Canto Aperto
Sint- Truiden, 21- 23.09.2012

Partners: Musica, Resonant, Villarte and Alamire Foundation

Chant: a rediscovery

Plainchant, or briefly 'chant', is internationally reviving, and not only in the commercial CDcircuit, where recordings with varying degrees of 'authenticity' can be found. Chant is being rediscovered as a considerably rich, large, and varied repertory that not only carries the oldest roots of European music, but was also enriched through one and a half millennium of musical praxis. It attracts the attention of performers and musicologists from all over the globe.

CANTO APERTO: a new approach

A plainchant festival in itself is nothing new, but CANTO APERTO certainly is. CANTO APERTO focuses on the diversity of both the repertory and its performance practice, on the diversities of regional traditions and their evolutions over time. No century is eschewed: the chant repertory composed over a period of 1,500 years knew different concepts and manners of performance in every century of its existence. This approach makes CANTO APERTO a unique festival in the Benelux and in Europe.

CANTO APERTO: international

The performance of, and research into chant attracts considerable attention from all over the world. The International Musicological Society has its own Study Group, "Cantus Planus", dedicated to chant, and the study of chant is mostly represented at musicological conferences, such as Kalamazoo (US), Leeds (UK), Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference (varying locations). Master classes, courses, workshops, and festivals are being organized all over Europe; ensembles specializing in 'early music' have a growing interest in the chant repertory of various periods. CANTO APERTO connects to this worldwide enthusiasm for chant and aims at contributing to an even more diversified palette of chant performance and programming.

More information and programme