A Medieval Christmas:

Medieval Christmas carols from the Netherlands

Target audience:

Enthusiasts of all levels

Date:

This workshop can be booked for a minimum of 2 participants, during the period of Advent until a few days after Christmas, with exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Cost:

97 euros per person

Definition:

The feast of the birth of Christ is one of the most important feasts in the Christian tradition, even the most important in the Middle Ages. The music written for Christmas was therefore more often polyphonic in comparison with other repertoire, often had beautiful decorations (melisms, ’trills’, etc.) and, according to tradition, was more often accompanied by instruments. The repertoire for this workshop has been chosen from medieval manuscripts from the Netherlands, and richly illustrates the Christmas story.

An important part of the chosen repertoire can be found in the book ‘Liederen van Licht en Troost’ (M. Kalse and M. Mudde, 2013) in which an anthology of songs from the so-called Modern Devotion is reproduced in facsimile, with transcription of the texts and with translations in modern Dutch. This book will be used during the workshop.

Players of medieval and renaissance instruments are also welcome to add to the festive mood, but the emphasis is on the singing.