Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe

The fact that Carlo Gesualdo murdered his wife and her lover is one of the juiciest tidbits in music history. Could there be a connection between the drama and the eccentric polyphony of the Prince of Venosa? Gesualdo's Fourth Book of Madrigals dates shortly after the events and bears witness to his unrestrained experimental urge and emotional volatility. Collegium Vocale Gent extracts the finest nuances from these songs of scorching desire and sweet lovesickness.

Collegium Vocale Gent was founded in 1970 at the initiative of Philippe Herreweghe, from a group of close friends who were students at the time. The ensemble was at the forefront of applying new insights into the performance of Baroque music to vocal music. Their text-oriented and rhetorical approach resulted in a transparent sonic idiom, which quickly earned the ensemble worldwide acclaim, leading them to perform at all major stages and music festivals within just a few years. Collegium Vocale Gent has grown into an extremely flexible ensemble with a wide repertoire spanning various stylistic periods, from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Its greatest asset lies in the ability to assemble an optimized lineup for each project.