Ensemble Mikado - In all Christian cultures, a stock of special, popular Christmas songs has formed that is also integrated by the church in services. In their own way, the composers of the Renaissance endeavoured to do justice to these melodies in accordance with their age and its taste. The combinations of simple songs and highly artistic polyphony make up the special charm of this programme. The 'Ensemble Mikado', founded in Vienna in 2003, won the 'International Young Artist's Presentation - Early Music' in Antwerp in 2004 and in its repertoire focuses both on the music of the late Middle Ages and the music of the English Renaissance at the time of Shakespeare.