The biblical story of the stunningly beautiful Judith, who beheads her enemy Holophernes, inspired the 16th-century poet Marko Marulić to one of his few works in his own vernacular, the Croatian language. The text has come down to us without music, but on the basis of its metrical structure Katarina Livljanić was in a position to link the verses to some old-Slavic melodies that were passed down orally through the ages.

Only a talented artist combined in one person with a patient researcher is capable of taking advantage of the relics of days long gone to make a contemporary production that can captivate today’s listeners in rapt attention. Katarina Livljanić brilliantly pulls off this tour de force. Judith is a thrillingly beautiful concert centred around her pure voice and her penetrating performance. The singer is accompanied by medievalist Norbert Rodenkirchen and by musical jack-of-all-trades Albert Maurer.

Performers
Katarina Livljanić voice & artistic direction | Albrecht Maurer, fiddle & lirica | Norbert Rodenkirchen, flutes

 

24 August, 2012 18:00 -- AMUZ

ClubMediéval, the ensemble of fiddle and viol player Thomas Baeté made its debut two summers ago at Laus Polyphoniae 2010. For the present Adriatic festival edition the group gets steeped in Venetian music of the late Middle Ages. On the programme are polyphonic works that were composed for the doges of the late 14th and the early 15th century.

More music has been preserved of Johannes Ciconia, of Liège, than of any other composer ca. 1400. By contrast, the Italian Antonius Romanus is only known to us through seven transmitted compositions. You will hear them today for the first time on a contemporary concert stage. It transpires that stylistically the oeuvre of Romanus owes a lot to Ciconia, who was an example for nearly all composers of the quattrocento in Venice.

Performers
Markéta Cukrová, mezzo-soprano | Patrizia Hardt, mezzo-soprano | Andrew Hallock,  counter tenor | Raffaele Giordani, tenor | Daan Verlaan, tenor | Simen Van Mechelen, trombone | Dimos de Beun, gothic organ | Thomas Baeté, fiddle & artistic direction

Programme
Work by Antonius Romanus, Johannes Ciconia e.a.

24 August, 2012 20:15 -- St.-Joriskerk

The IYAP is a popular part of the festival programme of Laus Polyphoniae. AMUZ and Musica take you in tow along special venues in Antwerp. As you move on, you get opportunities to familiarize yourself with promising ensembles from home and abroad. These groups have been selected in advance for coaching by the American soprano Jill Feldman and prove their mettle on the festival stage as finale.

Seats for this concert platform are limited. Booking in advance is highly recommended. You can participate in this concert promenade with or without lunch. Lunch needs to be booked separately for €15.

I.c.w. Musica, Impuls centre for music

 

The IYAP Selected Promising Ensemble 2012 are:

Alta Capella Soloists (RU)
Maxim Emelyanychev – cornetto, cornetto muto, Ekaterina Nazarova – baroque violin, Natalia Timofeeva – baroque cello, viola da gamba, Ivan Velikanov – organ, harpsichord

Trio Cammerton (DE)
Barbara Adamczyk – fortepiano | Karin Gemeinhardt – bassoon | Kayo Nishida – clarinet

L’Aura Rilucente (IT)
Sara Bagnati – Vvolin, Heriberto Delgado Gutiérrez – violin, Silvia Serrano Monesterolo – Cello, Maximilian Ehrhardt – Baroque Harp, Giorgio Dal Monti – Harpsicord

Les Surprises (FR)
Juliette Guignard – viola da gamba, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – harpsichord and organ, Violaine Le Chenadec – soprano, Étienne Galletier – theorbe

LinGon (NO)
Victoria Liedbergius – soprano, Madoka Nakamaru – violin, Rebecca Lefèvre – viola da gamba, Kanoko Miyazaki – harpsichord

Thalia Ensemble (NL)
Mayumi Eguro – fortepiano, Sarah Aßmann – oboe, Diederik Ornée – clarinet, Hylke Rozema – natural horn, José Rodrigues Gomes – bassoon

More about IYAP 2012

25 August, 2012 08:00 -- AMUZ

Laus Polyphoniae 2012 sails the Adriatic Sea and anchors on the second festival evening in Friuli, a region situated between the lagoon city Venice, the Alps and Slovenia. In a manuscript held by an archeological museum there, Per-Sonat came across a mystery play from around the year 1400, entitled Planctus Mariae. You will hear this work in conjunction with other passion music from Friulian manuscripts.

The Ensemble Per-Sonat was founded in 2005 as an initiative of soprano Sabine Lutzenberger and flute-player Norbert Rodenkirchen. Initially they performed as a duo, but more and more frequently other specialized musicians have been invited as well with a view to designing with Per-Sonat pioneering medieval concert programmes. In this concert they will show their virtuosity on the basis of a selection of complex ars subtilior scores.

Performers
Sabine Lutzenberger, soprano | Michaela Riener, soprano | NN, soprano, recorders, hurdy-gurdy | Achim Schulz, tenor | Elisabeth Rumsey, fiddle | NN, fiddle
 

On their website you can listen to some audio fragments of Per-Sonat.

25 August, 2012 18:00 -- St.-Jacobskerk

For the first time in the history of the festival Laus Polyphoniae boasts not one, but two artists in residence: the Italian recorder virtuoso Roberto Festa (ensemble Daedalus) and the Croatian singer/musicologist Katarina Livljanić (ensemble Dialogos). Stef Grondelaers (De Standaard) interviews these musicians while you enjoy a lush brunch in the old foyer of AMUZ. 

With Festa and Livljanić as festival guides both the West coast and the East coast of the Adriatic Sea have a mouthpiece. Daedalus and Dialogos take care of two concerts each in the framework of Laus Polyphoniae 2012. During this brunch conversation you will discover more about the research that was the enabling condition for these performances, about the way covered from discovery to execution, and about the specific challenges of their festival programmes. Furthermore you will hear two outstanding musicians talking about the musical traditions of their home country.

26 August, 2012 09:30 -- AMUZ

The Knight Tondal falls asleep during a banquet. His soul descends into hell, but a mysterious angel leads him back to the living. Even though his journey was seemingly endless, Tondal has to face the fact that he was away only for a few seconds. Ensemble Dialogos performs this 12th-century story in luminous songs that make body and soul vibrate!

Tondal’s Vision is a popular text from the Middle Ages, written by an Irish monk. The story was translated into many languages and contained many references to liturgical hymns. Singer cum musicologist Katarina Livljanić made a musical reconstruction. She took advantage of the Croatian music collection Vartal: a reliable translation of Tondal’s Vision, written for a 16th-century monastery of Benedictine nuns at the Dalmatian coast.

Performers
Marie Barenton, voice | Laura Gordiani, voice | Lucia Nigohossian, voice | Sandrah Silvio, voice | Sylvie Špehar-Vučić, voice | Katarina Livljanić, voice & artistic direction

 

26 August, 2012 13:00 -- AMUZ