March 12, 2024
Diskantores has some exciting news! We will be in residence at the CRR d’Ambronay in June to develop our new programme Oltremontani, with music by Northern composers working in Italy (Johannes Ciconia, Engardus, and Hubertus de Salinis), co-created with medieval keyboard specialist Cristina Alís Raurich. This programme will also be the occasion to listen to new reconstructions of seldom heard music by Johannes Ciconia, developed by the research project Lacunae Ciconiae (Haute école de musique de Genève).
After try-outs in Ambronay (27.6.24) and Geneva (28.6.24) the official première of Oltremontani will take place during Laus Polyphoniae in Antwerp (30.8.24).
A small taste: Johannes Engardus Furnis reliquisti/Equum est.
September 22, 2023
Last week we had the opportunity to join forces again with Jacques Meegens at the Van Straten Organ at Orgelpark Amsterdam. What a pleasure to revisit the stage where we recorded part of our Hollandse Fragmenten disc, which has been recognised as an important contribution to the discography or medieval music by a.o De Volkskrant, Grammophone, ResMusica, France Culture, Klara and Dutch Radio 4.
A unique spin-off of this project has been a collaboration with saxophone player Dick de Graaf and his quartet (see gallery), in which late fourteenth-century polyphony met contemporary Jazz, and we also created “medieval” versions of Jazz standards and pieces created by Dick.
We are looking forward to join forces with Oltremontano and Capella Pratensis for a concert in Leuven on november 9th in hommage to the master painter Dieric Bouts, with music from his time. In our contribution we will be going back to the original raison d’être of Diskantores: improvised polyphony on plainchant.
Last but not least, we’re in the process of developing a programme around the composers Johannes Ciconia, Hubertus de Salinis, and Engardus, the first oltremanti composers to cross the Alps and seek their fortune in Italy. This programme will contain newly reconstructed music by Johannes Ciconia, as well as never performed and recorded pieces by Engardus and Salinis, of which we were able to provide a taster in Amsterdam last week.
Check out the new additions to our sound and video gallery!
February 13, 2021
Yesterday Hollandse Fragment was officially launched, and is now available in your record store or streaming service!
February 8, 2021
“Hemels mooie stemmen…” we are happy with our first review by Stretto magazine’s Michel Dutrieue!
Tracks from Hollandse fragmenten have als been aired on Belgium’s Musiq3 and France Musique!
February 1, 2021
Diskantores are excited to announce the launch of our album Hollandse Fragmenten: Early Dutch Polyphony with record label muso! The album will be available in your local record store (as well as in online stores) from February 12th.
April 4, 2018
We are pleased to confirm that our program “De Vroegste Nederlandse Polyfonie” can be heard once again on Saturday June 2nd, in Hoorn. Physically we are moving north, but musically we will be exploring connections with the south! The concert will feature music by Northerners, such as Johannes Ciconia and Hubertus de Salinis, in Italian sources.
Also in June, we will be recording the remainder of our Dutch program, for an upcoming CD release. Negotiations with record firms have been promising. We are extremely happy to announce that Jacques Meegens will be featured on the recording playing the Van Straten organ, thanks to the support of the Orgelpark (Amsterdam).