Christopher Columbus' venture into the Americas was to pave the way for Spain's »Golden Age«. As a colonial power, the country enriched itself with the resources of the »new« world and built up power through considerable wealth. The arts also flourished in the 16th century and Spain developed into one of the most important schools of polyphonic church music. A six-member cast of the Collegium Vocale Gent, together with its founder and conductor Philippe Herreweghe, is dedicated to this heyday. The focus is on the funeral music »Officium defunctorum« by Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Image © Eric de Mildt