‘Brabant 1653’ showcases hidden gems from Dutch music history. Together with five soloists, Holland Baroque presents the musical traditions of 17th-century monastic life in North Brabant during the Felix Festival in Cologne.
In this programme, you will hear music sung by a choir as it might have sounded in convents of the Clares in Megen and the Sisters of Maria Refugie in Uden. The central figure of this programme is composer Benedict à Sancto Josepho (1643-1716) who was active in the Carmelite monastery of Boxmeer. Intrigued by this figure who worked just around the corner from their own birthplace, Judith and Tineke Steenbrink set out to investigate. This is how they discovered the irresistible quality of his music and the surprisingly rich musical culture he was part of.
Soloists
Camille Allérat – soprano
Hannah Morrison – soprano
Lucretia Starke – soprano
Laura Lopes – mezzo-soprano
Anthea Pichanick – contralto
Musical direction
Judith and Tineke Steenbrink
Arrangements by Judith and Tineke Steenbrink
Tineke Steenbrink: ‘Mapping out your own musical landscape is incredibly exciting. Judith and I grew up in Oeffelt, near Boxmeer. It is often wrongly thought that the Netherlands in the 17th century, with the work of Sweelinck as a great exception, was a musical swamp. We are touched by the uniqueness and eloquence of this repertoire.’
Judith Steenbrink: ‘Musicologists such as Frits Noske, Frans Jespers and Rudolf Rasch did a lot to chart Dutch musical life in the 1980s. We think it is important to make this music heard again. Brabant 1653 is an enrichment of our country’s musical canon.’
★★★★☆ (Volkskrant)“Holland Baroque performs solo and polyphonic chants with liveliness and suppleness.”
- Holland Baroque was a guest at Podium Witteman and played the Magnificat Op. 5, no. 3 by Benedictus à Sancto Josepho. Click here to watch the performance.
- The album ‘Brabant 1653’ can be ordered from our webshop.