He had enjoyed “the good musique of the Archduke”, wrote Theodoor Boreel to Constantijn Huygens after a visit to court in Brussels. It is no wonder the Zeelandic patrician was impressed by the musical entourage of his host, Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. In 1647, when he ascended to the throne as ruler of the Southern Netherlands, he took the entire court chapel in Vienna with him. In Brussels, his Austrian, German and Italian musicians inspired many local composers. For instance, Nicolaes à Kempis and Philippus van Wichel also started writing for typical Italian mixed ensembles of brass, wind and strings. They also began experimenting with new forms of expression. Furthermore, collections of sheet music by transalpine masters such as Dario Castello and Marco Uccellini were being printed in Antwerp. Castello Consort has drummed up its most regal cast for a playlist to suit the music-loving ruler.
Program
Music by M. Uccellini, D. Castello, N. à Kempis, P. van Wichel and others
Performers
Elise Dupont, Sakura Goto, violin | Anne-Linde Visser, viol & bass viol | Matthijs van der Moolen, trombone | Giulio Quirici, theorbo | Emma Huijsser, harp
