Flautando Cologne Recorder Ensemble & Holger Schäfer Light and Darkness: Of Heavenly Splendour and Hellfire Susanna Borsch, Susanne Hochscheid, Kerstin de Witt – recorders Ursula Thelen – recorders/vocals Guest: Holger Schäfer – vocals, harp, narration, recorder

The four musicians have mastered an impressive range of instruments, including more than 40 different recorders, from the tiny Garkleinflöte to the man-sized sub-bass recorder. This tonal diversity allows for an equally broad stylistic spectrum.

The concert highlights the tension between light and dark, good and evil – told musically with works from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period, supplemented by contemporary compositions such as ‘Vuur’ by Pieter Campo and ‘Stamping Ground for Angels’ by Willem Wander van Nieuwkerk. These pieces are accompanied by a fairy tale by Khalil Gibran about Lucifer and the wise man. Holger Schäfer guides the audience through the programme as narrator and musician. The focus is on the myth of the ‘Diabolus in Musica’, with works by Machaut, Bach and Orlando di Lasso, who set Job's suffering to music. Angelic figures appear as fighters, comforters and messengers – for example in the Coro from Bach's Cantata BWV 19. Bach's Toccata in D minor heralds the fall of hell, before the concert ends fiery with ‘Vuur’. Translated with