London’s Ultimate Music Calendar

The Renaissance saw Europe regularly convulsed by war, as neighbours and rivals jostled for territory and power, Catholics and Protestants clashed over religious principle, and Christian nations contended with the threat of the Ottoman Turks. But it was also a time of great alliances, when peace treaties were celebrated with lavish diplomatic displays, and hostile nations were bound together through dynastic marriages. This fascinating programme explores the responses of composers to these turbulent times, drawing on almost two centuries of music from Dufay to Schütz. Along the way we experience the sounds of battle in Jannequin’s remarkable chanson La guerre, encounter plangent laments for fallen cities and lost generations, and savour serene motets welcoming longed-for peace.