Artwork of the Day
With the Artwork of the Day we connect a work of art to one of the concert programmes. Sometimes the link is obvious, sometimes surprising or unexpected. In this final edition, we feature a remarkable painting around which an entire concert programme has been created: Christ Surrounded by Singing and Music-Making Angels (late 15th century) by Hans Memling.
The painting is a large three-panel altarpiece showing Christ surrounded by singing and music-making angels. It originally formed part of a larger altarpiece for the abbey church of Santa María la Real in Nájera, Spain, of which the rest has been lost. The work is now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
On these panels, Memling painted a serene vision of heaven. Christ sits in the centre, blessing and at peace. Around Him stand sixteen angels: six singing from a large choir book, the others playing lute, harp, organ, and other unusual instruments. These instruments are rendered in such detail that they are still used today for musicological research. How would these heavenly sounds have sounded? What were the angels singing?
Today, we may get an answer to these questions, as Tiburtina Ensemble and Oltremontano Antwerp bring the music of the painting to life. They sing and play repertoire from Memling’s time on instruments carefully reconstructed from medieval examples - often exactly as they are depicted in Memling’s work. Together, the two ensembles evoke a sound world that matches the stillness, devotion, and beauty of Memling’s angelic vision.
This two-dimensional image becomes spatial, alive, and human this afternoon. It is as if you step into the painting and the angels lift their voices. Not only for Christ, but for us as well.
