Gegeven den Sangeren: Meerstemmige muziek bij de Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap te 's-Hertogenbosch in de zestiende eeuw (review)

Abstract

By Veronique Roelvink. s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Adr. Heinen, 2002. [376 p. ISBN 9070706555. 36.50 [euro].] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, compact disc. Although only a small part of the Renaissance music produced in the Low Countries has been preserved, the long tradition of scholarship on the subject ranges far beyond the borders of the Benelux and Northern France. Nonetheless, it has become fairly rare for an important monograph, such as Veronique Roelvink's Gegeven den Sangeren (Polyphonic Music in the Confraternity of Our Illustrious Lady in Sixteenth-Century 's-Hertogenbosch) to be published in a language other than English. To have published the book in Dutch will probably reduce the number of readers able to benefit from it, but this will not affect specialists, as I cannot imagine that scholars interested in this music would be unable to read Dutch. On the other hand, this is the kind of book that might also enjoy a nonmusicological or even non-historical readership, such as Dutch and Flemish readers who may not read English, as the author states in her Woord vooraf. I commend the author for making the difficult decision to present her work in a language not widely considered one of international scholarship. The only way to make Dutch more broadly accepted is indeed by offering such high-quality scholarship that it can no longer be avoided. This seems to be a new and welcome trend, a choice also made by Pieter Andriessen in his excellent new monograph, Die van Muziken gheerne horen. Muziek in Brugge 1200-1800 (Music in Bruges 1200-1800 [Bruges: West-Vlaamse Gidsenkring, 2002]). Roelvink's hardbound volume counts 376 pages, the first 208 of which comprise the text and its endnotes. Pages 225-353 comprise nine appendices of various archival documents, including general accounts, and accounts relative to the musical activities and musical materials (manuscript and printed) of the Confraternity of Our Illustrious Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap) in 's-Hertogenbosch. I personally find it refreshing to be able to read the profusion of documents in the original language without superfluous and often imperfect translations. Translation of such a vast body of primary sources would be a waste of time and space. The four-page summary in English, written by Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens (pp. 205-8), gives an excellent overview of the contents of the study and of the various hypotheses presented and developed in it. The title anticipates a discussion of polyphonic music produced for the confraternity in the entire sixteenth century, but in her introduction the author explains why she limits herself to 1519-68. The text is organized in three sections, the third of which is just fifteen pages long and provides a discussion and facsimiles of three compositions from the choirbooks that may possibly have been composed specifically for the confraternity: the motets Sieur Lilium inter Spinas by Thomas Crecquillon, Ego sum flos campi by Jacobus Clemens non Papa, and Gheerkin de Hondt's Benedicite Dominus. The first two sections of the book (of equal length) contain the general history and the organization of the liturgy and musicians (part 1), and a description of the manuscript and printed music for the confraternity (part 2). In the opening subsection, the author investigates the creation and development of the confraternity, its function and meaning in sixteenth-century Den Bosch, and the contents and organization of the archives, particularly the accounting books. Here she wisely focuses on all types of documents referring to musical activities, which she then discusses more thoroughly beginning with the history of the building of the confraternity's chapel and the installation of an organ by Heinrich Niehoff in 1533, and the thorough renovation in 1538 of the meeting house for the sworn brethren (the Zwanenbroedershuis). The second subsection of part 1 deals with the liturgy and the various celebrations in which the brethren expected music to be performed, including the weekly Vespers and Mass, memorial services (during which no polyphony was sung, only chant), the extra feast-days, the Lof (Salve), the various processions, and the meetings with meal. …