Royal Wedding Munich 1568

The Munich celebrations marking the wedding of Prince Wilhelm of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine took place at the court of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria on 22 February 1568 for two weeks and drew members of the aristocracy as well as ambassadors from the whole of Europe. The music performed during this ceremony under Orlando di Lasso was played by the best of the best musicians taken not only from the Munich Hofkapelle but also from the Graz and Innsbruck Hofkapellen. Lasso, the leading composer of his era, composed several new works specifically for this occasion, but he also performed pieces by his contemporaries including Annibale Padovano's 24 part Mass and Alessandro Striggio's 40 part motet. The 1568 wedding celebrations were first and foremost a political event and the music that Lasso put together was designed by him to provoke wonder and amazement from those present not only through sheer numbers but, above all, through his unrivalled fantasy for unique instrumental and vocal combinations. With this unique kaleidescope of colors presented by the virtuosi from three courts he was able to turn it into one of the greatest music events of the century.

The daily Masses and banquets were the main musical events of the celebrations.

This recording by the singers and musicians of Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata directed by Roland Wilson can only show a fraction of the music performed during the festivities. But this album presents the most spectacular Mass and unbelievably colorful banquet music, which follows exactly the detailed description by one of the court singers, which even required the reconstruction of instruments such as dolzaina, cornamusa and contrabass trombone.