Música d'Outrora
Still Life
Early Baroque Fantasy
Chun Yuan Yang (Lirone)
Supported by a grant from Continuo Foundation
At the heart of the concert is the stylus phantasticus, the free, improvisatory idiom that flourished across early seventeenth-century Europe. This was music conceived to wound and transform: dramatic, unpredictable, moving between passages of virtuosic intensity and moments of profound stillness. Like objects in a baroque still life, each section captures a complete emotional world — whether devotional, theatrical, or dance-like — before yielding to the next through sudden, startling contrast.
The programme spans Italy and Germany through works by Dario Castello, Ignazio Albertini, Alessandro Stradella, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Gregorio Strozzi — composers who shaped the stylus phantasticus across sacred and secular worlds, from operatic drama to spiritual radiance to inward contemplation. Violin, viola da gamba, lirone, violoncello, theorbo, guitar, organ, and harpsichord bring this sound world to life.
Reason and passion intertwine. Beauty, held in suspension. Music that still lives.
This concert forms part of the ensemble's UK tour celebrating 'Still Life', released on the Deux-Elles label. Supported by Continuo Foundation and the Gemma Classical Music Trust.
Sun, 15 February 2026
National Centre for Early Music, York
7:30pm
£20 (£16 concessions)- ➕1 other performance
Full Event Details
Música d'Outrora bring their debut album 'Still Life' to the National Centre for Early Music, presenting the programme that shaped the recording in the intimate acoustic of one of York's finest historic spaces.
At the heart of the concert is the stylus phantasticus, the free, improvisatory idiom that flourished across early seventeenth-century Europe. This was music conceived to wound and transform: dramatic, unpredictable, moving between passages of virtuosic intensity and moments of profound stillness. Like objects in a baroque still life, each section captures a complete emotional world — whether devotional, theatrical, or dance-like — before yielding to the next through sudden, startling contrast.
The programme spans Italy and Germany through works by Dario Castello, Ignazio Albertini, Alessandro Stradella, Dieterich Buxtehude, and Gregorio Strozzi — composers who shaped the stylus phantasticus across sacred and secular worlds, from operatic drama to spiritual radiance to inward contemplation. Violin, viola da gamba, lirone, violoncello, theorbo, guitar, organ, and harpsichord bring this sound world to life.
Reason and passion intertwine. Beauty, held in suspension. Music that still lives.
This concert forms part of the ensemble's UK tour celebrating 'Still Life', released on the Deux-Elles label. Supported by Continuo Foundation and the Gemma Classical Music Trust.
▶Venue Details & Map
Location
National Centre for Early Music, York
St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, YO1 9TL
Other performances
In addition to the performance listed above, this concert will also be performed as follows:
Cantata Series IV