At the end of March, the Alamire Foundation will continue its 30th anniversary festivities 'live' in Rome and the Vatican. On Friday, 27 August 2021, it was exactly 500 years since Josquin des Prez died. To commemorate this event, the Alamire Foundation is organizing a festive occasion with conference, academic session and concert around the Franco-Flemish polyphonist on 29 and 30 March in the presence of Prime Minister Jan Jambon and Rector of KU Leuven Luc Sels.
On the occasion of these special anniversaries, the Alamire Foundation created MISSE JOSQUIN, a documentary concert series about the mass repertoire of Josquin des Prez. This production is the result of a unique collaboration between renowned partners such as the KBR, AMUZ and KU Leuven, fifteen leading musicologists from universities around the world, and an international cast of performers: Blue Heron (US), Cappella Mariana (CZ), Cappella Pratensis (NL), Huelgas Ensemble (BE), Stile Antico (UK), Vocal Ensemble Cappella (JP) and Vox Luminis (BE). In twelve episodes and a total of ten hours of documentary material, each of them offers an interesting perspective on the masses that can be attributed to Josquin with certainty.
The documentary concert series MISSE JOSQUIN is being launched today from Rome on the brand new virtual platform alamire.tv, where you can now view all twelve episodes in full. The series is also being released under the new Alamire Foundation Editions label in a non-commercial, limited edition DVD set. We are delighted that we were able to hand over the very first copy to His Holiness Pope Francis, in the footsteps of Josquin, at a place where the composer himself sang and composed.
With this series, the Alamire Foundation wishes to contribute to research into Josquin in the coming decades and to the valorization of this exceptional sonic heritage with a broad audience.
"When we talk about polyphonic music, Josquin des Prez was certainly the figurehead of his generation, at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century", says Prime Minister of the Flemish government Jan Jambon. "Like paintings, tapestries and other precious objects, music was one of the high-quality luxury products that determined the wealth of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Trade relations between Flemish and Italian cities went hand in hand with intensive cultural relations that were also encouraged and intensified by the local aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and ecclesiastical institutions in both regions. Moreover, Josquin des Prez's career took place in Italy for several years, including a residence at the papal court."