Works for Pianoforte - Volume VI

At the time of his death on the 16th of October 1621, the fifty-nine-year-old Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was renowned throughout Europe. Although Sweelinck never travelled abroad, he had achieved celebrity status. His music led not only his contemporaries, but provided an example for later generations, although they used other compositional devises. And all of the compositional techniques which had been developed during the Renaissance were masterfully adapted and integrated by him. His chansons and madrigals along with the 2- and 3-part ‘Rimes’ are rare jewels in vocal chamber music literature. They show us how cultivated Sweelinck was. It is of paramount importance to emphasize that Sweelinck was Dutch par excellence. His works replace spectacular dramatic effects and monumental forms with a love for detail, picturesque expression and balance – characteristics found also in Dutch painting and poetry. As melodious as his compositions sound, their beauty lies far from the surface and unfolds only through deeper understanding. The Nederlands Kamerkoor is an all-round ensemble that has mastered all facets of choral music. They perform these works in collaboration with renowned conductors and specialists such as Uwe Gronostay, Reinbert de Leeuw, Eric Ericson and Stephen Layton. Peter Phillips has made an impressive if unusual reputation for himself in dedicating his life's work to the research and performance of Renaissance polyphony. He founded the Tallis Scholars and continues to work with other specialist ensembles like the Collegium Vocale of Ghent. Philippe Herreweghe's vivid, authentic and rhetorical approach of baroque music was praised everywhere from 1970 onwards. Jan Boeke (1921-1993) began his musical training with Anthon van der Horst and Gustav Leonhardt. He continued his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Jan Boeke was active as an instructor at the Sweelinck Conservatoyr of Amsterdam from 1960 until 1985.