A unique 16th century music collection brought by history to Sweden. This is the prelude to a concert with moving renaissance music, marking the symbolic handover to the next holder of the EU Presidency; Spain.

The Duke of Calabria, Fernando de Aragón, was a great lover of music and the theatre. He had a large orchestra at the Valencian court, which served to attract several of the famous composers of the time to compose music for him and his colourful parties. After the Duke’s death in 1550, 54 works of music were published in a collection which has made its way to Sweden, though how it reached Sweden is unknown. The only copy still in existence can today be found at the Uppsala University Library Carolina Rediviva.

The Ensemble Villancico has since its conception in 1995 performed music from “The Songbook of the Duke of Calabria” and over the years they have performed more than one hundred concerts in more than 25 different countries.

On 14 December, this historic musical connection between the countries will be celebrated with a concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall. The concert is organized by the Spanish Embassy in Stockholm.