A Renaissance Christmas: Music of Flanders and Italy circa 1500

 In the courts of Renaissance Italy, princes vied with each other in filling their chapels with the famous singer/composers from the North. As learned polyphony helped the rulers of Florence and Ferrara display their erudition and good taste, glimmers of a more popular native Italian style started appearing, first at the court of the Sforzas in Milan. Many of these new style works honored Mary, the most popular of all saints. With voices, winds, and strings, the Consort explores the contrast between these styles in this program of seasonal music by Josquin, Ockeghem, Obrecht, and Compère.