Cappella Pratensis

Dedicated to St. Donatian, patron saint of the city of Bruges, this polyphonic mass composed by Jacob Obrecht in 1487 was commissioned by the widow of Donaas de Moor, a wealthy furrier who died in 1483, for an annual memorial at the Church of St. James. This thoughtfully researched and well-documented mass will be the centerpiece of a program by the Dutch a cappella group Cappella Pratensis, acclaimed for its historically informed performances of 15th and 16th-century polyphonic music. The ensemble has released a filmed reconstruction of this mass on an award-winning DVD.