The head (Latin ›caput‹) gives the title for the Missa Caput that Flemish composer, priest, and diplomat Johannes Ockeghem composed in the mid-15th century. The ›head‹ referred to is the head of the dragon or snake, an emblem of Satan.
Ockeghem’s music is both consonant and monumental, and in its density it awakes the impression of mysterious introversion. Long melismatic lines conceal the text and have a more unrhetorical impact on the listener. Sound waves overlap, combine, and bring about new color shades. Ockeghem’s almost mystical music allows the listener a sublime experience of movement and time.
graindelavoix’s unique singing style relies on eccentric vocal qualities. Professional “non-singers” of various backgrounds, both classically and non-classically trained, are not hidden behind vocal masks, but use what comes from their throats. As they sing »alla mente« by heart their improvisational technique of ornamentation is not just a form of embellishment, but itself forms lines, waves, wrinkles in the texture of the music. The Belgian vocal ensemble graindelavoix could be heard last year at sunrise in the performance Cesena. The extraordinarily reverberation of the turbine hall offers the ideal space for Ockeghem’s music. Surrounded by the audience, the singers will perform his Missa caput, complemented by several motets and plaint chant in two concerts.
