Musica Antiqua-Musica Nova? Three Unpublished Inventories from Tongeren and Hasselt, in the Context of Religious Music in the Southern Netherlands and the Prince-bishopric of Liège (c. 1650–1790)

Abstract In the Catholic Southern Netherlands and the Prince-bishopric of Liège a lot of music from c. 1650–1790, as well as contextual archival information, is lost because of changes in fashion, wars and negligence. This is particularly regrettable since it caused some underestimated gaps in our music history. Among other things, often interesting, local composers remain unnoticed. So we are missing a lot of information about the music itself, circulation of music, music prices, performance practices. Sources that can certainly help in reducing this gap are the more than 40 historical music inventories. No doubt more inventories will be found, but the current knowledge is representative enough to draw some conclusions concerning the music history of the Catholic Low Countries and its place in Europe. It is quite clear that especially the Italian style had an enormous influence, also on local composers.


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The inventory of Hasselt contains no Italian and French secular vocal works. They clearly paid much attention to the vocal church music, probably because the need for instrumental support in the parish church of St. Quintinus in Hasselt was greater than -for example -in the collegiate church of St. Rombouts which had a full-fledged ecclesiastical ensemble.

A comparison of the content and nature of the four music inventories, placed in the context of music in the Low Countries
Here are some observations based on the elements mentioned above: Usually an inventory was made upon the departure of a singing master eg. by resignation, dismission, or death. The authority for such action mostly came from the collection owner: the church fabric or the chapter. The author of this document was usually the new singing master, often in the presence of a witness, delegated by the owner.
The size and content of these inventories, mainly from churches, were variable. For example, the list of the music once owned by the deceased zangmeester Johann Thomas Baustetter at the Cathedral of Antwerp (1789) is very short and vague. This list mentions only the genre and sometimes the composer: petits mottets, psaumes, vepres, messes, Tantum ergo, littanies, lamentations, …) by Kraft and Baustetter himself. The 6.653 folios were sold for the considerable sum of 993 florins 9 stuffers, each folio costing 1, 2, 3 or 3 ½ stuffers. 12 Other rather short inventories are found eg. in Borgloon (St. Odulphus, 1638), Hasselt (Chapel of Our Lady, 1667) and Antwerp (St. Jacob, several inventories, different in length, originating from between 1677 and 1755). At the latter, multiple inventories were created, what makes it interesting to see the changes in style. Interesting specifications can be found in the inventory of St. Goedele in Brussels about the music by J. J. Fiocco, where for example with a certain pride a mass movement with 3 basses, 2 cellos and a basson is specified: Messe solemnel dont le crucifixus est a trois Basses… In Hasselt music was mostly donated by new members as stipulated in the regulations. The most extensive inventories contain mostly vocal music of ca. 100 to 200 items, including both Sammeldrücke, Einzeldrücke, as well as handwritten collections or single pieces. 13 At vol. 13, p. 166-173. The inventory of Hasselt is exceptional because it's one of the few preserved extensive inventories of a music association. This inventory is never published. See therefore Appendix 1. For the context see BERGMANS, Paul. Le collegium musicum fondé à Hasselt au 16e siècle, Offprint from Compte rendu du Congrès de la Fédération archéologique et historique de Belgique, Annales du congrès archéologique et historique, Gent, 1909. More recently see GABRIËLS, Nele. Muziek! Het College van Sint-Cecilia te Hasselt, 1670-ca. 1830. [Hasselt], 2013. An analysis of the music inventories in Antwerp is to be found in BEGHEIN. Kerkmuziek, We used, among other, the very conclusive results of the doctoral research by BEGHEIN. Kerkmuziek, 2014, p. 103-120. She was also preparing a database of historical music inventories which was a useful instrument for her dissertation.
12 SPIESSENS, Godelieve. Lambert-Joseph Godart, de laatste 18 de -eeuwse zangmeester van de Antwerpse kathedraal en zijn muziekinventaris van 1792. Revue Belge de Musicologie, 1995, vol. 49, p. 111-114. 13 For Fiocco see SCHREURS, Eugeen. Church music and minstrel music in the Southern Netherlands, with a special focus on Antwerp, in Music and the city. Musical cultures and urban societies in the Southern Netherlands andbeyond, c. 1650-1800. Stefanie Beghein -Bruno Blondé -Eugeen Schreurs (eds.). Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2013, p. 109. Some inventories contain only a part of the music collection. See the situation best cases, the inventory gives the name of the composer, initial(s) of his first name, title of single pieces and number of partbooks.
The international character of the music of these inventories is interesting. Although the many anonymous works, mostly composed in an Italian idiom, can be the work of either a Flemish or an Italian composer, some trends can be seen: • As far as we know, composers are mainly from the Southern Netherlands. Especially Catholic composers handle an Italian style: see the secco and accompagnato recitatives, the arias in an elaborate often florid style, the concertato, ….
• Music by French composers is more rarely represented especially in manuscripts. There are some exceptions, mainly in printed instrumental music, but this music is not used in the church. Therefore the use of the French style is rather limited. 14 Some composers, like Brehy and J.H. Fiocco used both the Italian and the French style. 15 • To my knowledge Spanish music is missing completely, even though the Southern Netherlands, with the exception of the prince-bishopric of Liège, were Spanish until 1713, when the region became part of the Austrian government. This political situation can be an explanation why Italian and Austrian composers active in Vienna, writing in the dominant Italian style, are well represented in the inventories of the 18 th century. Italian music and composers were also well present at the Court chapel in Brussels. 16 English (vocal) music is absent probably because of the Anglican Rite and the language. 17 in St. Jacob in Antwerp (7 inventories) and Tongeren (2 inventories). Both with almost a different repertoire. SPIESSENS, Godelieve. Zeven muziekinventarissen van de Antwerpse Sint-Jacobskerk de annis 1677. Jaarboek van de Provinciale Commissie voor Geschiedenis en Volkskunde, 1998Volkskunde, -1999 14 An explanation is that Antwerp printers were less interested in French church music. SPIESSENS, Godelieve -VANHULST, Henri. • The number of printed successful Einzeldrücke, which contain almost exclusively Italian-inspired music, is striking. We notice that some composers were more broadly represented: for the Italians Albinoni, Bassani, Cazzati, Corelli,… are to be mentioned; for the German speaking composers Pez and Ratgheber were quite 'popular'. Flemish composers include names like Buns, Alphonse D'Eve, Fiocco (father and sons), Loisel, Steelant, Vermeeren etcetera.
• Italian composers were dominant all over Europe. Their music was printed in Italy or, for the Netherlands, mainly in Antwerp and Amsterdam. Thus the choice for their music is larger, and, in general, identical prints occur less often. Exceptions are the prints by the above mentioned 'popular' Italian composers.
• Italian composers whose music was (re)printed in the Low Countries were often better represented in the inventories. Antwerp was the main centre in the Netherlands for printing Catholic church music in the 17 th century. 18 When the Phalesius dynasty -focused on music by Italian and local composers -stopped their production in 1674, Lucas De Potter and Hendrik Aertssens tried to take it over. 19 However, both companies seemed not to be a huge success, with respectively 27 and 12 prints. 20 Estienne Roger & his son-in-law, Michel-Charles Le Cène, living in the reformed northern part of the Low Countries took it over and became the principal music printer of the Low Countries (1696-1743). In Amsterdam they produced mainly French instrumental and secular vocal music but also some Catholic church music in Italian style, particularly by composers from the Low Countries and Italy. 21 Of course, prints of composers of the Southern Low Countries and Italy, produced in the Low Countries were easier to obtain in local music stores often connected with (music) printers. They were cheaper because of the lack of transport costs and very often also the quality of the print was better. Especially Roger produced very well readable prints, by engraving the music. 22 But he exception for the lack of English (vocal) music is the instrumental music (especially Purcell, Finger) that was present for example in the music library of the Cecilia society of Mechelen. VAN  19 SPIESSENS Godelieve -VANHULST Henri. Antwerpse muziekdrukken, p. 31-40. Aside is noted that also dedications in prints with music by Italian composers usually refer to local officials. BEGHEIN. Kerkmuziek, only sporadically printed church music by local composers. When the printing of church music stopped in Amsterdam, significantly fewer editions of local composers were recorded, both in the inventories and in the preserved collections. 23 The lack of important music printers in the Low Countries from ca. 1730 onwards, may explain why church music circulated more in handwriting (eg. Kennis in St. Gummar in Lier, Barth and Krafft in St. Bavo in Ghent, Brehy and father and son Van Helmont in St. Goedele in Brussels). Music collections of collegiate churches are better preserved from the second half of the 18 th century. For the copied manuscripts the availability of handwritten 'models' played a crucial role in the distribution of this music. So, one can only suppose that the circulation of manuscripts with music by 'Flemish' composers was increasing. Of course it is difficult to state this exactly, since for the anonymous compositions one cannot always determine whether the composer is from Italy or from the Southern Netherlands, because the latter usually also composed according to an Italian idiom (see fig. 2).
Amongst the genres, we find, in addition to masses and motets, a number of works on Dutch ("Flamend") texts. Typically from the Southern Netherlands, especially in the 17 th century are the so-called Cantiones Natalitiae. 24 Those are polyphonic Christmas motets in Dutch or in Latin often written in a more 'popular', simple and homophonic style. Dutch 'motets' also occur in the context of para-liturgical services; mainly Marian music for the Laudes Vespertinae held by the numerous Confraternities of Our Lady in the Low Countries. Some examples: In the collection of the Jesuits in Lier an anonymous piece with the incomplete text ...mensch, bedenckt o mensch is being preserved. 25 Furthermore, in this context, Christus voor Pilatus [Christ before Pilate] for the Easter season, preserved in Herentals (St. Waldetrudis), can be mentioned as well as a collection of 'simple' motets in Latin and Dutch in a manuscript from the monastary of the capuchin in Waasmunster. 26 In the context of schools (Jesuits and Augustines) and presentations by the Rhetoricans, Dutch songs were inserted, for example in moralising theatrical pieces. Strictly speaking this is not church music. A famous example in this context is the piece based on the proverb Soo d'Oude songhen, soo pipen the jonghen: The old Folks sing, the young Folks Chirp. It's a popular moralising theme that was being painted several times by the Antwerp Jacob Jordaens. It was set on music, maybe by Alphonse d'Eve as part of the theatrical piece De goede doodt van Alexander. 27 Instrumental music occupies a prominent place in the Collegia musica, but is less common in churches, where the opportunity to perform instrumental music (for example symphoniae during the elevation) was rather limited.
Another aspect is the circulation of music. The same music was often being performed for many decades (at least for 25 to 50 years, sometimes even longer), as we can deduce from successive inventories like those of St. Jacob in Antwerp and catalogues. 28 In general, there was no urge in buying recently published music, what can be interpreted as a conservative reflex. 29 As far as we know, the buyers had to pay substantial more than the original price in the printers catalogs. Reason for this can be the costs for transport and handling by a bookseller. 30  See also appendix 2 with a list of books with the year of publication who were still kept in 1721. The age of these books was between 87 and 6 year with an average of 39,63 year. It is clear that -although it was not only church music in this list -the age of the music was not the most important criterium for choosing music. Later in the 18th century musicians and audience seem to become much more sensitive for the modernity of music. This is evident both from the purchasing policy of music, from the more commercial attitude of printers and composers, and from the sale of music through advertisements in newspapers ("new music"; "modern music"; "à la mode" ; "na de allernieuwste Italiaansche smaak" [according to the latest Italian taste]). In other words, there is an increasing sensitivity for fashion from the second quarter of the 18th century. 32 Sometimes we also find information on what happened to the 'really old fashioned' music. In Tongeren, in 1627, this music was labelled as …omnium librorum musicorum antiquorum: probably vocal polyphonic music in the prima prattica style of the 16 th century. In 1708 they mention the older music as: …antiqui libri antiqua musica. became worthless for the church and was in the end sold as 'old paper' to a paper trader / bookbinder. In the case of Tongeren the money from this sale was ironically being used to buy new music books and to bind them. It seems that music in the 18 th century became less old-fashioned and was more often renewed. In Brussels it was being called Nae de nieuwe Italiaensche goest (after the new, Italian taste). 33 In Antwerp Cathedral in the first half of the 18th century, several masses, dedicated to the chapter, were being performed short after the completion of the composition. 34 In other words: brand new! We can also find this trend for renewal in the new instruments the canons were interested in: the horn was being used from the beginning of the 18 th century (Brehy) and the clarinet, virtuosic and idiomatically conceived, appeared as early as in 1720 in the Antwerp Cathedral in a monumental mass. The latter was a composition by J. A. J. Faber, a native from Augsburg who became a singer in Antwerp during the same year. The work was enthusiastically received by the chapter of canons, what is proven by the fee given to the composer. 35 Since music scores were quite expensive, the same music was often used for different occasions. This was the case with the so-called 'N.' -motets with names of saints one could fill in. Examples of motets for local saints on holidays can be found in Liège Cathedral where some motets for St. Lambert were being written in an old-fashioned cantus firmus-style. This polyphonic style was probably used out of deep respect for this saint who was being burned in the cathedral. 36

Some conclusive observations
It 's clear that it would be interesting to include all the items, manuscripts and prints, from the music inventories from the Low Countries in a global database to situate the repertoire within a broader, European context. Still I dare to formulate some trends: Compared to the music from the Southern Low Countries the Italian repertoire was about equally present in the churches. A lot of Italian music was (re)printed in the Low Countries, which made it cheaper. Mainly from the beginning of the 18 th century,  Antiqua, 1986, vol. 3, p. 123-125. German and even some French prints (mainly from the mid-18 th century) became more important. Here as well the price of shipping was lower than for music printed in Italy.
As said, composers in the Catholic parts of the Low Countries and the Germanspeaking areas were heavily influenced by the Italian style. By copying and performing Italian music and via contact with native Italian composers living north of the Alps, they learned to compose in this dominant style. As discussed before, political connections were favourable for the import of music from German-speaking regions. The music by Italian composers like Ziani, Zamponi, Caldara, Draghi, Torri, Bononcini, Finatti, Dall'Abaco (sr. & jr.) ... living in Vienna or Brussels, probably came to the Southern Low Countries under the influence of Austrian Court connections. In Liège the presence of the prince-bishops of the Bavarian dynasty for sure brought Italian influenced music by Southern-German composers to this region.
The Italian composers-dynasties like the Di Martinelli's (Gent, Diest, Leuven) and the Fiocco's (a Venetian father and his two sons living in Brussels) also played a role in the distribution and adaptation of Italian music. The printing of Italian music in Antwerp in the 17 th century was an important source of inspiration for local composers, as well. Finally, the foundation Darchis (named after the philanthropist of the same name) encourages composers (and other artists) from Liège to study in Italy, mainly in Rome. Examples here are Grétry (1741-1813) and Hamal (1744-1820).
The Italian influence and the music by local composers, mostly writing in an Italian style, is significantly larger than the French. Figure 2 lists the number of items (collections and single compositions) in some selected but representative inventories with the origin of the composer. 37 Composers from the Low Countries and Italy are being represented the most. The only exception for the dominance of the Italian style is the music for the salons and the music companies of the upper classes, where French music was more established. This is also reflected in the large part of French chamber music in the catalogues of Roger and Le Cène.  Fig. 2 Origin of composers whose work is included in some music inventories. Numbers of items are approximate, since some items are too vague (no title, no composer given). 39 For the abbreviations see Appendix 1.
Further explanation for the dominance of Italian music over French could be better understood by the following elements: • The Church hierarchy was more Italian inspired.
• The Italian style was in general dominant all over Europe, except in France.
• The French music fashion was more noticeable in opera. This can be understood since the local nobility was very inspired by the French (Court)  The Low Countries didn't have leading international composers, although the music education in the so-called schools of choirboys produced some well-educated com posers. Brain drain was one of the reasons for the lack of such composers. They emigrated mainly to Paris with its flourishing music scene. This was the case for composers like Dumont (Maastricht Our Lady), Grétry (Liège, St. Denis) and Gossec (Antwerp Cathedral).
As a general conclusion: the music in this region by the North Sea, between Roman and German culture, was being influenced mainly by Italian music, balancing between tradition and innovation. The role of local composers should not be underestimated. They mostly used the dominant Italian style. Beside, it is clear that we have to accept that we will never know what exactly is lost, mainly in the area of handwritten music: indeed, almost every zangmeester was a composer. Thus we should realize that our music history is only partially documented and should be subject to discussion and research. 39 In general, fewer prints and manuscripts with instrumental music have been produced in the Low Countries, which explains the greater share of Italian instrumental music. In collegia musica, on the other hand, we find a substantial part of French instrumental music, which also reflects in Roger's catalogues.