programme and abstracts - Alamire Foundation

International Musicological Conference
THE CAPPELLA SISTINA AND THE LOW
COUNTRIES, FROM DUFAY TO AMEYDEN
24-26 August 2009, Van Laerzaal – Elzenveld, Antwerp
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Organisation: With support of:

• Welcome ................................................................................ 3
• Organisation.......................................................................... 4
• Programme ............................................................................ 5
• Abstracts ................................................................................ 8
• Practical information.......................................................... 15
• Eating out ............................................................................ 17
• Internet cafes....................................................................... 19
• Taxi services ........................................................................ 19
• How to travel to / from Antwerp?.................................. 20
• Getting around the city...................................................... 21
• Conference MAP.................................................................. 1
2

WELCOME
The Cappella Sistina and the Low Countries, from Dufay to
Ameyden: an inspiring topic, to say the least!
All the more reason for Laus Polyphoniae 2009 to devote not
only a series of concerts to the subject, but also an international
colloquium. This is the result of a close collaboration between
AMUZ - Laus Polyphoniae and the Alamire Foundation,
International Centre for the Study of Music in the Low
Countries.
A word of thanks goes to the staff of both organisations, and in
particular to Sofie Taes for her work on the conference
programme and organisation, Ann Hasendonckx - who was a
great help in administrative and various other matters, to
Handan Narin and Kathleen Engels for taking care of
accommodation and communication. A word of thanks also
goes to the City of Antwerp for its warm welcome.
Finally, I would like to extend a word of welcome to all of you
here and thank you for your interest, your presence and your
enthusiastic participation.
Bart Demuyt
Director of AMUZ & The Alamire Foundation
3

ORGANISATION
The international musicological conference The Cappella Sistina
and the Low Countries, from Dufay to Ameyden is organised by
the Alamire Foundation and AMUZ - Laus Polyphoniae, and is
supported by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the City of
Antwerp.
Programme Committee
Mitchell Brauner (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
Arnaldo Morelli (Università di L'Aquila)
Noel O’Regan (University of Edinburgh)
Thomas Schmidt-Beste (University of Wales – Bangor)
Richard Sherr (Smith College, Northampton, Massachussetts)
Sofie Taes (AMUZ - Alamire Foundation - K.U.Leuven)
Organisation Committee
Sofie Taes (AMUZ - Alamire Foundation - K.U.Leuven)
With help & support from
Bart Demuyt (AMUZ - Alamire Foundation)
Ann Hasendonckx (Alamire Foundation)
Handan Narin (AMUZ)
Kathleen Engels (AMUZ)
4

PROGRAMME
Monday August 24th
10.00-
11.00
11.00-
11.15
11.15-
12.00
12.00-
13.00
13.00-
14.30
14.30-
15.15
Registration + coffee Conference venue :
Elzenveld, Lange
Welcome
Gasthuisstraat 45
Elzenveld
Ghiselin Danckerts: new
discoveries
Marco Mencoboni (Ensemble Cantar
Lontano)
Elzenveld
Lunch Proposal : Kapitein
Zeppos, Vleminckveld
Concert Cappella Pratensis
& Joshua Rifkin
(ticket included in registration
fee)
Introduction : The Cappella
Sistina and the Low
Countries
Sofie Taes (Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven)
78
AMUZ,
Kammenstraat 81
Elzenveld
16.00 Reception Town Hall Grote Markt
19.15 Concert Introduction St. Paul’s Church,
Veemarkt 14
20.00 Concert graindelavoix St. Paul’s Church,
Veemarkt 14
5

Tuesday August 25th
9.30-
10.00
10.00-
11.00
11.00-
11.15
11.15-
12.00
12.00-
13.00
13.00-
14.30
14.30-
15.15
15.15-
16.00
16.00-
16.45
Coffee Elzenveld
Keynote: Music Copying at Elzenveld
the Cappella Sistina in the
15th Century: an Interim
Reassessment
Jeffrey Dean (The Stingray Office,
Londen)
Coffee Break Elzenveld
Christian Ameyden and the Elzenveld
Cappella Pontificia's
involvement in the
Arciconfraternita
Crocifisso
del SS.
Noel O'Regan (University of Edinburgh)
Lunch [Free lunch]
Concert Scorpio Collectief Elzenveld, Chapel
VatS 160, VatS 34, and VatS
36
Klaas van der Heide (Independent
researcher)
Jacob Obrecht and the
Sistine Chapel: The
Evidence of Three Masses
Joshua Rifkin (Boston University)
The Wunderkammer of
Polyphony in the Late 16 th -
Century Papal Chapel
Björn Schmelzer (Ensemble
graindelavoix)
Elzenveld
Elzenveld
Elzenveld
19.00 Conference dinner Flamant Dining,
Lange Gasthuisstraat
12
6

Wednesday August 26th
10.45-
11.15
11.15-
12.00
12.00-
13.00
13.00-
14.15
14.15-
15.00
15.00-
15.45
15.45-
16.15
Coffee Elzenveld
The end of the Flemish
period: Christiaan van der
Ameijden and the dwindling
of the Flemish presence in
the Cappella Sistina
Elzenveld
Michiel Verweij (Koninklijke
Bibliotheek van België, Brussel)
Lunch [Free lunch]
Concert Oltremontano Elzenveld, Chapel
Late Masses at the Avignon
papal Court
Claudia Caffagni (Ensemble laReverdie -
Staatliche Hochschule für Musik
Trossingen)
Travelling singers around the
1480s: Burgundian court
chaplains in Rome
David Fiala (Centre d'Études
Supérieures de la Renaissance de Tours -
Université François Rabelais)
Conclusions
Sofie Taes (Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven)
Elzenveld
Elzenveld
Elzenveld
19.15 Concert Introduction AMUZ,
Kammenstraat 81
20.00 Concert Mala Punica - AMUZ,
AMUZ
Kammenstraat 81
7

ABSTRACTS
Ghiselin Danckerts: new discoveries
Marco Mencoboni (Ensemble Cantar Lontano)
Ghiselin Danckerts (ca. 1510 – after August 1565) was a
composer from the Low Countries who was a member of the
Cappella Sistina from 1538 until 1565. Danckerts was also the
author of a musical treatise which, although never published, still
acquired fame as an apology for the conservative tendency
within the music of the second half of the 16th century. He was
and still is not well known as a composer and only a few of his
works have been published. The source that Cantar Lontano is
using for their concert at Laus Polyphoniae is a recently
discovered manuscript that turns out to be an autograph by
Danckerts. It comprises a Magnificat with signature, a mass,
several hymns and a Salve regina. Together with musicologists
Arnaldo Morelli and Salvatore Sciammetta, artistic director
Marco Mencoboni transcribed the music from this manuscript,
which is dated at about 1550 and thus comes from the period
when Danckerts was a papal singer.
Introduction : The Cappella Sistina and the Low Countries
Sofie Taes (AMUZ - Alamire Foundation - K.U.Leuven)
In this general introduction, different aspects of the conference
theme - The Cappella Sistina and the Low Countries, from Du Fay to
Ameyden - will be presented, as to lay out a framework for the
papers that will be given in the next few days. Themes to be
tackled are, amongst others, the recruitment of singers from the
Low Countries for the Cappella Sistina, nationalities of singers in
the papal chapel, the Sistine repertoire by composers from the
Low Countries, ‘northern infl uence’ in the production of
manuscripts (scribes, illuminators, etc.), relevant music sources
and the effects of the dominance of singers/composers from the
Low Countries within the papal chapel.
8

Keynote: Music Copying at the Cappella Sistina in the
Fifteenth Century: an Interim Reassessment
Jeffrey Dean (The Stingray Office, Londen)
The existing music manuscripts of the Cappella Sistina archive in
the Vatican Library are the central fact around which this
conference revolves. There are many ways to approach them,
and many associated matters worthy of study, but attention to
the phenomena of manuscript production provides a solid
foundation for all of these. When was the music copied? By
whom? Under what circumstances? Answers to these questions
make it possible to attack other questions with greater
confidence. I shall begin with a survey of past research and a
summary of the present state of knowledge. The main portion of
my talk will be a report on work in progress on a reassessment of
the copying of music manuscripts for the papal chapel in the late
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. I have concentrated so far
chiefly on the fifteenth century, and I have already arrived at a
revised account of the genesis of MS Cappella Sistina 35 and a
more nuanced view of the genesis of C.S. 15, which has led me
to reconsider the relationships among the "minor" music
copyists active in the late 1480s and 1490s. I shall present
"breaking news" of an apparent discovery with regard to C.S. 14
and 51, which may lead to a radical re-evaluation of the oldest
music manuscripts surviving in the Cappella Sistina archive. I
shall conclude by outlining what I consider to be the most urgent
tasks confronting future research into music copying at the papal
chapel. We need not only new research but new researchers.
Christian Ameyden and the Cappella Pontificia's
involvement in the Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso
Noel O'Regan (University of Edinburgh)
From the mid-1550s to the late 17th century papal singers
provided one of the tredici, the representatives of the Roman rioni
who, together with the guardians, made up the ruling body of the
9

Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso in S. Marcello. Christian
Ameyden served in this role no fewer than four times: in 1569,
1577, 1583 and 1600, being the papal singer most frequently
involved, apart from Giovanni Antonio Merlo. He was also the
only Flemish singer to take office in the archconfraternity. For
the papal singers, who forbade their members from joining the
Compagnia dei Musici on its official recognition by the Pope in
1585, SS. Crocifisso acted as a substitute confraternity, providing
both spiritual and corporal benefits. It was also one of the most
important patrons of music in the city, particularly for its series
of Lenten oratory devotions. Their involvement, and that of
Ameyden in particular, will be examined in this paper.
VatS 160, VatS 34, and Vat S 36
Klaas van der Heide (Independent researcher)
Of the three Alamire manuscripts in the Vatican, VatS 34 and
VatS 36 have a repertoire that closely resembles the repertoire in
JenaU 4, BrusBR 6428 and BrusBR 15075. Like in JenaU 4, the
musical works in VatS 36 convey a dynastic message, in the sense
that Emperor Maximilian (the Credo); Mary of Burgundy and
Maximilian (Ave sanctissima Maria; Te decet laus); King Philip the
Fair (De doloribus); Archduke Charles (Alleluia); and Regent
Margaret (O gloriosa Domina), are the nearly divine representatives
of a most superior house. The manuscripts reflect the regained
self-assurance of the Burgundian-Habsburg house after the
League of Mechelen of 5 April 1513: BrusBR 6428 belonged to
Margaret; BrusBR 15075 to her chapel singers; and JenaU 4 was
given to the glorious middle of the house, Maximilian, on 17
October 1513 in Lille. In comparison, the musical contents of
VatS 160 are strikingly old. Its polytextual Masses by Barbireau
and Obrecht date from c. 1490 already. These masses typically
belong to a transalpine culture that delighted in the ‘ars
combinatoria’ and in the presence of more than one symbolic layer
in a work of art. As his papal arms are not original, new, Italian
and humanist, Pope Leo X happens to be not the first owner of
10

VatS 160. Circumstantial evidence suggests John III of Glymes,
Lord of Bergen op Zoom to have been the original owner. John
III was the most influential nobleman at the Burgundian court
and a life-long Maecenas to Obrecht. It may have been John’s
suggestion to change the manuscript into a gift for pope Leo X
immediately after his election on 11 March 1513. As the Vatican
co-signed the League, VatS 34 and VatS 36 may have been sent
to the new pope in c. October 1513.
Jacob Obrecht and the Sistine Chapel: The Evidence of
Three Masses
Joshua Rifkin (Boston University)
Jacob Obrecht’s three masses in the Sistine Chapel manuscripts
35 and 51 provide the earliest concentrated testimony to the
reception of his music in Italy. But just when did they reach the
papal singers, and through what channels? A review of the
evidence - much of it still not available at the time of Rob
Wegman’s Born for the Muses - suggests answers at variance with
the conclusions of previous scholarship.
The Wunderkammer of Polyphony in the Late 16 th-Century
Papal Chapel
Björn Schmelzer (Ensemble graindelavoix)
Recreating the performance practice of Roman polyphony
demands other more complex and stratified models and patrons
than the simplistic dichotomy prima - seconda prattica,
polyphony - monody etc... How can we imagine the
development of styles without the use of late, anachronistic
concepts which press movements into all too rigid historical
formats and ultimately can't avoid evolutionistic historical
perspectives? One of these concepts could be the
'Wunderkammer'. Not only is it a concept more adequate to
describe the musical movements in late 16 th-century Rome, but it
also could be seen as an ideal of actual historical informed
11

performance. This paper will be illustrated with examples taken
from the concertprogramme of graindelavoix (24/08).
The end of the Flemish period: Christiaan van der
Ameijden and the dwindling of the Flemish presence in the
Cappella Sistina
Michiel Verweij (Royal Library of Belgium, Brussels)
In the second half of the 16th century Flemish presence in the
Cappella Sistina came to an end. The last singer was the
Brabantian Christiaan van der Ameijden (Oirschot, ca. 1530 -
Rome, 20 November 1605). In this paper I intend to focus on
two events in Ameijden's career, which illustrate this period and
its dominant characteristic, viz. the italianisation. The drastic
measures taken by the cardinals' visitation committee in August
1565 expelled all singers from the Southern Low Countries from
the Cappella Sistina. Christiaan van der Ameijden, however, reentered
the Chapel four days after he officially was sacked. He
was to be the only Flemish singer in the chapel for the rest of his
career. In 1578 the Italians, by far the large majority, opposed
themselves to Ameijden's continous series of offices in the
Chapel. Both events shed light on the growing professional and
moral demands put on the singers in this period, and on the
shifting national presences. Ameijden ended his career as
maestro di cappella as the direct colleague of Giovanni Pierluigi
da Palestrina. At Ameijden's funeral in 1605, the entire Cappella
Sistina attended: it was the end of a period.
Late Masses at the Avignon papal Court
Claudia Caffagni (Ensemble laReverdie - Staatliche Hochschule für Musik
Trossingen)
The manuscript from the chapter library of Saint Anne’s
cathedral in Apt, that is known under its classification number
Apt 16bis, dates from the time of the Great or Western Schism.
12

It is supposed to have been compiled between 1390 and 1417 by
various scribes, including one Richardus de Bozonvilla, ‘magister’
employed by Benedict XIII (1394- 1417). Richardus’s
connections with the pope have led us to assume that the Apt
manuscript must have been used at the papal court in Avignon.
The book contains polyphonic mass movements, hymns and
motets from the 14th and 15th centuries by such composers as
Jean Tapissier, Pierre Tailhander, Perrinet and De Fronciaco.
Based on several details in the musical notation, ensemble
laReverdie has experimented with using instruments to perform
these religious works, thus questioning the conventional wisdom
that only vocal music was made in the early papal chapel. As a
result, a liturgical reconstruction of a ‘Missa coram Papa’ (a mass
the pope attends to) and a ‘Missa magna’ (a mass the pope
celebrates) as they could have been performed during the pontifi
cate of Benedict XIII, will be presented.
Travelling singers around the 1480s : Burgundian court
chaplains in Rome
David Fiala (Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance de Tours -
Université François Rabelais)
After the deaths of Charles the Bold (1477) and of his daughter,
Mary of Burgundy (1482), the Burgundian court went through
very hard times. The court Chapel was progressively disbanded,
and singers had to look for other positions. Though very few of
them have been localised yet, it is known that some went to
Hungary, and it seems that most of the others took shelter in the
churches where princely patronage had helped them to obtain
ecclesiastical benefices. It also appears now that a few of them
went to Italy and Rome. A Missa Da pacem copied in a manuscript
of the Capella Sistina (CS 41) might well be one visible result of
these travels since, as this paper will argue, its composer, named
« Pasquin » in the index of the manuscript, is likely to be
identified as the Burgundian Chapel singer Pasquin Louis. In
order to contextualize the copying of this mass in Rome around
13

1500, this paper will present a first synthesis on the singers active
between the Burgundian court and Rome in the last third of the
15th century.
14

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Conference Venue
Van Laerzaal - Cultural Conference Center Elzenveld
Lange Gasthuisstraat 45
2000 Antwerp
BELGIUM
Handouts
You will need ca. 15 handouts.
Copy-Service is available nearby, in Koppie Kopie,
Nationalestraat 85, 2000 Antwerp - 03 232 16 97 | Aertssens
Copy Service, Lange Nieuwstraat 10, 2000 Antwerp - 03 233 03
47 (closed on Saturdays and Sundays)| Printshop,
Vleminckstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp - 03 232 56 37
Concerts
A ticket to the lunch concert of Monday 24 August (Cappella
Pratensis & Joshua Rifkin) is included in the registration fee.
Tickets to the other concerts may be booked via
tickets@amuz.be or at the ticket desk (an hour before each
concert) for a reduced tariff of 8€/concert.
Reception
Monday 24 August, 16h00 at the Town Hall (Grote Markt 1 –
2000, Antwerp)
Conference dinner – Tuesday 25 August, 19h00
The conference dinner will take place at the restaurant Flamant
Dining [http://www.flamantdining.be/], Lange Gasthuisstraat
12– 2000, Antwerp. The restaurant is close to the conference
venue and to AMUZ.
15

Contact
In case of questions or problems during the conference, please
contact the organisation committee: Ms. Sofie Taes,
sofie.taes@arts.kuleuven.be
Tel.: +32 498 32 77 35
16

EATING OUT
The people of Antwerp have always had a reputation for being
gourmets. The majority of Antwerp restaurants tend to go in the
direction of the French cuisine, with the addition of a few fine
Belgian touches. However, in this cosmopolitan city you’ll find a
whole range of European, ethnic and biological cuisine as well as
restaurants experimenting with the latest food fads. The greatest
concentration of places to eat is in the areas around the historic
city centre, the central station and the South quarter of Antwerp.
It's impossible to provide a full overview. Down below we give
just a few suggestions.
RESTAURANTS
De Rooden Hoed
Oude Koornmarkt 25
03 233 28 44
[open 7/7]
La Luna
Italiëlei 177
03 232 23 44
info@laluna.be
www.laluna.be
[closed on Sundays &
Mondays]
La Pata Negra -
Vlasmarkt 14
info@la-patanegra.be
[open all weekend]
17
Restaurant Hippodroom
Leopold De Waelplaats 10
03 248 52 52
resto@hippodroom.be
[closed on Sundays]
Bien soigné
03 293 63 18
Kleine Markt 9
De Foyer
Komedieplaats 18
03 233 55 17
www.defoyer.be
[closed on Sunday
evenings]

BISTROS - BRASSERIES
K. Zeppos
Vleminckveld 78
03 231 17 89
Grand Café Horta
Hopland 2
03 232 28 15
SANDWICHES
Fresh & Fruity
Kammenstraat 19
03 231 13 08
Le Pain Quotidien - Het
Dagelijks Brood
Mechelsesteenweg 45
03 225 1229
&
Steenhouwersvest 48
03 226 76 13
www.painquotidien.com
Den Artist
Museumstraat 45
03 238 09 95
[open 7/7]
Zozan
Lambermontplaats 25
03 232 05 79
[closed on Mondays]
Panos
Nationalestraat 84
03 234 25 66
&
Meir 60
03 232 15 17
www.panos.be
’t Bieke
Korte Gasthuisstraat 8
03 231 6159
Délifrance
Meir 26
03 232 94 15
18

INTERNET CAFES
2Zones
Wolstraat 15
info@2zones.com
03 232 24 00
Kv-Kaffee Cyberspace
Oudaen 14
info@kv-kaffee.be
TAXI SERVICES
Taxi Steenackers
Bullinckplaats 2
0496 85 89 82
Métropole
Nassaustraat 21-25
03 231 61 42
03 222 98 72
03 226 10 30
taxi@metropole.be
A-Taxi
Oranjestraat 23A Box 18
03 233 33 32
francois@algoet.com
Centraal Internet
Gemeentestraat 32
03 2342721
Warpfactor9
Kasteelpleinstraat 6
Algemene Antwerpse Taxicentrale B.V.B.A.
Eendrachtstraat 18
03 216 16 16
03 237 86 34
19

HOW TO TRAVEL TO / FROM ANTWERP?
By train
Both international trains and inter-city trains stop in Antwerpen-
Centraal and Antwerpen-Berchem stations. Every hour 15 IC, IR
or L-trains stop from/to Antwerp.
When visiting Antwerp you can take advantage of the
commercial all-in formulas of Belgian rail company NMBS.
These “B-Day Trips” include a train ticket plus entry to one
attraction, as well as other transport. Train passes, weekend
tickets or group rates (from 15 persons) are also interesting
options.
Contact:
NMBS/SNCB
Koningin Astridplein 27
2018 Antwerp
General information number: +32 (0)2 528 28 28 (or
+32 (0)2 555 25 55 for dial phones)
Brussels Airport (Zaventem)
28 miles or 30 minutes drive from Antwerp city centre. National
carrier: SN Brussels Airlines. Transport from/to the aerport: SN
Brussels Airlines Express bus (shuttle service), by train
NMBS/SNCB (change trains in Brussels), de Lijn bus 820/821
or by taxi.
Contact:
Brussels Airport
1930 Zaventem
Phone from Belgium: 0900 700 00 (0,40 euro/minute)
Phone from abroad: +32 (0)2 753 77 53
20

GETTING AROUND THE CITY
Antwerp is a pedestrian-friendly city. Some 20% of this historic
city centre is traffic-free and during the many summer festivities
pedestrians are given absolute priority. Another convenient way
to get around the city is by bus or tram. These services enable
your clients to easily reach all major places in Antwerp. There are
two major bus terminal stations: Centraal Station en
Rooseveltplaats.
Car parks
Different P-routes guide you to the parkings in town. Just beneath
you'll find a list of the P-routes and their parkings:
Historic centre (P-route 'Historisch centrum'):
• Noorderterras: Orteliuskaai
• Zuiderterras: Ernest Van Dijckkaai
• Grote Markt: Ernest van Dijckkaai 7
Centre (P-route 'Centrum'):
• Brabo: Kammenstraat 2
• Groenplaats: Groenplaats
• Rubens: Lombardenvest 24-28
• Meir: Eiermarkt 33
• Lombardia: Lombardenvest 11
• Oudaen: Oudaan 3
• Cammerpoorte: Nationalestraat 38
Central Station - Zoo (P-route 'Centraal station-Zoo'):
• Nova: Van Schoonhovenstraat 25
• Breidel: Breidelstraat 15-17
• De Keyser: Van Ertbornstraat 13
• Empire: Appelmansstraat 25
• Quellin: Quellinstraat 39
• Roosevelt: Franklin Rooseveltplaats 12
Meir-University (P-route 'Meir-Universiteit):
• Van Dijck: Eikenstraat 9
• Sint Jacob: Sint Jacobsmarkt 81-83
Meir-Municipal theatre (P-route Meir-Stadsschouwburg):
• Arenberg: Oudevaartplaats 2-4
21

• Horta: Hopland 24
• Leopold: Henri Van Heurckstraat 9
• Hopland: Hopland 40
• Stadsschouwburg : Meistraat 4
Inno: Hopland 45
How to reach AMUZ (Kammenstraat 81, B-2000 Antwerp)
• By public transport
o stop Kammenstraat: trams 4, 8
o stop Groenplaats: trams 2, 3, 4, 8, 15
o stop Oudaan: trams 7, 8
o stop Nationalestraat/Van Rijswijckplaats: trams 4, 8,
busses 22, 25, 26
o stop Komedieplaats: bus 9
Go to www.delijn.be for a route description and timetables
of De Lijn or call 070 22 02 00 for more information. The
timetables of the NMBS can be found at www.b-rail.be or
call 03 204 20 40 (Info Antwerp National Travellers).
• By car
Due to road works in Antwerp, the traffic situation is variable.
Check www.antwerken.be to see the lastest updates. Parking
place is scarce in the immediate vicinity of AMUZ. Therefore,
it’s recommended to use the surrounding pay car parks:
(Parking Oudaan, Oudaan - Parking Rubens, Kammenstraat
& Lombardenvest - Parking Lombardia, Lombardenvest -
Parking Cammerpoorte, Drukkerijstraat/Nationalestraat -
Parking Groenplaats)
22

CONFERENCE 23
MAP
Restaurant Flamant Dining
AMUZ Theater Hotel Elzenveld, conference venue
Town Hall (reception)