EMDF | FELIX PLATTER: A LIFE IN MUSIC

EMDF REMA

Main Sources: Music: UB Basel MS F IX 59-62 «Hagenbach Liederbuch» Songtexts: UB Basel AG V30 «Sammlung allerhand meist lächerlichen Gedichte» Diary: Synopsis by Tabea Schwartz based on Valentin Lötscher’s “FELIX PLATTER – Tagebuch (Lebensbeschreibung 1536–1567)” About Felix Platter: In 1536, just in time for the autumn fair, a child was born at Petersberg in Basel who in later years was to make a name for himself throughout Europe as a physician and polymath: Felix Platter. His research on anatomy, psychiatry and also his epidemiological reports on the time of the plague made him famous throughout Europe beyond his death in 1614. His valuable herbarium is stored in the Burgerbibliothek Bern. But Felix Platter was much more than just a physician. Already during his studies in Montpellier he received the nickname “l’Alemandt du lut”. His “verteuschten” German translations of French chansons and Italian madrigals from this same period remain special musical-philological treasures. The focus of this concert is the musical side of this Renaissance man, which is once again allowed to flourish with voice, lute, viola da gamba and recorder.