I. Music of the Stadpijpers

Pavane La Battaille --- Tylman Susato c. 1510-1570

"In any Renaissance Flemish city the civic purposes for music were the most conspicuous; these were dominated by the wind band, variously called the stadpijpers, menestruels, schalmeyers or speelleiden. Traditionally, this ensemble was composed of three or four people playing a sackbut and two or three shawms. Its civic duties included daily outdoor concerts from a central location in the city, participation in religious and occasional processions, triumphal entries and also some church services. . . . By 1483 the stadpijpers were giving a concert, called the lauweyt, each evening from the balcony of the town hall. By about 1500, the strictly loud-wind instrumentation of the group seems to have given way to a broken or mixed ensemble, normally of five players. Documentation pertaining to the Antwerp stadsspeellieden, extant from 1530, confirms a five-person band who played a wide variety of instruments, including shawms, flutes, recorders, crumhorns, trumpets and sackbuts." K. K. Forney, "16th-Century Antwerp," in The Renaissance: From the 1470s to the End of the Sixteenth Century.

In addition to being a music printer and composer, Susato was a member of the Antwerp stadpijpers during the 1530s and 1540s. He played sackbut, trumpet, crumhorn, flute and recorder, and performed frequently for the evening service of the Confraternity of Our Lady (on sackbut).

II. Music from the Churches of Antwerp and Other Cities

Ego flos campi --- Jacob Clemens non Papa c. 1500-1556

Clemens composed this seven-voice motet in 1550 for the Marian confraternity in 's-Hertogenbosch. The unusual number of voices was mostly likely chosen for its symbolic association with Mary (the seven joys, the seven sorrows, etc.). Clemens sets off the phrase "Sicut lilium inter spinas," the motto of the confraternity, with chordal texture in the midst of an otherwise thoroughly polyphonic piece.

Pater noster qui es in celis --- André Pevernage 1542/43-1591

Gustate et videte --- Orlande de Lassus 1532-1594

At the age of 12 Lassus was taken from his homeland to Italy, where he served as a singer for the ducal court of Milan. By 1553 he was chapel master at one of the largest churches in Rome, St. John Lateran. A year later he returned to Antwerp and there published a book of motets, chansons, madrigals, and villanesche (Susato, 1555) and his First Book of Motets (Susato, 1556). Gustate et videte appeared in the latter volume.

Congratulamini mihi --- Christian Hollander c. 1510-c. 1569

"The [Antwerp] Church of Our Lady is so very large that many masses are sung in it at one time without interfering with each other. The altars have wealthy endowments, and the best musicians are employed that can be had. The Church has many devout services, much stonework, and in particular, a beautiful tower." Albrecht Dürer, Diary of his Journey to the Netherlands (1520)

III. Chansons and Madrigals Instruments from Antwerp Songbooks

"The Belgians are indeed true masters of music; they have restored it and perfected it, and it is natural to them, both men and women, to sing with the greatest grace and melody and with a real instinct for tone and measure; also they use instruments of all sorts which everyone understands and knows." Lodovico Guicciardini, Descrittione di tutti i Paesi bassi (1567).

Mignonne, allons voir si la rose --- viols --- Rinalde del Melle c. 1554-c. 1598

Que me servent de mes vers --- cornett, sackbuts, curtal --- Philippe de Monte 1521-1603

Jupiter, o tres grande Dieu --- viols --- Noë Faignient fl. 1560-1600

Si je maintiens ma vie --- cornett, sackbuts, curtal --- Hubert Waelrant c. 1517-1595

E mi par d'hor in hor udir --- viols --- Hubert Waelrant

Douce liberté desirée --- cornetts, sackbuts, curtal --- André Pevernage

The songs in this set come from three collections printed in Antwerp: the first three are from Le Rossignol musical des chansons (Phalèse, 1597), the two by Waelrant from the composer's Il libro primo de madrigali e canzoni francezi (Waelrant & Laet, 1558), the last from André Pevernage's Livre quatrieme livre des chansons (Plantin, 1591). Along with the firm of Susato, the firms of Waelrant & Laet, Phalèse & Bellère, and Christofle Plantin were among the great music-publishing houses of the time.

Waelrant also served as a tenor in the cappella of the Antwerp cathedral and is known to have run a music school. Pevernage served chapel master at the cathedral from 1585-91. Faignient was born in Cambrai but became a citizen of Antwerp in 1561 and gave music lessons there. Although Rinalde del Melle and Philippe de Monte were both born in the Low Countries and received their early training there as choirboys, they spent most of their lives abroad; both returned to Antwerp at various times during their adult years.

IV. Dutch Liedekens from Susato's Musyk Boexken & other collections

"A few years ago I began publishing various types of music, such as masses, motets, and certainly many French chansons . . . , yet I have always had the intention of bringing to light the noble, heavenly art of music in our Netherlandish mother tongue, as is the case with music in the Latin, French, and Italian languages, which is well known and has been disseminated in all countries. And to carry this out as soon as possible, I have with great diligence brought together the best, most artful, choicest songs…composed in our mother tongue that is was possible for me to find . . . ." Tylman Susato, Preface to Het ierste musyck boexen (1551).

Susato printed two books of Dutch songs in 1551. The songs in this set come from those two volumes and Pierre Phalèse's Een Duytsch Musyck Boek printed in 1572 in Leuven and Antwerp.

Een Venus schoon --- recorders --- Jacob Clemens non Papa

Altijt so moet ic trueren --- recorders, tenor, curtal Servaes vander Meulen 16th-c.

Een meysken eens voerby --- sackbuts & curtal --- Anonymous

Ick seg adieu --- soprano & viols --- Lupus Episcopius c. 1520-1595

Een gilde jent --- recorders --- Josquin Baston fl. 1542-63

Lecker Beetgen en Cleyn Bier --- quartet of voices --- Josquin Baston

V. Dance Music from Susato's Danserye, 1551

" [In Antwerp] one can see at almost every hour of the day, weddings, dancing and musical groups . . . . there is hardly a corner of the streets not filled with the joyous sounds of instrumental music and singing." Lodovico Guicciardini, Descrittione di tutti i Paesi bassi (1567).

La morisque --- Renaissance trumpet, cornetts, sackbuts,curtal, drum --- Tylman Susato

Bergerette "Dont vient cela" --- viols --- Susato

Suite of Rondes --- ensemble --- Susato

Den I. Ronde, "Pour quoy" &emdash; Den II. Ronde, "Mon amy" &emdash; Den III. Ronde &emdash; Den VII Ronde, "Il estoit une filette" &emdash; Ronde & Saltarelle &emdash; Den IX Ronde

VI. French Chansons and Italian Madrigals

"The majority of [the people of the Low Countries] understand grammar and nearly all, even the peasants, can read and write. . . . An infinite number, even those that never were out of the country, besides their native language, are able to speak several foreign languages, especially French, with which they are most familiar; many speak German, English, Italian, Spanish, and others speak languages even more remote." Guicciardini, Descrittione di tutti i paesi bassi (1567).

Vorria morire / Als ick u vinde --- voices & viols --- Hubert Waelrant

Je file quand Dieu --- voices --- Philip van Wilder c. 1500-1553

Though Flemish by birth, van Wilder spent most of his life at the court of Henry VIII of England, where he was "Master of the King's Musick." This chanson had undoubtedly circulated quite widely before Pierre Phalèse reprinted it in his anthology, Le Rossignol musical (1597).

Donna bella e gentile --- voices and viols --- Cornelis Verdonck 1563-1625

Si doncque tu me veus secourir --- voices --- Rinalde del Melle

Mi voglio fare --- voices and viols --- Hubert Waelrant