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15th-c.
Franco-Flemish Chansonnier
Leuven Chansonnier
General Editors: David J.
Burn & Bart Demuyt
[study by David J. Burn ; Nederlandse
vertaling: Ignace Bossuyt]
[Louvain,
Alamire Foundation]
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opening fols.
1r-2r
Leuven Library of Music in
Facsimile, 1. Antwerp, 2017. 8.5 x
12 cm, 2 vols, 190 pp + commentary
What a story! In 2014, a small
Brussels auction-house sold a lot
containing a statue, an illuminated
initial, and a songbook, to a private
art-dealer. The songbook was brought
to the Alamire Foundation/KU Leuven
Musicology Research Group for further
examination. The book, it turned out,
was a previously unknown late 15th-c.
chansonnier, complete and in its
original cloth binding. The
rediscovery of such a source in
unaltered form is extremely rare, it's
been almost a century since the last
such discovery. The manuscript was
acquired through the Léon
Courtin—Marcelle Bouché Fund,
administered by the Belgian King
Baudouin Foundation. The songbook was
subsequently loaned long-term to the
Alamire Foundation. Like several other
similar chansonniers, this codex has
been named after the location where it
is preserved. The “Leuven Chansonnier”
is a unique witness from the 15th
century. What makes this manuscript so
special? This very small and yet
substantial book, penned more than 500
years ago, is in astonishingly good
condition. It contains 50 compositions
representing the very best of
Franco-Flemish polyphony (by composers
including Ockeghem, Binchois, and
Busnois). It contains 12 previously
unknown songs, thus offering a new
perspective on the polyphony of the
Low Countries. The present publication
offers a full color reproduction of
the MS accompanied by a scholarly
commentary in Eng/Dut. $85
(view
other
volumes
from
our
renaissance listing)
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