The Antwerp songbook (Dutch: and on the cover (A ''nice songbook in which you will find several songs'') was published in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 1544 by printer Jan Roulans.

History

The

songbook A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano manu ...

includes

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

of some 221 'old' and 'new'

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

songs () to banish sadness and melancholy (), with reference to the tune to which it was sung but without any musical notation. At least five editions of the songbook are known: folios from two probably older editions survived as reinforcement of the cover of other books while the structure of the preserved copy implicates that two earlier editions have existed. Thus, only one edition is preserved in one copy only, collected by '' Duke August von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel'' and conserved in the ''Herzog August Bibliothek'' (the library also known as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'') in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

. One copy likely survived because two years after publication, this songbook was listed in the ''

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...

'', the index of forbidden literature of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's infamous

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. The printer died later on in prison, where he was held because of having printed clandestine literature—not particularly the political songs, in favour of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, but rather the songs about depraved and licentious monks and nuns which might have disturbed the Inquisition. The few copies left in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

after the songbook was listed in the index were likely destroyed by French librarians eager to rid every trace of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

culture in the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

. The only copy left of the small booklet was discovered in the library of Wolfenbüttel by Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben who also provided the first modern edition in 1855. Recently a more complete edition of the songbook, with the tunes referred to in some 142 songs and found in other songbooks of the period, was published in 2004 with a double CD by

Camerata Trajectina Camerata Trajectina is a Dutch early music ensemble (in English, the word, " camerata," generally means a choir or small chamber orchestra). The ensemble was founded in Utrecht (hence Latin ''trajectina''; of Utrecht) in 1974 by Jos van Veldhoven ...

. The ''Antwerp songbook'' is the first printed large collection of Dutch songs known to have survived the centuries. Many songs had been transmitted through oral tradition since the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

: in those cases, the tune was referred to as an , an old song. Many songs, printed for the first time in the Antwerp songbook, had by that time been known for centuries and were included in several songbooks and anthologies. The songs reflect life in the cosmopolitan

port town A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

Antwerp in the 16th century. Some songs, for instance, are Dutch versions of German songs while others were sung to French tunes. They give a varied impression of a lively community, with a good deal of courting and drinking taking place, as well as featuring songs by people who cared for their freedom of speech.

Principal source

* ''Het Antwerps liedboek'', edition by Dieuwke E. van der Poel, Dirk Geirnaert, Hermina Joddersma and Johan Oosterman, reconstruction of the tunes by Louis Peter Grijp, published by Uitgeverij Lannoo & Delta, Tielt, 2004 {{ISBN, 90-209-5523-3 (inf
Deltareeks.nl

Discography

by the Paul Rans Ensemble, directed by Paul Rans, 1993, labe
Eufoda
1183
''The Antwerp Songbook''
by Camerata Trajectina, directed by Louis Peter Grijp, 2004, labe
Globe
6058

External links

The complete ''Antwerp songbook'' on the web site dbnl.orgSome songs, performed by the Dutch ensemble Camerata TrajectinaAll songs listed in liederenbank.nlSix songs from the ''Antwerp songbook'' by the Belgian duo Almadolorosa
Middle Dutch literature Dutch literature Belgian music Dutch-language Belgian songs Belgian folk songs Song books 1544 books