Corkscrews, Coils, and Clocks

Music from Ockeghem to Josquin celebrating the musical, technical,

and scientific inventions from the 15th-16th centuries

As the Middle Ages ended and the Renaissance began, music and technology experienced an explosion of innovation and invention. The printing press, flying machines, golf, whiskey, parachutes, bell chimes, toothbrushes, spring-driven clocks…these inventions and more changed society as we knew it. At the same time, music was undergoing innovations of its own. From the interlocking polyrhythms of Johannes Ockeghem and Antoine Busnoys to the aural revolution of Josquin des Prez’s exquisite motets, music in Europe was never the same.

This concert features the revolutionary sounds that changed the course of music in Europe and beyond. A consort of medieval and early Renaissance singer-specialists are joined by instruments that reflect the musical and mechanical evolution of the time: a medieval “alta cappella” band of two shawms and medieval slide trumpet will transition to a more “modern” (16th-century) grouping of shawms, dulcians, sackbuts, and recorders–allowing the audience to visually chart the music’s aural and technological evolution from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The ensemble will be joined by plucked instruments and Chicago local (and first-time Newberry performer) Mary Vanhoozer-Rodriguez, a specialist on hurdy-gurdy and vielle. Projection artist Shawn Keener will display images and drawings of 15th- and 16th-century inventions, including diagrams by Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Gutenberg, and more.

Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 4 PM

Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church

939 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60202

Seating will open at 3:30pm and the concert will begin at 4:00pm.