Ad narragoniam – Music in the "Ship of Fools"

The title page of Sebastian Brant’s "Narrenschiff" shows a ship full of fools drifting rudderless on the Rhine. Printed in Basel in 1494, the book is emblazoned with the battle cry of its crew: “Ad Narragoniam” (“Off to the land of fools”)!

At the same time, the Basel student scene brought forth song collections with the greatest hits of the period around 1500, such as the songbook of Johannes Heer von Glarus and the songbook of Ambrosius Kettenacker.

With songs and instrumental pieces from these collections, the musicians of ReRenaissance musically recreate the foolish world of Sebastian Brant. Naturally, the bagpipes that Brant rebuked and the lute and harp that he praised are heard in songs that Brant would have approved of – but also the shady songs that were sung, for example, during nocturnal flirtations.

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Korneel Van Neste – voice
Grace Newcombe – voice, harp, organ
Silke Gwendolyn Schulze – douçaine, shawm, pipe & tabor, bagpipes
Tabea Schwartz – viola da gamba, pipe & tabor, recorder
Marc Lewon – lutes, viola d’arco, voice; direction

Julian Schneider – recitation

Introduction 17:45–18:00 by Prof. Dr. Marc Lewon in the Barfüsserkirche with Workshop "Gaudeamus" sing-along