CSBF26 Editorial.

The shadow of war has once again lengthened across our shared horizon. Some are tragically trapped within its grip, while others have been forced to flee their homelands in search of temporary shelter. All the others are watching from an apparent safe zone as the world seems to catch fire. The overwhelming barrage of images through the internet and social media oversaturates our senses, carrying the dangerous risk of turning the atrocities of war into a matter of mere banality.

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Yet, art and music endure as powerful mirrors to the deep complexity and nuanced realities of conflict. They have the potential to create a precious threshold where individuals from opposing factions can reconnect with their shared humanity. While they elevate spirits, inspire communities, and urge us to rise above injustice, history warns us of their potency: authoritarian regimes have routinely censored or instrumentalized the arts, recognizing them as dangerous catalysts. Music as well can indeed be political and divisive. Even we, citizens of the 21st century with a vast tapestry of history from which we should have learned, frequently risk repeating these same dark mistakes. We weaponize the arts, force them into narrow partisan lines, and censor both the creators of the past and the performers of today. We demand impossible political alignment from artists, forgetting that they, too, are human—individuals with families, livelihoods to protect, and personal vulnerabilities. In doing so, we risk stripping art of its ultimate purpose: to serve as a sanctuary for dialogue rather than an arena for ideological warfare.​

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In this spirit, the Coudenberg Sound Box Fest 2026 stands to champion music as the ultimate art of dialogue: an unmediated language that bypasses the boundaries of speech and cultural borders to touch anyone, anywhere. Faithful to its identity, it traverses centuries and aesthetics to build bridges between audiences, cultures, and perspectives. Breaking with tradition to honor the profound weight of this year's theme, the festival opens not with a concert, but with its academic mission: a brand-new lecture series in collaboration with ULB and IHEB, exploring the role of music in conflict from the Middle Ages to the present day. Running for three consecutive weeks starting on Thursday 19 November, these sessions gather researchers and specialists to use the lessons of history to re-evaluate our present world and cultivate a deeper, collective path toward cultural healing.

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The musical season officially opens on Sunday 22 November with the ensemble InAlto, led by Lambert Colson, presenting a deeply moving repertoire of sacred music born from the devastation of the Thirty Years' War. Their performance explores how composers of the era transmuted the trauma of conflict into profound spiritual solace and artistic resilience.

This repertoire serves as a striking mirror for our times. Much like that seventeenth-century conflict, today’s global crises reflect the same tragic mechanics: deep geopolitical rivalries masked by rigid ideological narratives, fought through devastating proxy wars, and increasingly dependent on modern "warlords" through the privatization of military force.

Yet, where history fractures, art offers its ultimate resistance. Transitioning from inner solace to outward celebration, AkroPercu immediately follows during the same evening by transforming the galleries of the Coudenberg into a percussive sounding board. Blending high-energy drumming with physical acrobatics, they release the tension of conflict, transforming the solemn archaeological site into a space of shared liberation. 

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This rich dialogue is further extended on Tuesday 24 November during an exceptional reception at the Palais du Coudenberg, marking the CSBF’s membership into the REMA (European Early Music Network). Bringing together European cultural networks and institutions in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland, this event celebrates a unique encounter between Irish and Franco-Flemish traditions on the occasion of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

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The CSBF continues to support both emerging artists and established ensembles. The NextGen training lab & competition, launched in 2025  (and making its return this year on 17 and 18 November), has already revealed the Ensemble Matica de Flor, winner of the first prize, which returns to our underground stage with a poignant Sephardic programme. Born from the diaspora of Jewish communities expelled from Spain in 1492, this repertoire is a living testament to cultural survival and memory. By weaving together Judeo-Spanish poetry, Mediterranean rhythms, and Ottoman traditions, it highlights an extraordinary resilience—proving that even in a world fractured by displacement and identity politics the trauma of forced exile can blossom into a beautiful synthesis of diverse cultures. Alongside them, the Satellite Trio delves into the censored or repressed voices of the 20th century from both far-left and far-right regimes, offering a poignant reflection on memory, resistance, and the imperative for intercultural dialogue. Their performance acts as a direct acoustic counterweight to the authoritarian impulses of history, breathing new life into sounds that were once deemed too dangerous to be heard.

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This edition also inaugurates an "extra-muros" series in co-production with Bozar, featuring a double concert on 6 December held across the archaeological site and the Church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg. ClubMédiéval will present a secular programme centered around Charles V, while Dionysos Now! will explore the sacred repertoire related to the court of the Dukes of Burgundy and Mary of Hungary. This itinerary, designed for diverse audiences, optimises visitor hospitality and offers a multifaceted, unique experience where underground spaces and the soaring heights of Brussels' Place Royale engage in dialogue.

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The festival concludes on 13 December with a concert placed under the banner of intercultural dialogue, featuring the Belgian-Syrian oud player Elias Bachoura (with pieces taken from his latest album Biharayto), where Oriental modal depth meets Western harmonic complexity. The evening will continue with BeraadGeslagen (featuring pianist Fulco Ottervanger and drummer Lander Gyselinck), a Belgian duo exploring jazz, electronics, and improvisation, offering the audience a rare insight into their creative process during the creation of their latest CD in late 2026.

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All these activities are part of the interdisciplinary project "Re Coudenberg – Re-enacting the Musical Life of a Royal Ghost", launched in 2025, which aims to revive the forgotten musical history of the Palais du Coudenberg, with a planned culmination in 2030-2031 through publications, creations, and new productions.

By reviving the forgotten musical life of this royal ghost, we do not merely wish to exhume the past; we call upon it to speak to our present. Through these stone vaults that have witnessed centuries of dynastic ambitions, devastating sieges, and transient truces, the music of this edition becomes a bridge over fractured horizons. In invoking these historical echoes, the Coudenberg Sound Box Fest 2026 reminds us that the human longing for harmony remains unchanged. For more than four weeks, beneath the surface of a world in conflict, these underground spaces will not serve as trenches of division, but as sanctuaries of resonance—proving that even in the darkest winters of our history, the ultimate, collective masterpiece we must strive to compose is still peace.