The Huelgas Ensemble, directed by its founder Paul van Nevel, began as the result of the previous generation's work in early music performance, led by, among others, Thomas Binkley and David Munrow. Remarkably, after more than 50 years, the ensemble retains a sense of excitement, innovation, and discovery, long after the mass recording industry began to cover the esoteric sounds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In 1990, the group's vast recording catalog was founded with an album featuring Antoine Brumel's Missa Et ecce terrae motus. It has won numerous awards, including two Diapason d'Ors, Caecilia Prizes, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and four Echo Klassiks. In 2019, van Nevel led the Huelgas Ensemble on the album The Ear of Christopher Columbus. In 2023, the group returned after a COVID-19 hiatus with the album Ludwig Daser: Polyphonic Masses.