Flandria Floreat: Franco-Flemish Influences Throughout a Continent

It is difficult to overstate the influence of Franco-Flemish musicians on the birth and development of Renaissance polyphony. At the very beginning of the period, in the 15th century, the leading composer of the time was Guillaume Du Fay, born near Brussels. Johannes Ockeghem and Josquin des Prez, two towering figures at the end of the 15th century, were both born in or near Hainaut, the French-speaking region immediately south of Brussels. Others followed: Jacob Obrecht, Pierre De la Rue, Adrian Willaert, Philippe de Monte, and Cipriano de Rore. Orlande de Lassus, one of the undisputed masters of late Renaissance composition, brings this progression to its conclusion at the end of the period, but Lassus was born about a dozen kilometers from Ockeghem's birthplace in Mons, Belgium.

These composers were employed all over the continent: in the lavish and wealthy cities of Italy and in service of popes, but also in Spain, France, Germany and elsewhere. The imitative, equal counterpoint pioneered and clarified by Josquin would define the entire century and be taken up by composers as wide ranging as William Byrd and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Their sound was the sound of the Renaissance.

At CRMSS Pacific 2026 we will explore as much of this repertoire as possible. While focussing on composers from the heart of Flanders, we'll also include music from northern France as well, exploring chansons and the airs de court solo repertoire. Some of this music has been eclipsed in terms of its fame in our modern day by the High Renaissance and early Baroque music of, say, Orlando Gibbons or Claudio Monteverdi, but we will go back to the birth of the style, to the profoundly influential pioneers. Flemish music is rich, complex, and powerful. Come join us!

Choral

A major focus of the week's work is singing together as one large choir, exploring larger scale, mainly sacred a capella music of the Renaissance. The specific repertoire chosen will depend on the distribution of voices amongst the course participants.

We will also divide the participants into two (or perhaps three) smaller chamber groups which work separately, and look at different repertoire from what is covered in the tutti group.

Solo

While the majority of our time is spent preparing ensemble music in choral and small group contexts, good solo vocal technique is of course essential for good singing. This applies to music written in any style and during any time period, including the Renaissance.

Solo singing and good vocal technique are core parts of CRMSS and we believe that solo and ensemble singing can sit comfortably side by side, one informing and enhancing the other.

Participants are enthusiastically encouraged to bring their own solo repertoire written before 1630.

Consort singing: one and two per part vocal chamber music

Any serious amount of time spent getting to know the music of the Renaissance must include small-ensemble singing. The tutors will chose groups and assign them repertoire before the week begins, sending out scores and reference recordings so participants can prepare in advance and come with one or two pieces already learned.

It is in these small group settings that we can best explore secular repertoire from the Renaissance. We believe it is of particular importance that the secular music of this period be covered, as it provides a more vivid picture of the sorts of musical lives these musicians actually lived, be they composers or singers or both.

As with solo repertoire, there will hopefully be opportunities to work on small ensemble music that participants bring themselves.

The pre-formed small groups will all be at least two-singers-per-part. Everyone will be allocated into one of these small groups, and perhaps more than one if numbers allow. There may also be time set aside for even smaller, one-per-part consorts to form and experiment with other repertoire, both on an ad hoc basis and under the direction of a member of staff.

A pre-CRMSS mini course for brass players and other instrumentalists

In another bold new departure for CRMSS, we are very excited about bringing to Canada our first EU-based instrumental staff member, Catherine Motuz. She will lead a 3-day course for Renaissance brass players and other instrumentalists starting on Thursday, August 13th 2026 and ending with a concert given to the arriving CRMSS Pacific 2026 singers on Saturday, August 15th 2026.

The repertoire for this event will be polychoral repertoire from Venice and in the German tradition of the Praetorius family. Precise pieces haven't yet been chosen.

This course is going to be run on an invitation-only basis and CRMSS Pacific staff will be contacting specific individual players who will be best suited to this sort of intensive and specialized work. Because of Catherine's brass specialism, we will seek to find as many brass players as we can of a high standard, but will also be contacting keyboard, string, and plucked instrument players as the repertoire gets confirmed.

A small number of singers will also be invited to participate.

Those who wish to take part will need to pay an extra fee and this figure is being finalized now.

As more information becomes available, our website will be updated.

If you have been contacted by a member of CRMSS staff about participating in the CRMSS Pacific 2026 Instrumental Project and would like to register, please do so using the button below.

Anyone who is or was enrolled in full or part-time education in one or both of the 2025-26 or 2026-27 academic years, studying any subject, qualifies as a current student.

We are proud not to have raised our fees since last year.

Our complete instrumental offering at CRMSS Pacific 2026 is still being finalized. Costs will be posted here when they have been decided.