Journal of the Alamire Foundation

The act of dedicating music books was a common practice in the sixteenth century. To date, dedicatory letters introducing printed music have been consulted for retrieving mainly biographical or circumstantial information. This article presents a close reading of the paratexts included in Philippus de Monte’s motet prints. In addition to pointing out a hitherto insufficiently explored connection between the imperial chapel-master and the French court environment, it discusses the political possibilities of one of the editions through a comparison with Orlando di Lasso’s 1571 Paris edition of five-voice motets. Furthermore, Monte’s own awareness of the possibilities and functioning of the dedication medium is traced throughout the paratexts. The study also highlights Monte’s unique treatment of secular motets with regard to both compositional practice and publication choices.

This article examines Philippe de Monte’s first book of spiritual madrigals, underlining the pioneering character of this collection in the history of the genre and its relationships with the Jesuits. Two new text attributions, to Vittoria Colonna and Laura Battiferri, are discussed within an overall description of the book, its themes, and its structure. Three madrigals dealing with spiritual themes in terms of musical metaphors and imagery are analyzed in the context of sixteenth-century ideas on music and Christian spirituality, and as an open reflection by Monte on the real value of music beyond the ephemeral appreciation of human judgement.

Among contemporary eulogies of Philippe de Monte a poem by the Anglo-Bohemian poetess Elizabeth Jane Weston has enjoyed particular fame since Doorslaer’s pioneering study of the composer. A parallel has even been drawn between the musical encomium that Weston’s poem contains and Kepler’s concept of ‘Weltharmonik’. A close reading, however, shows that Weston’s descriptions of the physical and spiritual effects of music are highly conventional. Nonetheless, Weston’s difficult situation as a female humanist and as stepdaughter of the disgraced alchemist John Kelley must be taken into account: in following well-established traditions Weston tried to meet literary standards set almost exclusively by male authors; in her printed collections, the praise of music contributed to the ideal of variatio, thus testifying to her mastery in handling different forms and subjects. If viewed together with the preceding address to Georg Barthold von Breitenberg, the poem to Philippe de Monte, despite its lack of originality, may help to highlight the composer’s social prestige. It becomes evident that Weston considered the composer an influential patron and successfully sought his protection.

In a manner almost unique among composers in the late sixteenth century, Filippo di Monte often used the prefaces of his musical prints to articulate topics related to his personal life. The dedications sometimes reveal not only valuable biographical information, but also his strong interest in philosophy and musica speculativa. This article presents a reading of several of Monte’s dedications with regard to their music-theoretical content. At first sight Monte recapitulates common contemporary (neo-) Pythagorean and (neo-) Platonic musical concepts. However, closer investigation shows how Monte—by uniting musica speculativa and musica prattica—transforms these concepts into means through which to define his socio-cultural role as a composer at the imperial court.

This article discusses sixty-three unpublished meditations for Lent preserved among the Jesuit papers in the State Archives in Antwerp. These pieces were probably performed at Lenten services organized by the Jesuits in the majority of cities in the Low Countries in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The considerable role that music played in these devotional services extended well beyond merely supporting the text with sound. Three basic formats can be identified: 1) pieces for canto, basso, and basso continuo, based on strophic texts in Dutch and characterized by homorhythm and a usually syllabic setting; 2) compositions for canto or tenor with varied accompaniment (strings and/or winds and basso continuo), on short texts in Latin and characterized by close correspondence between text and music, reflected in the frequent use of rhetorical-musical figures; 3) pieces for voices (one to four), two violins, and basso continuo, on texts in Dutch and articulated by virtuoso passages that interrupt an otherwise syllabic texture. Whatever their structural and stylistic characteristics, however, the works reveal consistent musico-literary methods that include figuralism, theatrical treatment of the text, and the regular use of instrumental symphonies that intensify the impact of the text. These methods helped place the faithful in an emotional frame of mind, thus heightening their response to the words and bringing about a process of meditation which led them to examine their conscience.

Most of Obrecht’s liedekens have been handed down without full text. In many cases, only the first line is given. Were these compositions meant as instrumental or vocal pieces? Assuming the latter possibility as a working hypothesis, a project undertaken with Camerata Trajectina in 2005 is discussed, in which Obrecht’s liedekens were supplied with new texts by the Dutch poet Gerrit Komrij. Ic draghe de mutse clutse offers an example through which to reach a scholarly evaluation of this practical undertaking. As a first step, a reconstruction was made of the textual form, following the scheme of rhymes and accents. The abstract scheme was then made visible and audible by means of a dummy text. Finally, Komrij was asked to write new texts, using the dummy as a model. This process revealed rhythmic details in the music that offer suggestive evidence in favour of a vocal original for Obrecht’s liedekens. Furthermore, Obrecht’s notes became more meaningful when performed vocally—even with words Obrecht never knew.