Discord to Harmony

Events

Wednesday, 11 November 2026 at 7:30 pm

Wigmore Hall, London, United Kingdom

The Renaissance saw Europe regularly convulsed by war, as neighbours and rivals jostled for territory and power, Catholics and Protestants clashed over religious principle, and Christian nations contended with the threat of the Ottoman Turks. But it was also a time of great alliances, when peace treaties were celebrated with lavish diplomatic displays, and hostile nations were bound together through dynastic marriages. This fascinating programme explores the responses of composers to these turbulent times, drawing on almost two centuries of music from Dufay to Schütz. Along the way we experience the sounds of battle in Jannequin’s remarkable chanson La guerre, encounter plangent laments for fallen cities and lost generations, and savour serene motets welcoming longed-for peace.

Anon: L’homme armé

OUR STRENGTH AND SHIELD
Hans Leo Hassler: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott
Robert Parsons: Deliver me from my enemies
Thomas Tomkins: O God, the proud are risen against me

TO ARMS!
Richard Dering: Factum est silentium
Clément Janequin: La guerre
Alonso Lobo: O quam suavis es

HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN
Bernadino da Ribera: Rex autem David
Guillaume Dufay: Lamentatio sanctae matris
Robert Ramsey: How are the mighty fallen

THE SPOILS OF WAR
Anon: The Agincourt Carol
Fernando de las Infantas: Congregati sunt inimici
Sulpitia Cesis: Cantate Domino

PEACE AND DIPLOMACY
Loyset Compère: Quis numerare queat
Heinrich Schütz: Verleih uns Frieden
Cristóbal de Morales: Jubilate Deo

THE PEACE OF HEAVEN
Tomás Luis de Victoria: Agnus Dei from Missa pro Victoria
Cipriano de Rore: Da pacem, Domine
Victoria: Laetatus sum