Polyphonic Postcards: Music from Europe’s greatest Renaissance cities

The flourishing cities of Renaissance Europe played host to an explosion of cultural activity. Papal Rome dripped luxury, Paris was renowned as a center of learning, and port cities such as Lisbon and Seville were deluged with treasure from newly discovered corners of the globe. With wealthy patrons and vibrant communities, these cities were fertile ground for musicians. One of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles, Stile Antico, leads a tour across these great cities, featuring music by Monteverdi, Palestrina, Tallis, Guerrero, Lassus, and many others. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences on four continents with their fresh, vibrant, and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony. The program concludes with concludes with Christopher Cerrone’s It looks quite curious, a setting of a letter written by Walt Whitman as he gazed upon the United States Capitol and commissioned especially for this program. Join them for this fascinating snapshot of music, politics, and culture at the apogee of the European Renaissance.