oa Scribes, Patrons, Performers, and Spies: Petrus Alamire and the Instrumentalist Network in Renaissance Flanders

This study sketches the background of instrumental music in the late fifteenth century, pointing out that instrumentalists were mainly active in three spheres: as trumpeters, players of soft instruments, or as members of wind bands. The patronage of instrumental music in Flanders is explored with emphasis on the city of Mechelen. This city provided substantial support for instrumentalists from the late fourteenth century onward, but benefitted significantly from its position as the primary residence of both Philip the Fair and Margaret of Austria. The Habsburg connection provided a conduit for significant changes, as performers such as Augustine Schubinger, the pre-eminent cornettist of his time, and Master Leonhardt, a superb lutenist, were among the German players who brought new concepts to the Flemish region. Finally, the contributions of Petrus Alamire and his manuscript workshop to instrumental performance practice and repertory are explored.