From Friday 21 to Saturday 29 August, Laus Polyphoniae, the unique early music festival run by AMUZ - Flanders Festival Antwerp in partnership with the Alamire Foundation, will take you on a kaleidoscopic journey through European music around the year 1600, a year symbolic of the transition from the transparency of late-Renaissance polyphony to the emerging drama of the early Baroque style. This shift did not happen overnight of course: the period is characterized by a richly layered complexity, where tradition and innovation overlap and constantly influence one another.

Over nine days the festival will paint a detailed portrait of a polyphonic Europe through music from every corner of the continent–from Iberian polyphony to Byzantine soundscapes, from Danish lute music to Italian polychoral splendour. The world’s leading early-music performers will take the stage in magnificent venues throughout Antwerp. With returning ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent, Huelgas Ensemble, Vox Luminis, and Stile Antico, alongside top newcomers including Tenebrae, Ensemble Irini, Les Meslanges, and Près de votre oreille, the festival promises to be a vibrant celebration of early music.

Ticket sales start on 7 March.