Vox Luminis
Lionel Meunier, artistic director
June 16, 2021
Thursday, October 19, 2023, 7:30 PM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
THIS PERFORMANCE HAS ALREADY OCCURRED.
PROGRAM NOTEs
View the program for this event here.
"... the singers and players of Vox Luminis wove a rich tapestry of life and music in the German Baroque, early and late, with all its piety and earthly drama, tonal purity and sensuality of sound.”
— New York Classical Review
Works
Johann Sebastian Bach: Actus tragicus — Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste, BWV 106
Bach: Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131
Bach: Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150
Bach: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
One project, one objective, one path: introduce today's audiences to early vocal music, passionately conveying its quintessence and touching the light through the voice.
Renowned Belgian early music vocal and instrumental ensemble Vox Luminis is defined by its unique sound, appealing as much through the personality of each timbre as it does through the color and the uniformity of the voices. Experience the ensemble’s luminous and rich tones in an evening of Bach’s sacred, brilliant, and dazzling early cantatas.
About the Ensemble
Created in 2004 by Artistic Director Lionel Meunier, the ensemble performs over 60 concerts a year, appearing on stages in Belgium, across Europe, and around the world. The size and composition of the group depends on the repertoire, with the core of soloists, mostly from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, often joined by additional performers. The repertoire is essentially Italian, English, and German and spans from the 16th to the 18th century.
Vox Luminis has released 14 albums on the labels Alpha Classics, Ricercar, Ramée, and Musique en Wallonie. These recordings have received international critical acclaim, winning numerous prizes, including the prestigious Gramophone Recording of the Year in 2012 for the Musicalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz, and the 2018 Choral Award from BBC Music Magazine for its recording of music of the Reformation, Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott, released on Ricercar Records. In 2018 Alpha Classics released two albums: a collaboration with the Franco-Canadian ensemble Masques in Abendmusiken by Dietrich Buxtehude, which was awarded a 2019 Gramophone Music Award in the choral category, and a recording of Purcell’s King Arthur.
Recent highlights include Vox Luminis' Lincoln Center debut with a residency at the Juilliard School in New York; along with debuts at the Arsenal in Metz and at the Gyndebourne Festival Opera, at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, and at the Our Lady of Ambronay abbey. In 2019 Vox Luminis celebrated 15 years with sublime collaborations and a busy touring schedule.
Vox Luminis has performed extensively at festivals in Belgium, Europe, and overseas, as well as in prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Oratoire du Louvre in Paris, the Auditoria Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht. Residencies for the ensemble have been held at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-des-Dames, the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, the Concertgebouw in Brugge, the prestigious Festival of Early Music in Utrecht, and the Musique et Mémoire Festival. Since 2017 the ensemble has also been in residence at Aldeburgh Festival in England, founded by Benjamin Britten.
This performance is supported in part by gifts from Mr. Bruce Prichard and Mrs. Nancy Beville Prichard and Ms. Susan M. Hansen. Additional funding is provided by the G. Davis Saunders Jr. Fund for Excellence.
This is Vox Luminis' first performance at the Moss Arts Center.