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Hoekstra publishes edition of 16th-century music book

By James Daly '13
February 10, 2011

Professor of Music Gerald Hoekstra recently published a critical edition of a book of sacred music that 16th-century Flemish composer Andreas Pevernage originally composed more than 400 years ago.

Hoekstra edited Pevernage’s Cantiones aliquot sacrae quibus addita sunt elogia nonnulla. It appears as three volumes of the series Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance. Cantiones aliquot sacrae, first printed in 1578, was large for a music book of its time. It consists of 63 Latin motets, 48 of which are cantiones sacrae, or sacred songs, and 25 of which are elogia, or occasional motets and homage motets. It is interesting, notes Hoekstra, in that it provides a musical record of the life and activities of a choirmaster and composer in the second half of the 16th century.

The edition is the culmination of several years of research by Hoekstra, funded in part by a St. Olaf summer research grant. Hoekstra, who has also authored a journal article on the historical significance of the Cantiones sacrae, has previously published a critical edition of the complete French chansons of Pevernage in five volumes. The St. Olaf Early Music Singers, a vocal ensemble that Hoekstra conducts, has performed several motets from the Cantiones aliquot sacrae in its concerts.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.