Ensemble Masques/ credit:David Samyn

WDR 3 Cultural Radio has released its Days of Old Music Herne 2023 lineup featuring vocal music by Francesco Cavalli, Antonia Bembo, Guillaume Dufay, and Antonio Caldara.

The theme for 2023 focuses on fashion, drawing musicians from various European locations to Herne once again. The majority of these ensembles will make their debut at the festival. Kulturradio WDR 3 will broadcast these performances in four live shows to a nationwide audience. Additional concert broadcasts will extend through December, ultimately reaching a global audience via distribution by the European Broadcasting Union.

Francesco Cavalli wrote “L’Ercole amante (Hercules in Love)” for King Louis XIV, but it flopped in Paris due to declining interest in Italian music. France set an influential artistic trend that European royalty emulated, often through adopting French dance and decorative styles. Ensemble Masques performs.

Performance Date: Nov. 10, 2023

Composer Antonia Bembo, once a pupil of Cavalli and favored by Louis XIV, reset the “Hercules in Love” libretto for Paris decades later, blending French and Italian elements. Il Gusto Barocco performs.

Performance Date: Nov. 11, 2023

The Huelgas Ensemble will perform the chanson “L’homme armé,” thought to depict 15th-century Charles the Bold of Burgundy. This tune served as the foundation for numerous parody masses, the earliest by Guillaume Dufay, a close associate of the Duke. The melody remains a focus for composers, more for its musical adaptability than its historical significance.

Performance Date: Nov. 11, 2023

Dufay shaped musical trends beyond just “L’homme armé.” Alongside Gilles Binchois, he was a defining musical force in the 15th century. Many of their chansons spurred contemporaries and successors to create their own arrangements. Ensemble Leones performs.

Performance Date: Nov. 11, 2023

The Bourbons had Versailles and the Habsburgs had the Vienna Hofburg to show their power. Both used music too. Unlike France, Vienna was open to foreign talent like Italians Antonio Caldara and Apostolo Zeno. {oh!} Orkiestra will perform their 1725 opera “Il Venceslao,” which celebrated Emperor Charles VI’s name day in grand style.

Performance Date: Nov. 12, 2023