‘Huelgas Ensemble’

Paris, 24 August  1572. The bells chime near the Louvre. But they do not have the same sound as usual: they are being rung slowly for the massacre of the Huguenots. While tensions between the Catholics and Protestants had been kept in check for a while, St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre marked one of the bloodiest episodes in the history of France, one that would later on inspire very many artists. Paul Van Nevel and Huelgas Ensemble return to these tragic events, portraying the musical landscape unique to each of the two faiths, with Claude Le Jeune and Palestrina as the key figures.