麻豆社

In 1558, two years after having abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and retired to the monastery of Yuste (in Extremadura), Holy Roman Emperor Charles V organized a fake ceremony for his own funeral!聽Did he want to be the first man to witness such a moving and solemn moment?聽Or was it just a rehearsal to control the smooth running of the service and its theatricality?聽He died a few weeks later, and this time for real!

Lucie Skeaping presents a concert given by the ensemble La Tempete at the 2023 Utrecht Early Music Festival, which imagines some of the music that may have been heard at this macabre event.

With your weekly bulletin of Early Music News from Mark Seow.