Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht

Seville will be the theme in 2024. With the music of Morales, Guerrero and Peñalosa as core repertoire, we create a rare opportunity to hear a substantial chunk of Spanish polyphony. But there is more to it. From the eighth century onwards, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in relative harmony on the Iberian peninsula. When the Catholic Kings recaptured Granada as the last stronghold of the caliphate in 1492, a coercive monoculture, in which religious freedom was no longer an issue, began. In the same year, the adventurer Columbus, sponsored by the Spanish crown, reaches across the ocean. He returns with Caribbean people on board, as evidence of a successful expedition. With artists in residence Música Temprana by Dutch-Argentinian Adrián Rodríguez van der Spoel, we delve into the South American mixed baroque in which folk music and music of the conqueror often forcibly converge. Middle Eastern expert Koert Debeuf argues that the Renaissance, which we consider the pinnacle of Western culture, actually originated in Baghdad and conquered the European continent via Al-Andalus.

• Programme announcement: Tuesday 7 May
• Start pre-sale Friends € 100+: Wednesday 15 May
• Start pre-sale Friends € 50: Wednesday 22 May
• Start general sale: Thursday 30 May