O Sidera – A Call from the Heavens | Early Music Day 2026
Ancient heritage meets Renaissance polyphony and Byzantine chant, where East and West resonate together. Featuring Lassus’ Prophetiae Sibyllarum, performed by the award-winning French Ensemble Irini.
Opening of Sastamala Gregoriana’s 30th Anniversary Year!
The Early Music Day concert “O Sidera – A Call from the Heavens” opens Sastamala Gregoriana’s anniversary year. The programme for the summer 2026 festival will also be announced in connection with the concert.
The guest of honour at the anniversary opening concert is the acclaimed French vocal ensemble Ensemble Irini, led by Lila Hajosi. The ensemble is known for its intense, refined sound and its profound expertise in Byzantine and early vocal music in particular.
At the heart of the concert is Orlando di Lasso’s (Roland de Lassus) song cycle Prophetiae Sibyllarum (1554–55). The ancient sibyls—enigmatic prophetesses—fascinated Renaissance artists from Michelangelo to Lassus. Lassus’s work is striking and distinctive: bold chromaticism, unexpectedly beautiful harmonies, and a text that gradually reveals itself to the listener like a riddle unfolding its secret.
In the concert, the mystical world of the sibyls is placed in dialogue with Byzantine chant rooted in Constantinople. Western Renaissance polyphony and the ancient vocal tradition of the East meet, reflect one another, and reveal surprising connections between prophecy, mysticism, and spirituality. Warmly welcome!
ENSEMBLE IRINI (FR)
Director: Lila Hajosi
Chloé Roussel, mezzo-soprano
Fanny Châtelain, alto
Olivier Merlin, tenor
Jean-Marc Vié and Xavier Bazoge, bass
Sat 21 March, 7:00–8:15 pm (no intermission)
Tyrvää Church, Sastamala
Tickets €10–45, available in advance on our website
Read more and buy tickets: sastamalagregoriana.fi/concerts/osidera
The concert is organised by Sastamala Gregoriana and the Parish of Sastamala.
DID YOU KNOW…
Early Music Day is celebrated annually on 21 March with concerts and events around the world, honouring a musical heritage spanning more than a thousand years. The date was chosen symbolically, as it marks both the spring equinox and the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. Early Music Day is organised by REMA – the European Early Music Network, of which Sastamala Gregoriana is a member.