Monteverdi in Flanders

The adventurous Belgian ensemble B’Rock sheds light on the journey that Claudio Monteverdi made from Mantua to Flanders in 1599. As the famous maestro di capella of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, Monteverdi was well-versed in the polyphonic music that spread across Europe like an oil slick from the southern Netherlands. Now he was setting foot on Flemish soil for the first time. 

Flanders was the birthplace of Josquin Desprez, Adrian Willaert, Orlando di Lasso, Nicolas Gombert and Giaches de Wert, all Franco-Flemish composers who had swarmed out to Italy and Spain. Standing on the shoulders of these giants, Monteverdi developed a new style in his madrigals that led to the birth of opera. At the same time, he incorporated motets from Nicolas Gombert in his more traditional Missa in illo tempore. This program bridges the gap between eras, and is a timeless conversation between Monteverdi and his Flemish sources of inspiration. 

Programme booklet (Dutch)