Capilla Flamenca is a vocal and instrumental early music consort based in Leuven, Belgium. The group specialises in 14th to 16th century music from Flanders and takes its name from the historical Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca), the choir of the court chapel of Emperor Charles V. When the emperor left Flanders in 1517, he took his best musicians with him to Spain to accompany him as "living polyphony".
The ensemble's Artistic Director, Dirk Snellings, died in 2014. The ensemble had ceased performing in November of the previous year.
The core of the Capilla Flamenca is four male singers, Marnix De Cat (Countertenor), Tore Tom Denys (Tenor, who succeeded Jan Caals in 2006), Lieven Termont (Baritone) and Dirk Snellings (1959âÂÂ2014, Bass), who is also the group's artistic director, and a musicologist.
For each performance, the vocal core is enlarged either with complementary singers, an alta capella of wind instruments, a bassa capella of string instruments and/or an organ according to the needs of the genre. Among the singers, Psallentes (âÂÂthe singersâÂÂ) stand out, a Belgian vocal group specialising in plainsong and directed by Hendrik Vanden Abeele. The members of the wind bands Oltremontano, directed by sackbut-player Wim Becu, and La Caccia, directed by Patrick Denecker (recorder and bagpipes) frequently perform the function of alta capella. Capilla Flamenca has also performed and made recordings with Philadelphia-based Piffaro. The bassa capella consists of lute-player Jan van Outryve and viola da gamba-players Liam Fennelly, Thomas Baeté and Piet Stryckers. Joris Verdin is the group's organ player.
Capilla Flamenca specialises in Franco-Flemish polyphony, focusing on the music of around 1500. Recordings and performances of religious and profane works by Pierre de la Rue, Josquin des Prez, Heinrich Isaac, Johannes Prioris, Jacob Obrecht, to name just a few, have been executed since the ensemble's formation in the 1980s. Over the years, the group's interest has expanded to include earlier music, most notably the so-called Ars Nova and Ars Subtilior of the 14th century.
The group's recordings and performances are characterised by musicological research and by attention to authentic performance. Capilla Flamenca's analysis is based on a study of the original sources, in co-operation with fellow musicologists. This includes solving the typical conundrums of early music, such as the use of musica ficta, the problem of text-setting, the correct use of mensural proportions, the decoding of canons and the authentic pronunciation of French, Flemish and Latin .
Capilla Flamenca has made cross-over productions with artists from other artistic disciplines. Side by side with the dancers of Les Ballets C de la B, the Capilla toured the world with Foi, directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and choreographed by Joanna Dudley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qg7cgTgZkI. Between 2003 and 2005 the production was performed more than 100 times.
In 2005, the ensemble confronted Jacob Obrecht's music with the video artist Walter Verdin's view on the famous The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. More recently, in collaboration with the contemporary music ensemble Het Collectief, the Capilla Flamenca created 12X12, a programme combining Karl-Heinz Stockhausen's Tierkreis with Ars Nova polyphony http://feeds.feedburner.com/capillaflamenca. In 2007, Joanna Dudley joined them again in the theatre and video production Who killed Cock Robin?.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooLzDzE2oY0
Capilla Flamenca has been a guest at festivals such as the Festival of Arezzo, the Holland Festival of Oude Muziek at Utrecht https://web.archive.org/web/20060220035033/http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/news/goldbergnews/2005/06/31997.php, Ferrara Musica http://ricerca.quotidianiespresso.it/lanuovaferrara/archivio/lanuovaferrara/2007/11/26/UT1PO_UT103.html, Festival de Saintes https://web.archive.org/web/20071015014440/http://www.abbayeauxdames.org/en/festival_de_saintes/1172840808421/1173085628314/, Festival dâÂÂAmbronay http://www.ambronay.org/fr/Festivals/Festival-2006/Representation-51/Les-Carnetz-secretz-de-Marguerite-d-Autriche.html and Cuenca Religious music Week https://web.archive.org/web/20080719183958/http://goldbergweb.com/en/news/espana/2008/02/64423.php. In 2005, it was ensemble in residence at the Laus Polyphoniae Festival in Antwerp.https://archive.today/20070815124805/http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/news/other/2005/06/31747.php
The ensemble has appeared on the stages of concert halls, such as the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels https://web.archive.org/web/20110706133437/http://www.bozar.be/activity.php?id=7322&selectiondate=2008-4-26&lng=en, Concertgebouw Brugge https://web.archive.org/web/20110706133332/http://www.concertgebouw.be/agenda_detail.php?aid=14817&newlang=en, the Konzerthaus in Vienna https://web.archive.org/web/20110706100658/http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/2484 and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
In addition to recording and performing, the Capilla Flamenca has a commitment to education. In order to further the understanding of polyphonic music, Capilla Flamenca's concerts are preceded by an introduction to the programme aimed at the general public. Capilla Flamenca and its members teach at music conservatories. They often teach master classes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbqa_eMxhA and workshops, both for experienced amateurs and for young professionals. From 2005 to 2007, Marnix De Cat worked with a group of boys and girls (pueri) in order to introduce them to polyphony. Like the 15th- and 16th-century choristers, the young singers were instructed by the magister puerorum (master of the choristers) in the rules of music and the art of singing through simple songs and plainsong. This resulted in a number of concerts and a CD.https://web.archive.org/web/20081011050850/http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/discography/2007/62695.php
In 2003, Capilla Flamenca received the Premio Il Filarmonico at the festival of Arezzo. In 2005, it was awarded the Flanders Cultural Award (âÂÂCultuurprijs VlaanderenâÂÂ) for music.
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