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At the Sign of the Crumhorn: Flemish Songs and Dance Music

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At the Sign of the Crumhorn: Flemish Songs and Dance Music

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Tielman Susato's Publishing House "Inden Cromhorn", 1551

A milestone in the history of European culture was the invention of printing around 1440. The first occurrence of printed music is generally reckoned to be the Venetian Ottavino Petrucci's famous note-books from 1501.

Around the middle of the sixteenth century another important music printer was active in Antwerp. This was Tielman Susato, who was also a composer, arranger and municipal musician. He was born around 1500 and evidence exists to suggest that he may have been German, Dutch or Flemish. He died sometime between 1561 and 1564. Susato began publishing music in 1541-42, at first together with two associates, but from 1543 he published music on his own, mostly by Flemish composers: Masses, motets, madrigals and chansons. His successors used more common printing methods which did not produce such polished results, but were much cheaper, which made published music more accessible, especially for the middle classes who were becoming more and more culturally aware.

By 1551 Susato could afford to move his business to a new location, Inden Cromhorn (At the sign of the Cromhorn). He felt sufficiently secure financially to strike a blow for the Dutch, or Flemish, language. Flemish songs or liedekens had previously been dispersed throughout Europe in hand-written manuscripts, but they were not held in very high regard. Most often they were either translated into one of the 'major' languages such as French or German or simply used as a melodic underlay or cantus firmus for other types of compositions such as Mass movements, motets and purely instrumental works, sometimes retaining the first line of text in the title.

With great enthusiasm Susato succeeded in persuading some Franco-Flemish composers to join his cause to further the Dutch language, including in his collection the work of a few composers who had already died. The oldest of these was Johannes Ghiselin, alias Jean Verbonnet, who was active in the fifteenth century ([22]). Indeed Susato displays in his own compositions ([10], [13], [24]) both awareness of and fondness for such archaic composition styles and inflections ([24]). There is, however, amongst his songs, one composition which sounds to be almost half a century ahead of its time [14].

Thus Susato was able to gather 55 settings of Dutch texts in the first two musyck boexkens (music books) of 1551, 28 in the first and 27 in the second, in some cases variants of the same song, such as [27] and [55]. The title page reads as follows: amoureuse liedekens in onser nederduytscher talen, Gecomponeert by diuersche componisten, zeer lustich om singen en spelen op alle musicale Instrumenten, Gedruckt Tantwerpen by Tielman Susato wonende uoer die nieuue waghe Inden Cromhorn (Amorous songs in our Netherlandish tongue, composed by divers composers, very pleasing to sing and play on all musical instruments, printed in Antwerp by Tielman Susato, residing at the sign of the Crumhorn).

Susato's third publication that year was entitled Danserye, Het derde musyck boexken (Danserie, the third Music Book) with a subtitle Alderhande danserye (All manner of danceries) and it is this collection that is most closely associated with the name of Susato. The collection's 59 four-part dance movements, based in many cases on French, Dutch or German folk-songs, end up sooner or later in the repertoire of most of today's early music ensembles, and rightly so, as Susato's dance arrangements with their carefully prepared parts are shining examples of their kind. To a greater extent than the music of his contemporaries, the parts in Susato's dance arrangements are often tightly constructed, lying in close proximity of one another. Susato probably had in mind a typical configuration of a descant in G, two tenors and a bass of the crumhorn family.

One conservative feature of Susato's collection is the presence of thirteen basse-dances, despite the fact that by the middle of the sixteenth century this dance form was deemed old-fashioned. Sadly it seems that after his third collection Susato had set his sights on more artistic endeavours, and he published no further dance books.

Although there was no direct successor to the books of secular liedekens, between 1556 and 1557 Susato published 150 Souterliedekens or psalms in Dutch, in three-part settings by the renowned Jacobus Clemens non Papa, and in 1561 he published a further 123, in four-part settings by his pupil Gerardus Mes. These psalm settings formed volumes 4-8 of Susato's musyck boexkens.

A large number of the works on this disc are by anonymous composers, most of whom were probably Franco-Flemish. Some of the composers, such as Carolus Soulia(e)rt or Swill(i)art are really only known to us through their compositions that appear in Susato's Musyckboexkens. Of the other composers represented on this disc, biographical detail is often sketchy.

Benedictus Appenzeller was born between 1480 and 1488, probably of Swiss origin and may have been a pupil of Josquin Desprez. He was in charge of choral music at the court in Brussels from 1542 to 1551 and in 1542 he published a collection of chansons. He was also active in Bruges.

Josquin Baston (fl.1542-1563) was a Franco-Flemish composer of motets and songs. Six of his liedekens are preserved in print. After 1552 he seems to have worked abroad, at the courts of Poland, Denmark and Sweden.

Jacobus Clemens non Papa (c.1510-c.1555), also known as Jacques Clement, was also of Franco-Flemish origin. He produced a rich and varied body of work.

Like his predecessor (and possibly teacher) Lupus Hellinck, he was a priest who managed to combine a variety of positions as choral director and Kapellmeister at various cathedrals and royal courts. After his music was published in 1530 by Pierre Attaignant in Paris, he began a lengthy period of collaboration with Tielman Susato in Antwerp, with Susato publishing the bulk of his work.

Clemens non Papa wrote sixteen Masses, fifteen Magnificats, more than 230 motets for four to eight voices, 159 three-part psalm settings or Souterliedekens, around ninety chansons for three to eight voices, eight liedekens and assorted Mass movements and instrumental works.

Johannes Ghiselin (c.1455-c.1511), also known as Jean Verbonnet, is another highly regarded Franco-Flemish composer of which we know relatively little. For many years, at least between the years of 1492 to 1503, he worked in Italy, and it was probably Ghiselin who persuaded Josquin Desprez to move to the court in Ferrara. He returned to Flanders however, as we know he was employed as a singer in Bergen op Zoom in 1508. His works include Masses, motets, chansons and instrumental pieces as well as four liedekens. One of his Masses, the Missa Ghi syt di wertste boven al (Thou art the most treasured of all) is based on one of his own liedekens.

Lupus Hellinc(k) (c.1496-1541) was primarily active in Bruges. He was a priest and lay vicar, later subcantor or succentor and master of the choristers at the churches of Our Lady and St Donatius. His work is almost exclusively sacred, including thirteen Masses, fourteen motets, eleven German chorales, six chansons and four liedekens. His Nieuwe almanack ende pronosticatie [9] (New almanack and prognosis), performed here on cornamuses and crumhorns, is actually a song dedicated to his bishop on the feast of the Holy Innocents.

Sven Berger

English Version: Andrew Smith

[1]

Disc 1

Compt alle uut by twe by drye

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At the Sign of the Crumhorn: Flemish Songs and Dance Music

£6.99 £4.99 (CD)

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