Tales of song of sadness is a double tribute from the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Cappella Amsterdam, commemorating the demise of Frans Brüggen and Louis Andriessen, two giants of Dutch music culture. The album also documents the unique entanglement of early and contemporary music pioneers in post-war Netherlands, whose influence stretched far beyond national borders. Centrepiece of this programme is Andriessen’s May, commissioned by the musicians of the orchestra to commemorate the death of Brüggen, eventually turning out to be that composer’s swan song as well. It is flanked by other Andriessen works for choir, orchestra and recorder, respectively, as well as excurses into early music by Josquin des Prez, Thomas Preston, Jacob van Eyck and Jean-Philippe Rameau.