Festival of Flanders ( nl, Festival van Vlaanderen) is an annual music event at different locations in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. It started initially as a "Summer Festival", but now its activities are spread from January to May, with a peak in late summer and early autumn.

History

The Festival of Flanders has its roots in

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the ...

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, where Jan Briers organized the Basilica-concerts from 1958 in the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

of Tongeren. At first there was played religiously inspired

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

, but soon it was extended to other

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

music; and other locations. Often, historical sites such as

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

s and castles are used, with an occasional transfer to

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. As in other Flemish cities (classical) summer concerts were held as well, they joined forces in 1972 and created the more comprehensive 'Festival of Flanders'. The organization was actively supported by the newly emancipated Flemish "cultural autonomy". Especially in Brussels they wanted to exhibit "serious" Flemish culture. Partly because of this, they could bring prestigious

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s and big names to Flanders. At the same time it gave the festival a somewhat elitist character. In the nineties, they began to see the creation of this one-sided image and so the program was expanded to include contemporary music,

sound art Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...

, youth,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

organ music The organ repertoire is considered to be the largest and oldest repertory of all musical instruments. Because of the organ's (or pipe organ's) prominence in worship in Western Europe from the Middle Ages on, a significant portion of organ repert ...

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, and cross-overs with

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

, film, dance.

Spreading

The Festival of Flanders consists of various festivals spread across different Flemish cities and provinces: *Antwerp: ** Laus Polyphoniae: *Bruges: ** MAfestival Brugge *Brussels: ** KlaraFestival/The European Galas/Living Room Music/MusMA/Dorp op stap/Festival on Tour http://www.festivalbrxl.be/en *Ghent: ** Gent Festival van Vlaanderen *Kortrijk: ** Happy New Festival van Vlaanderen *Limburg: ** Basilica Festival van Vlaanderen *Mechelen: ** Mechelen hoort stemmen/Festival+/Festival Kempen *Flemish Brabant: ** NOVECENTO ** TRANSIT

References

External links

*
Website des Festival de Wallonie
{{Authority control Entertainment in Flanders Music festivals in Belgium Music festivals established in 1958 Classical music festivals in Belgium