ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE
Orlandus Lassus (1532-1594):
Lagrime di San Pietro
Collegium Vocale Gent
Miriam Allan cantus I
Barbora Kabatková cantus II
Benedict Hymas altus I
Samuel Boden altus II
Tore Tom Denys tenor I
Edward Grint tenor II
Jimmy Holliday bassus
Philippe Herreweghe conductor
On 24 May 1594, the 62-year-old Lassus dedicated his swan song, the monumental cycle of madrigals, Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of Saint Peter), to Pope Clement VIII. The 21 spiritual madrigals on texts by the poet Luigi Tansillo represent the pinnacle of sophisticated madrigal art, but Lassus also forges all the parts together into an invisible musical whole in which the underlying numerical symbolism and the interplay of keys do not miss their stunning effect. As Kapellmeister to the Duke of Bavaria and one of the most celebrated composers of the 16th century, he thus rounded off his long and highly creative career with one of the absolute masterpieces of the entire Renaissance .