The English in Europe: Tage Alter Musik Herne
15 November/16h00 Germany / Herne
The Gesualdo Six explore the transmission of sacred choral traditions in Renaissance Europe, shaped by patronage, pedagogy, and cultural exchange. At its core is the Contenance Angloise—a distinctive English style of rich consonance, flowing melodies, and controlled dissonance that influenced continental composers like Binchois and Brumel.
We trace English polyphony’s impact through Dunstable’s Veni Sancte Spiritus and Du Fay’s Nuper rosarum flores, the latter commissioned for Florence’s cathedral consecration. Walter Frye’s Ave Regina caelorum may have even appeared in artworks featuring sheet music, highlighting the interplay of music, architecture, and visual art.
Paired Tota pulchra es settings by Forest and Mouton showcase Marian devotion as a vehicle for stylistic exchange, while settings of Sub tuum by Dunstable and Brumel further reflect English influence on continental practice.
The programme culminates in Infelix Ego by Willaert and Byrd, demonstrating how sacred texts served as both personal expressions of faith and reflections of institutional power. This repertoire reveals the fluid boundaries between artistic transmission and cultural appropriation, underscoring English composers’ lasting imprint on European polyphony.
We trace English polyphony’s impact through Dunstable’s Veni Sancte Spiritus and Du Fay’s Nuper rosarum flores, the latter commissioned for Florence’s cathedral consecration. Walter Frye’s Ave Regina caelorum may have even appeared in artworks featuring sheet music, highlighting the interplay of music, architecture, and visual art.
Paired Tota pulchra es settings by Forest and Mouton showcase Marian devotion as a vehicle for stylistic exchange, while settings of Sub tuum by Dunstable and Brumel further reflect English influence on continental practice.
The programme culminates in Infelix Ego by Willaert and Byrd, demonstrating how sacred texts served as both personal expressions of faith and reflections of institutional power. This repertoire reveals the fluid boundaries between artistic transmission and cultural appropriation, underscoring English composers’ lasting imprint on European polyphony.
