Darkness and Light will present music from the time of the Sun King, Louis XIV: Marc-Antoine Charpentier's popular and festive Messe de Minuit will be contrasted with one of his three great messes des morts, and Michel-Richard de Lalande's magnificent De Profundis.

Despite being hugely popular at the time, and being Louis XIV's favourite composer (his De Profundis was chosen for Louis’ funeral in 1715), Lalande is not so well known today, partly due to the fact that there are still only a limited number of modern editions of his music. 2026 will be the 300th anniversary of Lalande's death and this performance will be our contribution to the celebration.

We will be joined by a professional period orchestra and soloists. This will be our second programme in recent years of music from this glittering age, when all the arts were brought together to glorify not only God, but his representative on earth - the absolute monarch Louis.

In this unique and exclusive project, forty Vox Luminis singers enter into a dialogue with the refined dance language of Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara. Teshigawara is a master at translating classical music into dance. Together they perform the haunting Spem in alium, complementing this with other gems of English music from the 16th to the 20th century. An experience that promises to be both impressive and stunningly beautiful.

After the Tudor composers and before Handel, it was Henry Purcell who gave the English baroque its soul. With its brilliant mix of tradition and innovation, the Orpheus Britannicusalso conquered the heart of Vox Luminis: one of the most celebrated Belgian formations of the moment. With King Arthur, it serves up a dramatic opera in which the swords of the Saxons clash, Roman and Germanic gods bicker and an epic soundtrack swings from climax to climax.

Cupid’s Ground Bass captures love’s extremes, from radiant joy to deep lament, with enduring themes linking arias and instrumental works in the vivid soundworld of 17th-century Italy.