zamus: early music festival | Media vita in morte sumus | Graindelavoix

“In the midst of life we are embraced by death,” is how Martin Luther translated a popular Gregorian chant: "Media vita in morte sumus". The dialectical idea of death in life was long understood as an incantation, so it is not surprising that in 1316 the Synod of Cologne expressly forbade its performance without the permission of a bishop. The brilliant Belgian vocal ensemble Graindelavoix explores the afterlife of "Media vita" in a small but fascinating selection of expressive polyphonic arrangements by composers such as Nicolas Gombert, Ludwig Senfl, John Sheppard, Orlando di Lasso and José Gay.

---

Graindelavoix 

Björn Schmelzer – artistic director