Vislumbres de Utopia

Charles V was certainly the most powerful and charismatic of the Renaissance rulers. Exhausted and worn down by the challenges of imperial rule, he abdicated towards the end of his life and led a secluded existence in the monastery of Cuacos de Yuste in Castile under the motto 'Ecce elongavi fugiens et mansi in solitudine' ('I fled and remained in solitude'). The Utopia Ensemble seeks out the man behind the monarch and examines the duality of power and greatness as well as solitude. Pierre de Manchicourt - court composer to Charles's son and director of the famous Capilla Flamenca - could well have written his Requiem for one of the countless commemorations of Charles V. It radiates serenity and splendour and is juxtaposed here with chansons that moved the heart beneath Charles's imperial armour.

Der Instrumentalist, Komponist und Verleger Tielman Susato war eine der berühmtesten Persönlichkeiten im Musikleben Antwerpens in der Renaissance. Heute eher bekannt als wichtiger Verleger, war Susato aber auch ein sehr fähiger Komponist. Das Utopia Ensemble präsentiert hier ein Florilegium von reizvollen Werken, die von Susato komponiert und / oder veröffentlicht wurden.

Der Instrumentalist, Komponist und Verleger Tielman Susato war eine der berühmtesten Persönlichkeiten im Musikleben Antwerpens in der Renaissance.

Porté à la fois par un besoin d’insouciance et une urgence humaniste, MEAJAM raconte dans ce nouvel album l’histoire d’UTOPIA. Une entité qui malgré sa condition humaine, renoue avec son environnement : la fascination pour un chêne immense et enveloppant, le chant hypnotisant d’un ruisseau, le souffle chaud ou glacial du vent… Un retour aux sources qui s’avère un voyage initiatique. MEAJAM y questionne en filigrane la place de l’humanité sur notre planète. Sa singularité et son inconscience. Sommes nous des enfants merveilleux (Petits cow-boys) ou des bourreaux sans foi ni loi (Château de cartes)?

In 1663, Father Antonio Vieira, a famous Jesuit priest who was a close friend of the late King Joao IV, is summoned before the Tribunal of the terrible Inquisition. His position there is weakened by plots and misunderstandings. In front of the judges, Vieira reviews his past: his youth spent in Brazil and as a novitiate in Bahia, his involvement in the Indian cause, and his first successes in the pulpit. After the Inquisition deprives him of his freedom of speech, he flees to Rome where he achieves a good reputation and much success…..