What does a city sound like? If you walk through the streets of Antwerpen today, you hear the most diverse sounds: cars, trams, fragments of conversations... But what did Antwerpen sound like in the 15th and 16th centuries? Different, undoubtedly. Yet the city was certainly no haven of silence! We can get an idea of the shouting and cries in the streets and markets or the creaking cranes in the harbour. Those who would like to know what music sounded like in the churches and city palaces back then are welcome during Laus Polyphoniae 2023. The edition Antwerpen. Townscape – Soundscape will be a vibrant soundscape that brings the music from Antwerpen's golden age to life.
Antwerpen was a centre of printing. Printers like Phalesius and Plantijn were renowned for the high quality of their music publications. Thanks to preserved prints, we can still perform historical music today. Several concerts during 'Antwerpen. Townscape – Soundscape' are devoted to Antwerpian music prints. Together with Huelgas Ensemble, Collegium Vocale Gent, the Portuguese Cupertinos or French soprano Perrine Devillers we leaf through the scores. The Belgian Utopia looks at image motets, a unique print with beautiful engravings that also contain music.
Johannes Ockeghem, Jacobus Barbireau, Jacob Obrecht, Andreas Pevernage, Cornelius Verdonck, Peter Philips … they are all masters of polyphony that we can link to the city. Their music is performed by the best international ensembles, including Blue Heron, Cappella Pratensis & I Fedeli, Le Miroir de Musique and Stile Antico. The Belgian graindelavoix presents De wonderjaren and De hongerjaren as a diptych on the heyday and swan song of polyphony in Antwerpen.
Antwerpen. Townscape – Soundscape will not only be a vocal festival, but also an instrumental event. The Antwerps Liedboek gets a contemporary and boisterous reinterpretation at the hands of the music theatre collective Les Âmes Perdues. Paul O'Dette, Chordophony, Zefiro Torna and Jean Rondeau bring the finest works for lute and virginal. Keyboard player Mario Sarecchia and historian Michael Pye, successful author of Antwerp: The glory years, join forces for a musical narrative about musical life in 16th-century Antwerpen. You will see young talent at work during IYAP, and for those who want to learn more about the history of Antwerpen (and its music), there are fascinating lectures and courses as usual.
Laus Polyphoniae 2023 takes place from 18 to 27 August at various locations in Antwerpen. Ticket sales start on 4 March at 9 o'clock online. Those who cannot order online can visit AMUZ between 10 and 12 o'clock.