Monday, 11 September, 8 pm
Franciscan Monastery Church, Trakų g. 9/1, Vilnius
Devotio moderna
The New Piety on the Eve of the Reformation
Ars Choralis Coeln (Germany)
- Stefanie Brijoux – voice
- Pamela Petsch – voice
- Cora Schmeiser – voice
- Maria Jonas – voice and direction
- Amanda Simmons – voice
- Susanne Ansorg – voice
- Uta Kirsten – voice, gothic harp
- Lucia Mense – recorders
The devotio moderna (new piety) movement began in the Church in the late Middle Ages, urging followers to search for a “third path” besides the secular or monastic life, to rediscover old practices of piety – humility, obedience and simplicity. Dutchman Geert Groote started spreading these ideas at the end of the 14th century in his works, while the movement quickly spread throughout Germany, primarily in the Rhineland and Alsace. The new piety inspired the creation of new religious texts and hymns. Fifteenth-century hymnal manuscripts already reflected the need to sing in languages other than Latin – Dutch and German extracts were featured in liturgical texts. The ideas of Christian humanism that arose on the eve of the Reformation influenced the new Lutheran movement as well. The women's ensemble Ars choralis Coeln, which has examined the musical manuscripts of this period, presents an extraordinarily interesting program of devotio moderna hymns.
