Edition 2024

Early Music Day takes place every year on 21 March, at the initiative of REMA. This celebration of more than a thousand years of music, through concerts and events taking place simultaneously around the world, is an opportunity for Europeans to (re)discover our musical heritage!

Search events

Rediscovering Abos

02/02/2024 20:00 CET

Rediscovering Abos Online

Festivals Malta Malta
Online, Online
The Abos Project & Consort was first set up as The Monteverdi Project at the behest of Kenneth Zammit Tabona in 2017. The Project is an educational/musicological project created to bring awareness of the vocality of the Renaissance and Baroque periods to Malta.
Entrusted from the very beginning to the care of Italian musician Marco Mencoboni the Project has targeted young Maltese singers achieving from the very beginning important results both musically and performatively. It is considered one of the most important Maltese musical projects. Over the years, concerts, operas, master classes and collaborations have been held withspecialised singers such as Emma Kirkby, Gabriele Lombardi, and Riccardo Pisani just to name a few. Significant musicological recovery work has been devoted to the study of the abundant musical material in the Mdina Cathedral archives, which has resonated again after centuries of oblivion. The future of the project is particularly oriented to the revaluation of the vocal and instrumental works of the Maltese composer Girolamo Abos, whose impressive musical legacy has recently emerged. The Abos Project and Consort is coordinated by Maltese singer Gillian Zammit, and is produced and managed by Festivals Malta.

Musicians
Sopranos:
Francesca Aquilina
Maria Grazia Grech
Maria Micallef Tortell
Analise Mifsud
Nadia Vella
Bettina Zammit
Gillian Zammit

Altos: 
Francesca Buhagiar
Raisa Marie Micallef
Bianca Simone

Tenors:
Tom Armitage
Karl Cassar
Stanley Joe Portelli

Basses:
Mark Bartolo
Christian Debono

TERPSICHORE! - WHEN MUSIC DANCES

22/03/2024 20:00 CET

TERPSICHORE! - WHEN MUSIC DANCES Online

Stockholm Early Music Festival Sweden
The Musikaliska Concert House, Nybrokajen 11, 111 48 Stockholm
World première of an innovative choreography to Terpsichore, based on Michael Praetorius' (1571-1621) masterful suite of more than 300 instrumental dances. The muse of dance is the main character in the composer’s most famous and only surviving secular piece.  

Nine muses, nine musicians, nine dance styles in a colorful, sparkling cavalcade that spans time and continents, based on the Renaissance image of ancient Greece. Bransle, galliard, volta and courant become everything from baroque, oriental and Indian dance to ballet, voguing and flamenco. The nine muses represent the movement of the body and the mind, what we cannot possess but still experience. 
Musicians
The Nine Muses:
Josefine Chiacchiero, flamenco
Nora Ekman, classical ballet
Matilda Larsson, baroque dance
Elisabeth Ludwig, contemporary dance, pantomimµ
Eva Fanadi, belly dance fusion
Kyrie Oda, contemporary dance, butoh
Linnéa Redblad, nordic folk dances
Pauline Reibell, Indian classical dances
Mathias Terwander Stintzing, voguing, waacking
 
The Nine Musicians:
Ann Allen, shawm, bombard, recorder
Anna Schall, cornetto, recorder
Silke Gwendolyn Schulze, shawm, bombard, recorder, pipe & tabor
Nils Carlsson, renaissance trombone
Dohyo Sol, lute, baroque guitar
Nora Roll, viol
Markus Eriksson, viol
Göran Månsson, percussion
Daniel Stighäll, renaissance trombone, musical direction
Music for a while – Dilettanti eruditi e mecenati

21/03/2024 18:00 CET

Music for a while – Dilettanti eruditi e mecenati On-site

Conservatorio statale di Musica "G. B. Martini", Bologna Italy
Sala Bossi del Conservatorio "G. B. Martini", Piazza Rossini 1, 40100 Bologna
The concert celebrates the Early Music Day and the donation of a virginal and several recorders and traversos to the Conservatorio by a Bolognese music lover and amateur player. According to the quality of the instruments, the concert is entirely dedicated to the English music (J. Dowland, Th. Morley, H. Purcell, W. Lawes).
Musicians
Ensemble di Musica antica del Conservatorio “G. B. Martini”
Cleonice Sabrina Bortolotti, Margherita Minardi, Amelia Rossi Fioravanti, Ufuk Aslan, Luca Fanteria, voices
Stefano Gerard, So-Yeong Baik, violins
Francesco Lussignoli, Daniele Salvatore, traverso and recorder
Federica Bettelli, Luca Piccini, viol da gamba
MIchele Barbieri, Michela De Pasquale, Laura di Cera,  Yui Mochizuki, Giuditta Pizzilli,  harpsichord
Johannespassionen

21/03/2024 19:00 CET

Johannespassionen On-site

Kristus Konungens Vokalensemble Sweden
Kristus Konungens katolska kyrka, Sten Sturegatan 1, 41138 Göteborg
In 2024-2027, the Christ the King Vocal Ensemble is staging a series of concerts on the theme '300 years after Bach'. On 21 March it is time for the St. John Passion by J.S. Bach with the Christ the King Vocal Ensemble, musicians from Karlsson Barock and soloists under the direction of Samuel Eriksson.
Musicians
Christ the King Vocal Ensemble & Karlsson Baroque under the direction of Samuel Eriksson
Anna Jobrant, soprano soloist 
Amanda Flodin, alto soloist 
Thomas Volle, evangelist and tenor soloist
Karl Söderström, Christ and bass soloist
Richard Sandblom, Pilate and bass soloist
Guided tour of the history of architecture

21/03/2024 12:30 CET (21/03/2024 12:30 CET)

Guided tour of the history of architecture On-site

Stiftung Händel-Haus Germany
Händel-Haus, Große Nikolaistraße 5, 06108 Halle (Saalee)
Karl Altenburg, a member of the museum staff, sheds some light on the dark history of the construction of Handel's house and guides visitors* through the vaulted cellar and the impressive plank room.
Musicians
Altenburg Karl, Museum historian
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Joseph Haydn Quartets

22/03/2024 19:00 CET

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Joseph Haydn Quartets

THE MOZARTISTS United Kingdom
The Mozartists, Boston Road, W7 2QE London
This film forms part of The Mozartists’ ongoing MOZART 250 series, and contains three works for string quartet that date from 1772.

MOZART 250 is the brainchild of The Mozartists’ conductor and artistic director Ian Page, and is conceived as a 27-year project that follows the chronological trajectory of the composer’s life and works in ‘real time’, running from the 250th anniversary of his childhood visit to London in 2014/15 to the 250th anniversary of his death in December 2041. In addition to anniversary performances of many of Mozart’s works, the series also seeks to deepen our understanding and appreciation of his music by contextualising it alongside the music of his contemporaries, and the series has already featured music by nearly fifty other composers, from Abel to Zimmermann.

Reflecting both Mozart’s early compositional output and The Mozartists’ own identity, the first few years of MOZART 250 have focused predominantly on orchestral and vocal music, but in 2021 we responded to COVID restrictions (which for a while stipulated that no more than six musicians could perform together) by creating a series of films of chamber music by Mozart, Haydn and Johann Christian Bach. The featured works all dated from 1763-1771, and will be used to populate the MOZART 250 website that we are in the process of building.
Musicians
Matthew Truscott, violin 1
Julia Kuhn, violin 2
Max Mandel, viola
Sarah McMahon, cello
The Conservatori celebrates the Day of Ancient Music

22/03/2024 18:00 CET (22/03/2024 18:00 CET)

The Conservatori celebrates the Day of Ancient Music On-site

Conservatori Professional de Música de Menorca Spain
Palau Torre Saura, Ciutadella, C/ Major des Born, 8, 07760 Ciutadella
Students and teachers of the Professional Conservatory of Music of Menorca will perform solo pieces, chamber music and choir, in a unique palace, ideal for performing early music.
Musicians
Violeta Florit Triay, flute  
Gerard Gilabert Solé, oboe 
Martí Camps Cortadella, clarinet
Alfonso Barros Cueto, horn
Pere Melis Taltavull, bassoon
Jorge Munuera, violoncello
Jana Gener, violoncello
Jorge Pérez, viola
Lluc Llorens, Toni Pons, Emna Alfageme, Carla García, trombones 
Marina Torres, violí
Carme Majancoses, violí
Aurora Pons, violí
Gibet Salort, violí
Arjau Ferrer, violoncel
Choir: Carme Majancoses, Roger Salord, Shenjie Zhu, Xavier Santana, Daniela Gonzalez, Dayke Criado

Professors:Isabel Juaneda, Gonzalo Lacruz, Pedro Munuera, Eva Febrer, Àlvaro Cardona, Jorge Pérez, Óliver Vinent
Bach - Kunst der Fuge

25/02/2024 16:25 CET (25/02/2024 16:25 CET)

Bach - Kunst der Fuge On-site

Bozar Belgium
Bozar, Salle M, Rue Ravensteinstraat 23, 1000 Brussels
Discover a unique interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s unfinished masterpiece, “The Art of Fugue.” Hathor Consort and two dancers give their special take on the fugues and canons that illuminate Bach’s compositional genius and spiritual depth. The performance not only showcases the interplay between theme and counterpoint but also provides novel insights into the transient essence of the composition. 

In this unique rendition, four violas da gamba and two dancers meld into Bach’s intricate polyphony. Experience Bach’s crowning achievement, where a seemingly simple theme evolves into a captivating kaleidoscope of musical colors and all while witnessing the seamless connection between the dancers. This approach renews our understanding of the work, revealing its fleeting nature. A furtive, eclectic moment that reveals the immense richness of our bodies and our humanity.

Musicians
Jason Respillieux, Frank Gizycki - dance & choreography
 & HATHOR CONSORT Romina Lischka - treble viol & artistic direction, Joshua Cheatham - alto viol, Nicholas Milne, tenor viol, Irene Klein - bass viol

Haydn’s Seven Last Words

13/03/2024 20:45 CET (13/03/2024 20:45 CET)

Haydn’s Seven Last Words On-site

Associazione Filarmonica di Rovereto Italy
Sala Filarmonica, Corso Antonio Rosmini 86, 38068 Rovereto
The young international period instrumentalists of Theresia Orchestra embark on a poignant journey for their next orchestral residency in Lodi, exploring Haydn’s original orchestral version of his masterpiece “The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross”.  Commissioned by a Spanish priest in 1786 for a Good Friday service in an underground church in Cádiz, Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. Interwoven with reflective spoken word mediations, Alfredo Bernardini will lead Theresia Orchestra in this meaningful work.
Musicians
Theresia Orchestra
Alfredo Bernardini - conductor
Imperatrix Agatha

21/03/2024 19:30 CET

Imperatrix Agatha Online

EGERIA Spain
Iglesia de Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, 2 Rue du Mont-Cenis, 75018 Paris, 75018 París
Imperatrix Agatha, is a program configured as a tribute to the figure of Saint Agatha, through the repertoires contained in the Tropario of Catania, a 12th century manuscript kept in the National Library of Spain.
Musicians
-Lucía Marín-Maestro Verbo, voice, lyra and direction
-Fabiana Sans Arcílagos, voice, percussion and co-direction
-Ileana Ortiz Rodriguez, voice
-Fanny Constans, voice
Café Barock Universum: Leçons de ténèbres

24/03/2024 15:00 EET (24/03/2024 14:00 CET)

Café Barock Universum: Leçons de ténèbres On-site

Café Barock / Ensemble Nylandia Finland
Theater House Universum, Perämiehenkatu 13, 00150 Helsinki
François Couperins Leçons de ténèbres is one of the most significant works of the French Baroque. In addition the program will include Couperin's gentle melancholy music from his series no.2 for viola da gamba and continuo.
Musicians
Elina Rantamäki, soprano
Anna-Maaria Oramo, mezzosoprano
Johanna Randvere, viola da gamba
Laura Ollberg-Ekman, organ
Concerto Il sonar cantando: Girolamo Frescobaldi

21/03/2024 18:00 CET

Concerto Il sonar cantando: Girolamo Frescobaldi Online

Conservatorio di musica "Giuseppe Verdi" di Milano Italy
Chiesa San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, Corso Magenta 15, 20122 Milano
Among the musicians who were active in the first half of the seventeenth century, Girolamo Frescobaldi (Ferrara, 1583 - Rome, 1643)stands out not only as an organist whose virtuosity and technical skill were superlative and incomparable, but also as a formidable musician who was able to interpret the artistic stirrings in the musical language of his time and to incorporate them, in an effective and significant way, into his vast production for keyboard instruments. 
Frescobaldi not only inaugurates a new manner of playing but also illustrates a new refined “modus componendi” through a language of astonishing modernity. 
The concert offers pages taken from his printed (Libro I Toccatas, Libro II Toccatas) and unpublished (Chigi Codex ) music collections.
 It is music that seduce by its spontaneity, by its freshness, by the naturalness of the lyric melodic gesture. 
In fact, the pages of the illustrious organist enjoy the luminous and fascinating sonorities of a magnificent example of Italian organ building art, belonging to one of the most famous dynasties of Brescian builders, active in the years between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: the Antegnati. In particular, it is an ancient organ built by Gian Giacomo Antegnati in 1554, located, in the mirifica Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan.
These pages are so imbued with a great expressive intensity and a poignant grace that, even today, they amaze us with their relevance. They are compositions permeated by a magic of sounds and an emotional tension that seems to never end.
Musicians
Ivana Valotti, Organ professor (at Conservatorio di musica "Giusepe Verdi" di Milano)
Haydn’s Seven Last Words

14/03/2024 21:00 CET (14/03/2024 21:00 CET)

Haydn’s Seven Last Words On-site

Associazione Angelo Marini Italy
Basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista, Viale Farini, Ravenna
The young international period instrumentalists of Theresia Orchestra embark on a poignant journey for their next orchestral residency in Lodi, exploring Haydn’s original orchestral version of his masterpiece “The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross”.  Commissioned by a Spanish priest in 1786 for a Good Friday service in an underground church in Cádiz, Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. Interwoven with reflective spoken word mediations, Alfredo Bernardini will lead Theresia Orchestra in this meaningful work.
Musicians
Theresia Orchestra
Alfredo Bernardini - conductor
Archbishop of Ravenna - narrator
Zum Europäischen Tag der Alten Musik

21/03/2024 09:00 CET

Zum Europäischen Tag der Alten Musik Online

BR-KLASSIK Germany
Rundfunkplatz 1, 80335 München
One day with Ancient Music on the radio and on the web, including a new Bach-video with Xenia Löffler with a view from inside her oboe, the internationally acclaimed production of Handel’s “Flavio” at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival and one hour of music with REMA ambassador Dorothee Oberlinger
Grand Tour

23/03/2024 19:30 CET

Grand Tour On-site

All'Antica Musika Spain
David Sáez, Iglesia Santa María de Getxo , 48991 Getxo, Bizkaia
It is a multidisciplinary scenic proposal that mixes ancient baroque English, French and Italian, music seeking a reunion between the past and the present.  

 With this concert we want to publicize a deeply rooted custom at the end of the 17th century that consisted of taking a trip through Europe, with Italy as the destination key, undertaken by young Europeans of sufficient means, when they had reached the age of majority (around 21 years old).

Interspersing brief explanatory comments between the different national styles, contextualizes the music and helps the viewer place themselves in the time of Purcell, of the Palace of Versailles and the Italian baroque, where music played a role fundamental. 

 
Musicians
Laiene Alcalá Soprano, Diego Parra Baroque Violín, David Sáez  Recorders, Silvia Cantatore Viola da gamba, Teresa Merino Theorbo, Elvira Pujol Harpsichord
 
 
Romantic Lab | The Haarlem Sessions: Exploring the Classical Style

22/03/2024 15:49 CET

Romantic Lab | The Haarlem Sessions: Exploring the Classical Style On-site

Romantic Lab Netherlands
Lutherse Kerk, Haarlem , Lutherse Kerk, Witte Herenstraat 22, 2011 NV Haarlem
In a dynamic collaboration, Rachael Beesley (violin), Artem Belogurov (fortepiano), and Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde (cello) present this inaugural international solo and chamber music masterclass, held in the Lutherse Kerk in Haarlem, Netherlands. 

Titled "Haarlem Sessions - Exploring the Classical Style", this immersive program invites curious students and professionals of the fortepiano and HIP strings to delve into the Classical style.
Musicians
Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde, Artem Belogurov, Rachael Beesley
CONCERT: MEDITATIONS FOR LENT

22/03/2024 20:00 CET

CONCERT: MEDITATIONS FOR LENT On-site

HARMONIA SACRA France
Eglise Saint Géry, Rue de Paris, 59300 Valenciennes
Motets for three male voices under Louis XIV
The quintessence of the sacred repertoire of the Grand Siècle, pieces by Charpentier, Du Mont, Lully, Danielis and Clérambault - at the heart of French Baroque music, where theatricality, suavity and sacredness mingle and merge.
Musicians
Vincent LIEVRE-PICARD countertenor
Olivier FICHET waist
Maxime SAÏU bass
Clémence SCHILTZ bass violin
Diego SALAMANCA theorbo
Jean-Miguel ARISTIZABAL organ
Yannick LEMAIRE conductor
Migrating Birds - the Virtuosity of Medieval Dances

21/03/2024 19:00 CET

Migrating Birds - the Virtuosity of Medieval Dances On-site

EARLY MUSIC SWEDEN Sweden
The German Church, Svartmangatan 16, 111 29 Stockholm
EARLY MUSIC DAY is celebrated in Stockholm by a meeting between Danish recorder player Clara Guldberg Ravn and Swedish hurdy-gurdy player Johannes Geworkian Hellman. Their join forces bring new life to instrumental dances from European medieval manuscripts. By painting the music with fresh colors, with virtuosity, passion and joy, they invite the listeners is to a distinctive and memorable artistic experience.

NB The concert is broadcast by the SWEDISH RADIO and EBU.

PROGRAMME:

Music from an Tuscanian 14th century manuscript (Add MS 29987, British Museum)

Ghaetta (Anonyma)

Saltarello no.1  (Anonyma)

Tre Fontane  (Anonyma)

In Principio di Virtu  (Anonyma)

Lamento di Tristano  (Anonyma)

Saltarello no.3 (Anonyma)

Chominiciamento di Gioia  (Anonyma)

La Manfredina - La Rotta  (Anonyma)
Musicians
Clara Guldberg Ravn, recorder
Johannes Geworkian Hellman, hurdy-gurdy  
ORA early music festival / ORA_Bach!

21/03/2024 18:00 CET

ORA early music festival / ORA_Bach! Online and On-site

Mozarteum University Salzburg Austria
Grosser Saal - Stiftung Mozarteum, Schwarzstrasse 26, 5020 Salzburg
Bach's Musical Offering BWV 1079 continues to inspire today artists for new interpretations, re-creations and new creations. The canons and the two ricercare show proof of Bach's unreachable mastery in the field of polyphony. In the trio sonata, this is finally combined with the common musical language of the late Baroque. Bach unquestionably marks the high point of this genre in music history.
The trio sonata forms the framework for this concert, works of the 20th and 21st centuries by Isang Yun and Wen-Chen Wei, but also other works from Bach's pen.

Bach's most important organ works - a milestone in music literature! In the second concert of the evening, however not on the large organ of the Mozarteum Foundation, but in an arrangement played by the Wind Philharmonic Orchestra of the University Mozarteum under the direction of Andreas Martin Hofmeir. Instead of pipes controlled by the keyboard, all the classical wind instruments can be heard and the organ comes to life!
This is accompanied by the great fantasy "Bachseits" by Johannes Stert and the eagerly awaited world premiere of a composition by the Russian-Ukrainian composer Vladimir Tarnopolski on the Bach chorale "Das alte Jahr vergangen ist".
The work was commissioned by the Institute for New Music and combines historical and contemporary instruments in a wonderful way.
This world premiere will be conducted by Simone Fontanelli
Musicians
ORA_ Bach
21.03.2024 - Grosser Saal, Stiftung Mozarteum
18:00 Uhr - Musikalische Opfer

Dorothee Oberlinger, Blockflöte
Manuel Granatiero, Traversflöte
Yuki Serino, Violine
William Coleman, Viola
Vittorio Ghielmi, Viola da Gamba
Flavio Losco, Barockvioline
Florian Birsak, Cembalo

20:30 Uhr Bach alive –Konzert der Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum
Wind Philharmonic Orchestra of the University Mozarteum
Musical direction
Andreas Martin Hofmeir and Simone Fontanelli
Haydn’s Seven Last Words

12/03/2024 21:00 CET (12/03/2024 21:00 CET)

Haydn’s Seven Last Words On-site

Teatro alle Vigne Italy
Chiesa di San Francesco, Piazza Ospitale, 26900 Lodi
The young international period instrumentalists of Theresia Orchestra embark on a poignant journey for their next orchestral residency in Lodi, exploring Haydn’s original orchestral version of his masterpiece “‘The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross”.  
Commissioned by a Spanish priest in 1786 for a Good Friday service in an underground church in Cádiz, Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. Interwoven with reflective spoken word mediations, Alfredo Bernardini will lead Theresia Orchestra in this meaningful work. 
Musicians
Theresia Orchestra
Alfredo Bernardini - conductor
Antonio Messina - narrator
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
REMA is funded with support from the French Ministry of Culture.