Long-term partners AMUZ (Flanders Festival Antwerp) and the Alamire Foundation are joining forces once again to organize the early music festival Laus Polyphoniae.

What does a city sound like? If you walk through the streets of Antwerp today, you will hear all kinds of different sounds: cars, trams, snatches of conversation and so on. But what did Antwerp sound like in the 15th and 16th centuries? Very different, to be sure. But it certainly wasn’t a haven of peace and quiet! We can imagine the shouting and yelling in the streets and marketplaces, or the grinding and creaking of cranes at the port. If you would like to know what music people heard in the churches and palaces of the city, you are welcome to join us at Laus Polyphoniae 2023. The festival entitled Antwerp. Townscape – Soundscape promises to be a lively soundtrack that recreates the music of Antwerp’s glory days.

In the late 15th and especially the 16th century, Antwerp experienced unprecedented economic and cultural growth. The city on the Schelde became an international metropolis. Goods from all over the world were traded there by merchant families who amassed immense fortunes. People also played music all over this bustling city, in places ranging from the biggest churches to private homes. The best Kapellmeisters were appointed to compose music for the liturgy. Publishers printed collections of music for lute players who made music at home. Antwerp was also a focal point of the art of book printing. Printers such as Phalesius and Plantijn were renowned for the high quality of their musical publications. Thanks to surviving prints, we can still perform this historical music today. Several of the concerts at Antwerp. Townscape – Soundscape are devoted to music prints from the city.

All concerts and more information can be found on the website of AMUZ.

The ticket sale starts on March 4.