GCD 922401 Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck New release information March 2009 The Secular Vocal Works

NOTES (ENG) NOTES (FRA)

Harry van der Kamp and an expert group of singers Harry van der Kamp et un ensemble expert formé and instrumentalists from the Gesualdo Consort de voix et d’instruments provenant du Gesualdo have achieved what few specialist Consort Amsterdam ont réalisé ce que peu de ensembles before them have even attempted: a spécialistes avaient osé entreprendre : l’intégrale complete survey of the vocal music of Jan Pieterszoon de la musique vocale de Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Sweelinck, the “Orpheus of Amsterdam”. « L’Orphée d’Amsterdam ».

Sweelinck’s reputation has undergone a curious La réputation de Sweelinck a souffert un curieux reversal in modern times. Today he has become changement avec le temps. Aujourd’hui Sweelinck best appreciated for his teaching and his keyboard est en effet plus apprécié pour ses activités works – and for having laid the foundations of the pédagogiques et sa musique pour clavier – et pour North German organ school which remained avoir créé les bases de l’école d’orgue de l’Allemagne influential until the time of JS Bach. Yet, in the 17th du Nord dont l’influence dura jusqu’à l’époque de century (he died in 1621) he was better known for J.S. Bach. Mais au XVIIe siècle (il mourut en 1621), Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck his vocal output: French chansons, Italian madrigals le compositeur était plus connu pour sa musique The Secular Vocal Works as well as polyphonic settings of all 150 Psalms. vocale, qui comprend des chansons françaises, des Van der Kamp, a noted teacher and a celebrated madrigaux italiens ainsi que des compositions Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam soloist himself, directs here the beginning of what polyphoniques sur les textes des 150 Psaumes. plans to be a fitting monument to this Dutch master. Van der Kamp, enseignant remarquable et soliste Harry van der Kamp renommé, pose ici les premières pierres de ce qui Voices: Stephanie Petitlaurent, Nele Gramß, This first release on Glossa covers the entirety of sera un monument que mérite le maître hollandais. Marnix De Cat, Marcel Beekman, Harry van Sweelinck’s secular vocal works, one of the glories Berne, Kees-Jan de Koning, Harry van der Kamp of the young Dutch Republic and which occupied Ce premier volume pour Glossa présente l’intégrale Instruments: Lee Santana, Anneke Boeke, much of his compositional activity in the two decades de la musique vocale profane de Sweelinck, l’une Marion Verbruggen, Hille Perl, Frauke Hess, around the turn of the 17th century. Here then is des gloires de la jeune République Hollandaise ; Juliane Laake, Sarah Perl, Lennart Spies a tremendous opportunity to experience the forgotten ce répertoire occupa la majeure partie de l’activité works of a musician, schooled in the Netherlands du compositeur durant les deux décennies au Glossa GCD 922401 Golden Age tradition, whose music developed in passage du XVIe au XVIIe siècle. Voici donc une 3 CDs in slipcase, 120-page booklet the first flowering of the . opportunité formidable de découvrir les œuvres oubliées d’un musicien, appartenant à la tradition de l’Âge d’Or néerlandais, et dont l’art se développa Programme durant la première éclosion du baroque.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) The Secular Vocal Works

CD I [63:40] NOTAS (ESP) NOTIZEN (DEU) Chansons

CD II [68:01] Harry van der Kamp y un experto conjunto vocal Harry van der Kamp und eine Gruppe von erfahrenen Italian Rimes e instrumental, el Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam, Sängern und Instrumentalisten aus dem Gesualdo Madrigals han realizado lo que pocos especialistas se han Consort Amsterdam haben zustande gebracht, was atrevido siquiera a intentar: interpretar la integral vor ihnen kaum ein spezialisiertes Ensemble auch CD III [70:59] de la música vocal de Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, nur versucht hat: einen vollständigen Überblick über French Rimes el «Orfeo de Ámsterdam». die Vokalmusik von Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, dem Canons »Orpheus von Amsterdam«. Works for Lute La reputación de Sweelinck sufrió un cambio curioso durante la época moderna. Hoy, Sweelinck es más Sweelincks Ruf hat in der Moderne einen célebre por su actividad pedagógica y por su música merkwürdigen Wandel erfahren. Heute wird er am Production details para teclado – y por haber creado las bases de la höchsten wegen seiner Lehrtätigkeit und seiner escuela organística del Norte de Alemania cuya Werke für Tasteninstrumente geschätzt – und dafür, influencia duró hasta la época de J. S. Bach. Pero dass er die Basis für die Norddeutsche Orgelschule Recorded in Renswoude, Netherlands, in en el siglo XVII (murió en 1621), el compositor schuf, deren Einflüsse bis in die Zeit von J.S. Bach December 2003 and July 2004 era más conocido por su música vocal: chansons reichten. Im 17. Jahrhundert dagegen (er starb Engineered by Oscar Meijer francesas, madrigales italianos y composiciones 1621) war er wesentlich bekannter wegen seiner Supervised by Ted Diehl polifónicas sobre los textos de los 150 Salmos. Vokalwerke: französische Chansons, italienische Mastered by Stephan Schellmann Van der Kamp, destacado profesor y renombrado Madrigale ebenso wie polyphone Vertonungen aller solista, pone aquí las primeras piedras de lo que 150 Psalmen. Van der Kamp, selbst ein bekannter A production of the Stichting Jan Pieterszoon será un monumento ideal en honor del maestro Lehrer und gefeierter Solist, leitet hier ein Projekt, Sweelinck in co-operation with the Nederlandse holandés. mit dem er diesem holländischen Meister ein Programma Stichting (NPS) angemessenes Denkmal setzen will. Este primer volumen para Glossa comprende la Executive producer: Carlos Céster integral de la música vocal profana de Sweelinck, Diese erste Einspielung bei Glossa deckt das gesamte Design: Valentín Iglesias una de las glorias de la joven República holandesa; weltliche Vokalwerk ab, das nicht unwesentlich zum Booklet essay: Pieter Dirksen este repertorio ocupó una gran parte de su actividad Stolz der jungen Vereinigten Niederlande beitrug compositiva durante los dos decenios del paso del und das einen Großteil kompositorischen Aktivitäten English - Français - Deutsch - Español siglo XVI al XVII. He aquí una magnífica oportunidad Sweelincks aus den beiden Jahrzehnten vor und para descubrir las obras olvidadas de un músico nach der Jahrhundertwende ausmachte. Dies stellt arraigado en la tradición de la Edad de Oro eine wunderbare Gelegenheit dar, die vergessenen neerlandesa, y cuyo arte se desarrolló durante el Werke eines Musikers kennenzulernen, der seine primer florecimiento del Barroco. Ausbildung im Goldenen Zeitalter der Niederlande erhielt und der seine Musik zur ersten Blütezeit des Barock entwickelte. 8 424562 22401 8 www.glossamusic.com A short interview with Harry van der Kamp

being added to it only a few years ago. The his nature – we are still uncertain as to whether real big monument – such as the larger than Sweelinck was a Catholic or a Protestant. life-sized classical statues put up for other, Sweelinck’s Psalms did not represent the old- minor Dutch composers – has never been fashioned religious music appropriate to the accorded Sweelinck, in my opinion, the greatest four-part homophonic works such as by Claude composer that we ever had in Holland. This is Goudimel. Rather they are written like spiritual why I call this project a monument made of madrigals and they were all based on existing his own material, his own music. This has never melodies from the Geneva Psalter which been carried out before. Sweelinck shaped into whatever he wanted them to be. Has Sweelinck’s reputation as a composer of keyboard music overshadowed that of In the process of making the recordings, his vocal music? how did your opinion of Sweelinck’s vocal music develop? How do you feel such Sweelinck must have been an astonishing music compares with leading composers organist. Although his organ and harpsichord from the same time? works were never printed during his lifetime his fame has spread throughout the greater I have been familiar with the greater part of part of Northern Europe. This situation has Sweelinck’s vocal music for some decades, but barely changed up to our days because whilst in studying and singing the complete works I the concert-going public generally knows about was still greatly surprised by some of the works his organ and harpsichord music it remains that I had never known before. On occasion, totally unaware of the output of his vocal works. the members of the ensemble were even moved Even experts and critics, I have noticed, have to tears by the emotional spirit that came to us never seen the secular works. Indeed, while discovering or revealing his music. That Sweelinck’s reputation as a composer of splendid doesn’t happen too often! In my opinion Not content with a career as a bass soloist (in organ works seems to have caused a sort of Sweelinck’s vocal works can easily stand up music extending from 1300 to the present day) blindness for his vocal works. How this could against works by, for example, Marenzio or even or as a teacher (he holds a professorship in early have happened may be easily explained. To Lassus, Nanino and many composers of the time music in Bremen), Harry van der Kamp has for perform the keyboard works you only need the and I think that even Monteverdi would have over two decades been directing the Gesualdo one musician, while for the vocal works at least not been able to make a better job of Sweelinck’s Consort Amsterdam, an ensemble whose two and at the most eight solo singers are Psalms – which I think can be seen as his self- repertoire encompasses the entire madrigal required, and solo singers who are able to portrait. Some parts of the Psalms really are repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries. Precious succeed as an ensemble, both in terms of modern, accepting the fact that Sweelinck recording activities of the group have extended intonation and doing it in a musical manner. A followed the old rules of the prima prattica. He to music by Emilio de’Cavalieri, Scipione Lacorcia choir might also sing this music but I do not did not go along with the new practice of the as well as by himself. Yet van feel that a choir is really the appropriate vehicle continuo – I think that he was too much of an der Kamp has been stirred by the fact that no precisely because this music is slightly too old polyphonic master in this respect. He wanted fitting tribute – no monumental representation complicated and it calls for a high level of to be precise and exact – this is borne out in wrought in stone or metal – exists to precision in intonation. Those are reasons, I his Psalms – and not leave things open. commemorate the composer who he regards as think, why his complete works have never been “the greatest that we ever have had in Holland”: performed as a group. There have been concerts In the secular works what decisions led Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. with the Psalms, but these only represent you to make use of instruments and what something in the order of 30% of what do they add to the musical experience? And so van der Kamp devised a project to set Sweelinck composed. down on record all of Sweelinck’s copious vocal Sweelinck tells us both in his foreword to and output, both secular and sacred, untroubled by What explains Sweelinck’s choice of styles on the title page of his Chansons published in the fact that today for many the reputation of – and languages – for his vocal music? 1594 that the option to perform these works the Deventer-born composer is formed by his with voices and instruments in a delicate mixture keyboard works for organ and harpsichord. Sweelinck’s musical languages included Latin can be left open. For that reason, for a number With typical Dutch irony van der Kamp himself (the language with which he grew up as a of the chansons and Rimes, I used the option delights in the fact that 360 years on from the Catholic – and he used that only in his old – of incorporating instruments just in order to end of The Revolt of the Netherlands – an fashioned church music, such as the Cantiones give a few examples of how this approach might uprising which lasted for eight decades – it is Sacrae) and then French and Italian. Funnily sound. Since there are a few rarely-ever played the Spanish label Glossa which is developing enough he never used Dutch. The cause of this lute works and I had added them to this and issuing this Sweelinck Monument, thereby could be linked to the activities of the publisher recording, I used the instrument lute for a couple conferring a great honour on the “rebellious” Phalèse in Antwerp, which was publishing a of chansons as a continuo instrument because Dutchman. broad range of French and Italian repertoire at it adds to their slightly-folky, spontaneous and the time (quite a lot of repertoire that otherwise even slightly-improvised atmosphere. would never have appeared in Northern Europe). You describe the project as “The Sweelinck French was also a very popular language in How representative of Sweelinck as a Monument”. What previous efforts have Holland during Sweelinck’s lifetime because of composer is his collection of all 150 Psalms been made to commemorate the composer the religious wars in France with many which you have been recording for future and with what level of success? Huguenots fleeing into Holland and coming to instalments in The Sweelinck Monument? live in many of its cities, amongst them Several efforts were made to erect a statue in Amsterdam and Haarlem. So, the circle that I think that Sweelinck’s Psalms can be seen as Sweelinck’s honour but all of them were Sweelinck was living in was probably for a his self-portrait. This so-called “opus magnum” frustrated either by insufficient interest and (a greater part French-speaking. If stylistically he embodies his complete creative power and, I consequent) lack of money or by reasons which opted for the obvious choices for the time – would dare to say, even more so than his organ relate to the Second World War. It was only chansons and madrigals – he also developed works. Sweelinck spent a great deal of his life Sweelinck’s head which made it on to the front a special genre embracing them both in the in composing the Psalms, to the exclusion of of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and in the Rimes françoises and Rimes italiennes. Having other forms. 1930s a bronze plaque bearing his name was selected one name for the two genres he said installed in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, a that these Rimes could be French or they could by Mark Wiggins small bronze-type sculpture being added to it be madrigals. Perhaps this “solution” reflected © 2009 Glossa Music / MusiContact www.glossamusic.com