented already. However, our knowledge of the exchanges with the polyphonic tradition in Portugal is rather inadequate. At an international summer school the members of Cappella Pratensis guide advanced singers through the polyphonic repertoire of Portugal. They will work both on original Portuguese music and on French-Flemish works that resounded in Portugal. This year too original notation will be the basis. During this presentation moment the ensemble of the summer school will offer the result of its voyage of discovery.

Artistic direction
Stratton Bull, Christopher Kale & Pieter Stas

More information or registration for the summer school: www.musica.be

28 August, 2011 09:00 -- Elzenveld

In the 16th and 17th century cathedrals and monasteries were the most important musical centres of Portugal. The only profane institute that was in a position to compete was the private music chapel of the dukes of Bragança in Vila Viçosa. This chapel and its associated music school reached their acme in the mid-17th century during the reign of king João IV, a fervent music lover and owner of the greatest music collection of his epoch. It contained a lot of music from the six preceding decades, in which period the political union between Portugal and Spain had created new career opportunities for Portuguese composers: many of them enjoyed great popularity, not only at home, but they also made it in Spain and in the Spanish colonies overseas. La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI present an interesting music selection from the period 1495-1656. You hear the echoes of a country in full economic bloom, which managed to regain its autonomy after the Spanish domination. With this glance on Portugal’s Golden Age, Jordi Savall will be expertly at the wheels to conclude Laus Polyphoniae 2011 in beauty.

Performers
Jordi Savall, artistic direction

28 August, 2011 18:00 -- St.-Pauluskerk

After Laus Polyphoniae AMUZ opts for an exciting and unconventional concert! MULTIPLE voice/vision is a research project of media artist Rudi Knoops about the interaction between many-voiced music and audiovisual designing. Knoops has built an optical machine to visualise and analyse music. He takes advantage of anamorphosis, a technique of distortion that has been used ever since the renaissance, forcing the spectator to search for the ideal perspective to perceive an image. In the interactive installation of Knoops the visual and the auditive perspective work against each other to a certain extent, resulting in a peculiar viewing and hearing experience. Ensemble Explorations – in residence at AMUZ – will take care of the musical part. Bach’s Musikalisches Opfer with its ingenious structure offers the ideal research subject. Season 11|12 will be concluded with part 2 of MULTIPLE voice/vision.

Performers
Rudi Knoops, concept & installation | Frank Theuns, traverso | Margarete Adorf, violin | Bart Naessens, harpsichord | Roel Dieltiens, cello & artistic direction

 

01 October, 2011 17:30 -- AMUZ

After Laus Polyphoniae AMUZ opts for an exciting and unconventional concert! MULTIPLE voice/vision is a research project of media artist Rudi Knoops about the interaction between many-voiced music and audiovisual designing. Knoops has built an optical machine to visualise and analyse music. He takes advantage of anamorphosis, a technique of distortion that has been used ever since the renaissance, forcing the spectator to search for the ideal perspective to perceive an image. In the interactive installation of Knoops the visual and the auditive perspective work against each other to a certain extent, resulting in a peculiar viewing and hearing experience. Ensemble Explorations – in residence at AMUZ – will take care of the musical part. Bach’s Musikalisches Opfer with its ingenious structure offers the ideal research subject. Season 11|12 will be concluded with part 2 of MULTIPLE voice/vision.

Performers
Rudi Knoops, concept & installation | Frank Theuns, traverso | Margarete Adorf, violin | Bart Naessens, harpsichord | Roel Dieltiens, cello & artistic direction

 

01 October, 2011 19:00 -- AMUZ

Ever since 1993 the baroque academy of Ambronay has been playing a crucial role in launching the careers of young top musicians. As one of the trend-setting projects in Europe it enables young talent to connect with big names from the international concert circuit as well as the academic world. William Christie, Ton Koopman and Rinaldo Alessandrini are just a few of the baroque specialists who have already been conducting the academy. In 2011 it’s the turn of a Flemish celebrity: Sigiswald Kuijken will get steeped in Johan Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B minor with a new selection of daring artists. There is no other Mass in music history that is so large-scale as the well-known Hohe Messe by Bach. Why precisely the work was written still eludes us to a certain extent even today. After all it is out of proportion for use in worship. We are pretty sure, though, that this Mass consists of four parts that Bach composed at different moments in his life; parts that in turn contain arrangements of earlier, partly non-religious compositions. Sigiswald Kuijken will prove to be the perfect guide for this masterpiece full of grandeur!

 

08 October, 2011 19:00 -- AMUZ

The Spanish Tasto Solo and the Norwegian Trio Mediaeval have each completed a brilliant artistic track during the past years. When two ensembles of such calibre join forces, the result will almost inevitably be a bull’s eye. The production Metamorphose is a mystical reflection on the everchanging religious repertoire from the second half of the 15th century. This music is rooted in the gothic tradition that concurrently betrays the budding aesthetics of the renaissance. Furthermore Tasto Solo continue taking their cue from their beloved Buxheimer and Lochamer manuscripts and in addition present fragments from recently discovered manuscripts. This selection also offers diverse songs in honour of Mary, typical of a period of great devotion for the holy virgin. With Metamorphose Tasto Solo present their first, long-awaited production centering around the religious repertoire of the late Middle Ages. Together with the strong sopranos of the Trio Mediaeval, who were nominated for a Grammy in the past, they will deliver a sensually stimulating and balanced programme.

Performers
Anna Maria Friman, voice | Linn Andrea Fuglseth, voice | Torunn Østrem Ossum, voice | David Catalunya, clavisimbalum | Andrés Alberto Gómez, organ | Reinhild Waldek, gothic harp | Guillermo Pérez, organetto & artistic direction

14 October, 2011 19:00 -- AMUZ