Music begins with the voice: with breath that becomes sound, with a body that makes itself heard. We regard voices as what makes us unique. Speaking and singing feel to us like a fundamental human right.
Les voix humaines - the human voices - is the title of one of the most famous works by the French Baroque composer Marin Marais. Remarkably, he does not let those voices be heard in song, but in the strings of the viola da gamba. This paradox defines the festival theme: the human voice resounds, but never in just one way. It appears in ever-new forms, with the greatest diversity.
During Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2026, we let voices sound again. In doing so, we cherish a fondness for what is colourful and wondrous.
The repertoire for the voice is endless - from Gregorian monody to troubadour lyric poetry, and from the earliest sacred polyphony to secular forms such as opera, masque, and melodrama. We invite a contemporary composer to speak the language of the past. Singers perform as soloists or in large ensembles, even up to forty parts.
