last official curriculum egidius (2016)

EGIDIUS is a Dutch vocal ensemble for Renaissance music, established in 1995. The name ‘Egidius’ refers to a well-known 14th century lament on the death of a Bruges singer. The anonymous poet states that, although the deceased Egidius is now most likely waiting for him in heaven, he still has to sing a song first. (“Ick moet nog singhen een liedekijn”). And this is exactly what the ensemble EGIDIUS does.
Until 2010 EGIDIUS was mainly a male vocal quartet, the Egidius Kwartet, but since the recordings of the Leiden Choirbooks a larger group of singers sang under the name Egidius College, to do justice to the repertoire. The Leiden church of St. Peter consisted of 10 to 15 singers. Since 2010 the lineup of singers, with female superius parts, was increasingly diverse and the ensemble decided to eliminate the adjectives “Kwartet & College” and to work under simply the name EGIDIUS with distributions fitting the demands of the repertoire.
The main repertoire of EGIDIUS has always been the Franco-Flemish polyphony, more precise the repertoire written under 16th century Habsburg dominance (Maximilian I, Charles V, Philip II and the dukes of Bavaria). Apart from singing music of the most important masters of the Renaissance, such as Orlando di Lasso and Clemens non Papa, the ensemble takes great pride in researching, recording and performing the music of lesser known masters of the era. They revived the attention for composers as Nicolas Payen, Cornelius Canis, Thomas Crecquillon and Gheerkin de Hondt. They made an integral recording of the two Musyckboekens (Music books) (1551) of Tielman Susato, and of the Dutch songs in the Lauwerijn van Watervliet Chansonnier. From 2010-2015 they performed and recorded, in a set of 6 double-cd’s, a vast selection of the repertoire of one of the most important polyphonic treasures of Europe: The Leiden Choirbooks. This both nationally as internationally acclaimed project was honored with the Golden Label Award.
EGIDIUS performed in many important early music festivals and in prestigious concert halls. The ensemble toured in Flanders, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Bolivia, Peru and the USA. The EGIDIUS singers are highly specialized in the field of renaissance music. Artistic director is Peter de Groot.
Until 2010 EGIDIUS was mainly a male vocal quartet, the Egidius Kwartet, but since the recordings of the Leiden Choirbooks a larger group of singers sang under the name Egidius College, to do justice to the repertoire. The Leiden church of St. Peter consisted of 10 to 15 singers. Since 2010 the lineup of singers, with female superius parts, was increasingly diverse and the ensemble decided to eliminate the adjectives “Kwartet & College” and to work under simply the name EGIDIUS with distributions fitting the demands of the repertoire.
The main repertoire of EGIDIUS has always been the Franco-Flemish polyphony, more precise the repertoire written under 16th century Habsburg dominance (Maximilian I, Charles V, Philip II and the dukes of Bavaria). Apart from singing music of the most important masters of the Renaissance, such as Orlando di Lasso and Clemens non Papa, the ensemble takes great pride in researching, recording and performing the music of lesser known masters of the era. They revived the attention for composers as Nicolas Payen, Cornelius Canis, Thomas Crecquillon and Gheerkin de Hondt. They made an integral recording of the two Musyckboekens (Music books) (1551) of Tielman Susato, and of the Dutch songs in the Lauwerijn van Watervliet Chansonnier. From 2010-2015 they performed and recorded, in a set of 6 double-cd’s, a vast selection of the repertoire of one of the most important polyphonic treasures of Europe: The Leiden Choirbooks. This both nationally as internationally acclaimed project was honored with the Golden Label Award.
EGIDIUS performed in many important early music festivals and in prestigious concert halls. The ensemble toured in Flanders, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Bolivia, Peru and the USA. The EGIDIUS singers are highly specialized in the field of renaissance music. Artistic director is Peter de Groot.