Graindelavoix

Polyphony from the gut of Cipriano de Rore and contemporaries on text by Dante. Cipriano de Rore is known for his intense and sometimes dark madrigals, often inspired by the somber and deep poetry of Dante. With this, he sets himself against a sweet-voiced, idyllic culture and shows the dark underside of the Renaissance. The new program of Graindelavoix is the second that the ensemble devotes entirely to Cipriano de Rore. Graindelavoix follows the composer in that dark, dramatic story, both in his own music and in the music of his students and people influenced by him. De Rore’s most Dantesque work is also confronted in the program with other madrigals on text by Dante, from the Italian oral tradition and by the hand of Luzzaschi, Marenzio, Soriano, Renaldi, and others. Artistic direction Björn Schmelzer | Sopraan Florencia Menconi | Tenor André Perez, Raphaël Joanne, Marius peterson | Bas Arnout Malfliet | Luiten Floris De Rycker Over Cipriano de Rore Cipriano de Rore (°1515, Ronse) was the most Italian composer of Flanders. He redefined the Italian madrigal and grew into a source of inspiration for Monteverdi. De Rore had himself portrayed as a tormented artist; he wants to be a free artist, but suffers under the yoke of fickle employers. He was, among others, in the service of Margaretha van Parma in Brussels and her husband Ottaviano Farnese in Parma. His career ends in frustration as chapel master in Parma; he dies there in 1565. Monteverdi considered him the founder of modern music and he is still considered one of the most important composers of the Western classical repertoire.