For hundreds of years, the music of Medici Florence has lain dormant in archives across Europe, unperformed and largely forgotten. These works, many by anonymous or little-known composers, collectively represent the soundworld of one of the most culturally refined periods in history—the sonic equivalent of Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci.
The New Generation Foundation is committed to the belief that this creative legacy does not belong solely to the past. Through Vox Medicea, it seeks to rediscover, revive, and restore this extraordinary repertoire, bringing it back into living performance while training a new generation of specialist musicians to carry it forward.
While Florence of the 15th and 16th centuries is widely celebrated for its humanistic thought and artistic achievements, producing some of Europe's greatest artists, its musical contributions, in particular in the realm of the sacred, are often overlooked.
Yet, given the prominent choral traditions in Venice and Rome during this period, it is highly probable that Florence also possessed a rich choral tradition of its own.Our ongoing research to date has brought to light over 150 motets, alongside numerous mass settings, magnificats, psalm settings, cantatas, and laude. These musical treasures have, in all likelihood, remained unheard for centuries.
Since its inception at the Medici Archive Project in 2018, a dedicated team has meticulously researched, scrutinised, and mapped musical manuscripts. These invaluable documents are housed in various archives, including the Florentine State Archive, the National Library in Florence, the Archive of the Duomo of Florence, and other public and private collections across Italy and Europe.
Our process involves in-depth examination, editing, and transcription of the most significant findings into modern musical notation, with historical research to contextualise each piece's origin and provenance. Ultimately, this work prepares the rediscovered music for publication, adhering to contemporary standards of musical scholarship.
The professional male-voice ensemble Vox Medicea, is dedicated to the performance and recording of these newly-rediscovered works. Comprising some of the finest specialist performers of this repertoire drawn from Italy and the United Kingdom, the choir has given performances in London, and been featured on the flagship CBS ‘Sunday Morning’ programme.
In 2022 the choir was selected for a special concert on behalf of the Commune di Firenze in the historic Palazzo Vecchio, and has since founded its own annual ‘Sacred Masterpieces of the Medici’ Gala weekend with performances at the Palazzo Pitti, San Lorenzo and Santa Felicita, as well as the famous Certosa and San Francesco monasteries. In 2025 the choir headlined the Rome Chamber Music Festival and will perform at the Ávila Festival in December.
Concerts by Vox Medicea showcase the research of the Sacred Music Programme, providing the opportunity for listeners to hear rare and forgotten sacred works of Renaissance Florence. Smaller concerts focus on smaller-scale specialist repertoire, while larger concerts incorporate period instruments appropriate to the majestic polychoral works which were the hallmarks of the Medici Grand Dukes.
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