Concert 11: Missa Aurea / Agapé Festival

Cappella Pratensis
Founded in 1987, the Cappella Pratensis ensemble specializes in the music of Josquin Desprez (Josquinus Pratensis) and, more generally, in 15th- and 16th-century polyphony. The ensemble strives to revive masterpieces of the polyphonic repertoire by recreating the musical conditions that prevailed during the Renaissance. The singers, gathered around a large music stand, use only facsimiles of the original sources: the great choir books in metered notation. Cappella Pratensis's performance is also based on fundamental principles, such as the recognition of Gregorian chant as the foundation of Renaissance polyphony, the primacy of a flexible and horizontal melodic line, the modal system, and the influence of language on interpretation and vocal technique.