More Maiorum, Floridi virtuosi d'Italia: brilliant virtuosos from Italy

Around 1600, Antwerp was not only a busy trading metropolis but also a thriving music market. Italian madrigals were eagerly printed and reprinted there, often enriched with virtuoso diminutions. In Floridi virtuosi d’Italia , More Maiorum de Italiaanse highlights composers who circulated most in Antwerp prints of that time. Their work alternates with the brilliant instrumental madrigal arrangements by virtuosos such as the English keyboard specialist Peter Philips, who emigrated to the Lage Landen, and lutenist Emanuel Adriaenssen – speaking examples of how the Italian fashion was picked up by local artists. This program forms the soundtrack to a story of trendsetters and followers, inspiration versus creation, and art that traveled crisscross through Europe long before Schengen removed the land borders of the castle.