Jesse Rodin, Professor of Musicology at the prestigious Stanford University in America and director of the Josquin Research Project (josquin.stanford.edu) has devoted his research to the music of Josquin des Prez and his contemporaries. How was the Missa Hercules dux Ferrarie created, why was it altered for the Hapsburg court and renamed the Missa Philippus rex Castilie and how was the mass performed at the time? Along with his singers from the ensemble Cut Circle, Jesse Rodin reveals many of the secrets behind this work.

English spoken

20 August, 2015 13:00 -- ku-leuven-campus-carolus-antwerpen

Laus Polyphoniae has been supporting young talent for a long time. This year again we provide a stage for an emergent ensemble. The young Belgian singers collective Aequalis sings, just like 500 years ago, in the choir of Our Ladys Cathedral selected Mass parts from the Mechelen Choir Book, one of the most precious works of art owned by the Flemish Community. This magnificent and voluminous manuscript contains Masses by Pierre de la Rue and Matthaeus Pipelare. Aequalis has chosen to perform the Missa pascale of de la Rue. After this mini concert you are welcome to admire the original manuscripts in the exhibition Petrus Alamire, Polyphony in the picture.

Each concert lasts around 25 minutes.

This concert is also programmed on: wednesday 19/08, friday 21/08, saturday 22/08 and sunday 23/08.

20 August, 2015 15:00 -- o-l-v-kathedraal

Faithful to custom you can enjoy a well-assorted festival menu (entree + main course) before the evening concerts in AMUZ. Pop-up bistro t Hof van Petrus will serve regional delicacies from the Low Countries. Festival menu On Thursday 20, Friday 21, Monday 24, Wednesday 26 and Saturday 29 August at 18.00, before the evening concerts at AMUZ. Place: AMUZ foyer, Kammenstraat 81, 2000 Antwerp Choice of starters: Salad with baked goats cheese, apples and honey OR savoury pancake with chicken, cheese and mushroom filling Choice of main courses: Half a chicken roasted on a spit with fresh salad, baked potatoes and a sauce of your choice (pepper cream or provencal) or apple OR grilled fillet of salmon on a bed of rocket and tomato with baked potatoes OR grilled vegetables of yesteryear and melted Trappist cheese in puff pastry with fresh salad. Price: € 21 (starter + main course) Advance reservation required. Desserts available on the evening for € 6. Concert tickets are not included. Advance booking is required.

20 August, 2015 18:00 -- amuz

The Basevi codex, preserved in Firenze at the Conservatory library, is one of Petrus Alamires manuscripts that appeals most to ones imagination. The book, in a unique oblong format, is the only manuscript exant from a northern European workshop commissioned by an Italian, containing the oldest and the most comprehensive collection of profane repertoire, counting a total of 87 compositions, among them no less than 56 chansons.

Recent musicological research resulted in new theories about an exclusively instrumental performance of the compositions from this manuscript. Living legend Paul ODette and Peter Van Heyghen demonstrate this with their lute and recorder consort. In a dialogue between the two ensembles you will hear the most beautiful chansons in an instrumental interpretation.

20 August, 2015 20:00 -- amuz

The choir book MS9 from the Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek in Jena is damaged and incomplete. Even so, it remains unique in the corpus of Alamire manuscripts, for it is the only book containing English repertoire. In those days the music of English composers was relatively unknown on the European continent, this manuscript being an unusual introduction of English music into our region. Artistic director Peter Phillips and his world-renowned ensemble The Tallis Scholars, trend-setting in this repertoire, sing the splendid Missa o bone Jesu by Robert Fayrfax, contrasting English polyphonic richness with music by the French master Jean Mouton.

20 August, 2015 22:15 -- st-carolus-borromeuskerk

An open lecture performance through the eyes of one of the worlds top performers and the keynote speaker at the international conference New Perspectives on Polyphony. Paul Van Nevel, a familiar face at Laus Polyphoniae, will examine a few pressing questions in performance practice, such as Where did the singers breathe when they performed the music in Alamires manuscripts? Both the notation and the style of the music make the problem of breathing a fundamental issue if we do not want to go against the composers intentions. Paul Van Nevel will illustrate all of this using live fragments performed by his singers, the Huelgas Ensemble.

English spoken

21 August, 2015 13:00 -- ku-leuven-campus-carolus-antwerpen