The Egidius Kwartet is a Dutch vocal ensemble specialising in the music of the

Franco-Flemish school The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition or ...

, in particular of the Habsburgs, Margaret of Austria, governor of the Netherlands and her court at

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. The ensemble was formed by four members of

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

's Amsterdam Baroque Choir in 1995. The group's name is taken from Aegidius, a character in Dutch medieval literature, a minstrel lamented in the song Egidius waer bestu bleven (though the name also reflects Maître Egidius of the Chantilly Codex, as well as the Dutch name of

Gilles Binchois Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois and his colleague Guillaume Du Fay were deeply influenced by the ...

). Their recording ''Egidius zingt Egidius'' places ''Egidius waer bestu bleven'', and two ballades by "Maître Egidius," with tribute to Egidius from modern Dutch composers;

Henk Badings Henk Badings (hĕngk bä'dĭngz) (17 January 190726 June 1987) was an Indo-Dutch composer. Early life Born in Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies, as the son of Herman Louis Johan Badings, an officer in the Dutch East Indies army, Hendrik Herman Ba ...

Joop Voorn Joop Voorn ( 16 October 1932, in The Hague – 11 July 2021, in Tilburg) was a Dutch composer. Biography Joop Voorn sang in the parish boys' choir "Ex ore infantium": Gregorian chant, Perosi, but also Palestrina, Bruckner and Jan Mul. He took p ...

, Ton de Leeuw,

Daan Manneke Daan Manneke (born 7 November 1939) is a Dutch composer and organist. Manneke was born in Kruiningen. He studied organ and composition from 1963 to 1967 at the Brabant Conservatory in Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the N ...

, Bart Visman,

Calliope Tsoupaki Calliope Tsoupaki ( gr, Καλλιόπη Τσουπάκη; born 27 May 1963) is a Greek pianist and composer. Biography Calliope Tsoupaki was born in Piraeus, Greece. She studied piano and music theory at the Hellinicon Conservatory in Athens and ...

Walter Hus Walter Hus (born 2 July 1959) is a Belgian composer and musician. He studied at the music conservatories in Ghent and Brussels. In 1984, he graduated with excellence (''Diplôme supérieur'') for piano with Prof. Dr. Robert Steyaert and soon bec ...

- and then Donald Bentvelsen, the quartet's bass voice, who also supplied ''Quatre poèmes de

Ossip Zadkine Ossip Zadkine (russian: Осип Цадкин; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Belarusian-born French artist. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born on ...

.''

Discography

The quartet has released over a dozen discs of renaissance music., including a 12-disc recording of the Leiden choirbooks: they recorded major pieces from the six choirbooks in six annual 2-CD releases from 2010 to 2015. A short Documentary about the Leiden Choirbooks project (Dutch with English subtitles)
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Early music groups