General Introduction

Housed in the University Library of Odense (Syddansk Universitetsbibliotek) is an old library that originally belonged to the famous Herlufsholm school, founded in 1565. A small part of the library consists of a number of early music prints and, in particular, some very interesting manuscript partbooks dating from the period around 1580 – 1620.

Among the items are vocal works by Orlando di Lasso (1532 – 1594), Marc’Antonio Ingenieri (c. 1535 – 1592) and William Byrd (1543 – 1623), and of lesser-known composers we have François Gallet (c. 1555 – 1585), Antonio Mortaro (fl. 1587 – 1619) and Pietro Lappi (c. 1575 – 1630). The music ranges from sacred motets to secular madrigals for a four-part choir and to large, complex polychoral works such as those performed for example in Venice around that time.

The Herlufsholm music collection is of great importance, as it is the only substantial collection of music in Denmark from around 1600, and it reveals a rich musical life that no other archive can match. Despite of its significance, it has only received little scholarly attention, probably because the manuscript material is largely incomplete, somewhat disorganised and, not least, because a large number of the works are anonymous. A close study of the material, however, sheds new light on the musical repertoire around 1600, performance and notational practices, and music education. Most crucially, it raises new questions about such as how and why such a rich and extensive body of material was acquired by a school far from the capital of Copenhagen and the influential royal court. The vocal repertoire of the Herlufsholm school presents a wide array of music from almost all over Europe, enabling researchers to gain a better understanding of the aspects of cultural transfer – the exchange of cultural goods between countries and the connection between Denmark and the rest of Europe.

But other questions are also important to consider, such as how did Herlufsholm obtain the music? Where did they buy (or borrow) it from? And who were the copyists – were they students, teachers or professional musicians? One theory is that part of the collection may have been copied from music prints or manuscripts acquired on travels through Europe initiated and paid for by the court. Indeed, at least five court musicians travelled to Italy on several occasions and received further training in Venice. But it is also plausible that at least some of the material was copied from printed anthologies that were popular and widely available throughout Europe at the time, or could have been purchased from the Copenhagen booksellers importing books and music from abroad, or even have been directly from agents at the book fairs in Frankfurt, Leipzig or Strasbourg.

The aim of the project is not only to contextualise and interpret the collection, providing insights into issues of performance practice, musical life and education at Herlufsholm around 1600, but also to make the vocal repertoire available in modern, easily accessible performance editions offering ensembles a repertoire of music that is rarely performed today. The project is hosted by the vocal ensemble Music Ficta, allowing a close collaboration between music performance, history and theory.

These editions are modernised, including modern clefs, bar lines and accidentals. A short biography of the composer(s) and a description of the source used for the edition are also included. Editorial principles, detailed source descriptions and evaluations, and a list of variants and revisions are available online at <000>.