May 31, 2025
La Sfera Armoniosa – Mothers of the Fatherland
In the historic Walloon Church in The Hague, history and music come together in a special evening dedicated to influential women in the political history of the Netherlands.
Meet the strong women who shaped the Low Countries. Historians Femke Deen and Ineke Huysman, editors of Moeders des Vaderlands (Atlas Contact 2024), together with La Sfera Armoniosa, bring to life the stories of influential women from the political history of the Netherlands. Margaretha of Austria, Amalia of Solms, Anna of Hanover and other powerful women are given a voice in words, images and music. Deen and Huysman talk about their political and musical influence, interspersed with performances by the ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa, which plays music by female composers such as Hildegard von Bingen and Barbara Strozzi, as well as court music from their time by Constantijn Huygens, Monteverdi and Handel. A unique audiovisual experience that brings the world of these princesses to life. With its rich history, the Walloon Church is a fitting place to bring these women out of the shadows and let their voices be heard once again – in a church that some of them themselves visited.
Femke Deen
She is a historian and author who researches women of nobility in the early modern period and has written, among other things, the biography Anna van Saksen. Verstoten 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
She works as a senior researcher at the Huygens Institute/NL-Lab and is, among other things, project leader of the digital edition of the correspondence of the Dutch and Frisian stadtholder’s wives. She was recently one of the editors of the collection Vrouwen rondom Johan de Witt (Catullus 2024).
La Sfera Armoniosa
This Dutch Baroque ensemble was founded in 1992 and specialises in performing 17th- and 18th-century music. It 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.
Performers
Ineke Huysman – speaker
Femke Deen – speaker
Lette Vos – vocals
Paulina van Laarhoven – viola da gamba
Mike Fentross – theorbo
More information, the programme and ticket sales can be found on the website of the Waalse Kerk Den Haag.