MusAntiqFest

MusAntiqFest – Funchal Early Music Festival

The MusAntiqFest – Funchal Early Music Festival is Madeira’s leading event dedicated to the rediscovery and celebration of early music — from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and Baroque, to the dawn of the Classical period.

Created in 2020 by the Associação Orquestra Clássica da Madeira (AOCM), in co-production with the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias and with the support of the Municipality of Funchal, the festival emerged with the mission to value and promote historically informed performance (HIP) and to bring audiences closer to ancient sound worlds, period instruments, and forgotten repertoires.

From its very first edition, MusAntiqFest has sought to balance local and international talent, offering a platform for Madeiran and Portuguese early music specialists while opening its stage to outstanding ensembles from across Europe. Over the years, the festival has become an artistic meeting point, presenting both emerging voices and renowned performers who share a passion for authenticity and artistic excellence.

A Growing Legacy Since 2020

The inaugural edition in 2020, led by artistic director Giancarlo Mongelli, featured acclaimed groups such as the ensemble De Palacio — with soprano Cláudia Sousa, tenor Fábio Ferro, and a team of specialist instrumentalists — and the Funchal Baroque Ensemble, which performed alongside renowned soloists like bandolinist Norberto Cruz. Despite the pandemic context, all concerts took place under strict safety measures and played to full houses, with the final performance — Molière’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully — bringing humour and theatrical flair to the festival’s close.

In subsequent years, the festival expanded both scope and international presence.

• In 2021, MusAntiqFest welcomed outstanding performers such as Pedro Couto Soares (recorder), Ana Mafalda Castro (harpsichord), and ensembles exploring the rich Renaissance and Baroque repertoire of Europe.

• The 2022 edition hosted internationally active artists such as Duo Rubrum (Carolina Andrade – soprano, Romeu Curto – vihuela), who brought intimate 16th-century Iberian songs of love and war; and the Funchal Baroque Ensemble with soprano Antoni Mendezona, performing arias celebrating Handel’s operatic heroines.

• By 2023 and 2024, the festival consolidated its status as a cultural landmark in Madeira, attracting top-level artists including Emma-Lisa Roux (lute), Cardo-Roxo (an ensemble dedicated to Portuguese oral traditions combined with historical instruments), and Ensemble 258, known for its refined historically informed approach to lesser-known European composers.

MusAntiqFest’25 – New Horizons

The 2025 edition continues this legacy of artistic excellence and cultural exchange. The programme brings together three outstanding ensembles, each with a distinct artistic voice:

• Ars Corde – a Polish duo founded by flautist Agnieszka Sobków and harpsichordist Zuzanna Sęk, celebrated for their historically informed interpretations and authentic approach to early repertoire.

• Caro dolce ben mio – featuring Spanish musicians Marina López Manzanera and Carlos Sánchez Leonardo, exploring the rich instrumental traditions of the Iberian Peninsula and Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries, with instruments such as organetto, cornetto, and recorder.

• La Trifora – an ensemble dedicated to medieval music, featuring Lucas Rafael de Oliveira Silva, Johanna Unterpertinger, and guest musician Emilia Nubiola Weinstein, performing with instruments such as vielle, historical percussion, and recorders, and bringing audiences closer to the evocative sound world of the Middle Ages.

This year’s edition, held from 17 to 19 October 2025, invites audiences to travel through centuries of music in some of Funchal’s most iconic venues, including the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.

An Invitation to Discover and Rediscover

MusAntiqFest is more than a festival — it is a musical time machine, where each concert opens a window into the past. With intimate, recital-like settings and historically informed performances, the festival offers audiences an opportunity to experience music as it might have sounded hundreds of years ago, while discovering the stories, emotions, and human connections that transcend time.

Through its commitment to cultural heritage, authenticity, and artistic innovation, MusAntiqFest continues to strengthen Madeira’s position on the international early music map, making the island a meeting point for musicians, scholars, and enthusiasts of ancient sound worlds.