Moeders des Vaderlands!

Word, image and music

Margaret of Austria, Amalia of Solms, Anna of Hannover and other powerful women are given a voice in words, images and music. Deen and Huysman talk about their political and musical influence, alternated by the ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa that performs music by female composers such as Hildegard of Bingen and Barbara Strozzi and court music from their time by Constantijn Huygens, Monteverdi and Handel. A special audiovisual experience that brings the world of the princesses to life.

Femke Deen

Femke Deen is a historian and author. She researches women of nobility in the early modern period and wrote, among other things, the biography Anna van Saksen. Verroepen bruid van Willem van Oranje (Atlas Contact 2018). She is currently working on a biography of Charlotte de Bourbon, the third wife of Orange.

Ineke Huysman

Ineke Huysman works as a senior researcher at the Huygens Institute/NL-Lab. Among other things, she is project leader of the digital edition of the correspondence of the Dutch and Frisian stadholders' wives. She was recently one of the compilers of the volume Women around Johan de Witt (Catullus 2024).

The Armonic Sphere

The Dutch baroque ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, specializes in performing 17th and 18th century music and is led by lutenist and conductor Mike Fentross. In addition to music by famous composers such as Monteverdi, Handel and Vivaldi, the ensemble also performs lesser-known music that has been distilled from early modern music prints and manuscripts after extensive research. With: Paulina van Laarhoven – Viola da gamba, Mike Fentross – Theorbo and Lette Vos – Soprano.