The first day of spring will again this year be celebrated, for the third time, as European Day of Early Music.* Melodies from the renaissance and baroque periods will be heard throughout Europe, reminding us of a very different cultural and aesthetic expression that was created by great artists like Monteverdi, Bach and Lully.
Vienna, Ghent, Paris, Marseille, Berlin, Torino, Rome, Madrid, Cambridge are some of the cities that will participate in this great day of celebration. Taking place simultaneously across Europe and broadcast online, this day’s events aim at increasing awareness of this genre of music and bringing it to the attention of a larger audience. This is a REMA (European Early Music Network) project, initiated through its president Peter Pontvik, and was launched for the first time in 2013. This year’s third anniversary once again takes place with the support and patronage of the European Commission and UNESCO, and the strong partnership of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Early Music is an important cultural heritage that promotes and underlines a common and bizarrely complicated past that Europe shares. Although this music doesn’t represent all the musical expressions at that time in Europe’s history, it has become a truly shared identity in our days. Teaching, playing and understanding this music have contributed to its “re-invention”. People from all over Europe study and appreciate the music of this era. It has become a common cultural experience and a constantly evolving part of European culture. By bringing it to life again and again we have the opportunity to enjoy it but also to promote it so that it continues to enrich the diverse cultural heritage of Europe.
You can find the events that will take place in your city on the official site of European Day of Early Music: http://earlymusicday.eu/
*Not to be confused with World Music Day, 21 June.
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