One of the two surviving portraits of Sweelinck, this one dates from 1606. It is usually attributed to Gerrit Pietersz, the composer's brother.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (April or May, 1562–October 16, 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ tradition. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Year 1562 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1621 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. ... In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study or a practical skill. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... The 17th century organ composers of the territory now known as Germany can be divided into two primary schools: the north German school and the south German school (sometimes a third school, central German, is added). ...

Life

Sweelinck was born in Deventer, Netherlands, in April or May 1562. He was the eldest son of organist Peter Swybbertszoon and Elske Jansdochter Sweeling, daughter of a surgeon.^[1] Soon after Sweelinck's birth the family moved to Amsterdam, where from about 1564 Swybbertszoon served as organist of the Oude Kerk (Sweelinck's paternal grandfather and uncle also were organists). Jan Pieterszoon must have received first lessons in music from his father. Unfortunately, the latter died in 1573. He subsequently received general education under Jacob Buyck^[2], Catholic pastor of the Oude Kerk (these lessons stopped in 1578 after the Reformation of Amsterdam and the subsequent conversion to Calvinism; Buyck chose to leave the city). Little is known about his music education after the death of his father; his music teachers may have included Jan Willemszoon Lossy, a little-known countertenor and shawm player at Haarlem^[3], and/or Cornelis Boskoop, Sweelinck's father successor at the Oude Kerk. If Sweelinck indeed studied in Haarlem, he was probably influenced to some degree by the organists of St.-Bavokerk, Claas Albrechtszoon van Wieringen and Floris van Adrichem, both of whom improvised daily in the Bavokerk.^[4] Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. ... Year 1562 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Events March 27 — Naples bans kissing in public under the penalty of death June 22 — Fort Caroline, the first French attempt at colonizing the New World September 10 — The Battle of Kawanakajima Ottoman Turks invade Malta Modern pencil becomes common in England Conquistadors crossed the Pacific Spanish founded a colony... Oude Kerk, meaning Old Church in Dutch, may refer to: Oude Kerk (Amsterdam) Oude Kerk (Delft) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      A pastor is an... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Calvinism... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 32. ... The Grote Markt in 1696, painting by Gerrit Adriaensz. ...

According to Cornelis Plemp, a pupil and friend of Sweelinck's, he started his 44 year career as organist of the Oude Kerk in 1577, when he was just 15^[5]. This date, however, is uncertain, because the church records from 1577-80 are missing and Sweelinck can only be traced in Oude Kerk from 1580 onwards; he occupied the post for the rest of his life. Sweelinck's widowed mother died in 1585, and Jan Pieterszoon took responsibility for his younger brother and sister. His salary of 100 florins was doubled the next year, presumably to help matters, and two more raises followed in 1590, when he married Claesgen Dircxdochter Puyner from Medemblik^[6]. Sweelinck's first published works date from around 1592-94: a volume of chansons was published in 1694 and may have been preceded by two other chanson collections (for reasons unknown, the composer chose to change his last name to a variant of his mother's, instead of using Swybbertszoon; "Sweelinck" first appears on the title-page of the 1594 publication). Sweelinck then set to publishing psalm settings, aiming to set the entire Psalter. These works appeared in four large volumes published in 1604, 1613, 1614 and 1621. The last volume was published posthumously and, presumably, in unfinished form. Sweelinck died of unknown causes on October 16, 1621 and was buried in the Oude Kerk. He was survived by his wife and five of their six children; the eldest of them, Dirck Janszoon, succeeded his father as organist of Oude Kerk. Oude Kerk, meaning Old Church in Dutch, may refer to: Oude Kerk (Amsterdam) Oude Kerk (Delft) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Medemblik (population: 8,037 in 2004) is a town in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1621 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Oude Kerk, meaning Old Church in Dutch, may refer to: Oude Kerk (Amsterdam) Oude Kerk (Delft) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

The composer most probably spent his entire life in Amsterdam, only occasionally visiting other cities in connection with his professional activities: he was asked to inspect organs, give opinions and advice on organ building and restoration, etc. These duties resulted in short visits to Delft, Dordrecht, Enkhuizen, Haarlem Harderwijk Middleburg Nijmegen Rotterdam Rhenen as well as Deventer, his birthplace^[7]. The longest voyage Sweelinck undertook was to Antwerp in 1604, when he was commissioned by the Amsterdam authorities to buy a harpsichord for the city. No documents were found to support a long-standing rumor first recounted by Mattheson that Sweelinck visited Venice, and similarly there is no evidence that he ever crossed the English Channel, however likely that is. His popularity as a composer, performer and teacher increased steadily during his lifetime. Contemporaries nicknamed him Orpheus of Amsterdam and even the city authorities frequently brought important visitors to hear Sweelinck's improvisations. Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province South Holland Area (2006)  - Municipality 24. ... Satellite image of part of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the Island of Dordrecht and the eponymous city (7) Dordrecht (population 119,649 (2004)), or in English: Dort, is a city in the Dutch province of South Holland, the third largest city of the province. ... Enkuizen Enkhuizen ( West Frisian: Inghúze) is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 32. ... Harderwijk is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. ... United States of America Middleburg, Florida Middleburgh (village), New York Middleburgh (town), New York Middleburg, Ohio Middleburg, Virginia For other places with Middle in their name, see: Middlebury Middlecreek Township, Pennsylvania Middlefield Middlesex Middleton Middletown Middleville See also: Middelburg This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... Country Netherlands Province Gelderland Area (2006)  - Municipality 57. ... Nickname: Motto: Sterker door strijd (Stronger through Struggle) Location of Rotterdam Coordinates: , Country Province Government  - Mayor Ivo Opstelten  - Aldermen Jeannette Baljeu Hamit Karakus Orhan Kaya Lucas Bolsius Jantine Kriens Dominic Schrijer Roelf de Boer Leonard Geluk Area [1]  - Total 319 km² (123. ... Rhenen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. ... Deventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... Johann Mattheson (September 28, 1681 – April 17, 1764) was a German composer, writer, lexicographer, and music theorist. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ...

Influence

Sweelinck's duties in Amsterdam included only those connected to organ playing. He did not, as was customary, play the carillon or the harpsichord on formal occasions, and neither was he required to regularly produce any compositions. The Calvinist services did not include organ playing, as a result of the belief that the organ is a worldly instrument^[8], so Sweelinck was employed by the city, rather than the church. This position left him a substantial amount of time for teaching, for which he was as famous as for his compositions. Sweelinck's pupils included the core of what was to become the north German organ school: Jacob Praetorius, Scheidemann, Siefert, Melchior Schildt and Samuel and Gottfried Scheidt. He was known in Germany as the "maker of organists" and was clearly in demand as a teacher. Dutch pupils were undoubtedly many, but none of them became particularly important composers. Sweelinck did, however, influence further development of the Dutch organ school, as works by later Dutch composers such as Anthoni van Noordt show. For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... For the University of Regina student newspaper, see The Carillon. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... The 17th century organ composers of the territory now known as Germany can be divided into two primary schools: the north German school and the south German school (sometimes a third school, central German, is added). ... Jacob Praetorius (1586 – 1651), was a German Baroque composer and organist, and the son of Hieronymus Praetorius. ... Heinrich Scheidemann Heinrich Scheidemann (c. ... Paul Siefert (variants: Syfert, Sivert, Sibert) (23 May 1586 - 6 May 1666) was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school. ... Melchior Schildt (born 1592 or 1593, Hanover - May 18, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the North German Organ School. ... Samuel Scheidt (baptized November 3, 1587 – March 24, 1653) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era. ... Gottfried Scheidt (20 September 1593 - 3 June 1661) was a German composer and organist. ... Anthoni van Noordt (c. ...

Sweelinck's influence spread as far as Sweden and England. It was carried to the former by Andreas Düben, and to the latter by various English composers such as Peter Phillips, who knew Sweelinck personally. The close connection Sweelinck and Dutch composers in general must have had with the English school of composition is highlighted by a number of facts. For instance, Sweelinck's music appears in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, which otherwise mainly contains the work of English composers. Also, Sweelinck wrote variations on John Dowland's internationally famous Lachrimae Pavane, and John Bull, who was probably a personal friend, wrote a set of variations on a theme by Sweelinck after the latter's death. Andreas Düben (c. ... Peter Phillips could mean Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, the son of Anne, Princess Royal Peter Phillips the director of Project Censored This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i. ... John Dowland (1563 – February 20, 1626) was an English composer, singer, and lutenist. ... Flow my tears is a lute song (specifically, an ayre) by the accomplished lutenist and composer John Dowland. ... John Bull (1562 or 1563–March 15, 1628) was an Welsh composer, musician, and organ builder. ...

Works

Sweelinck represents the highest development of the Dutch keyboard school, and indeed represented one of the highest pinnacles attained in keyboard contrapuntal complexity and refinement before J.S. Bach. However, he was a skilled composer for voices as well, and composed over 250 works for voice (chansons, madrigals, motets and Psalms). Some of Sweelinck's innovations were of profound musical importance, including the fugue—he was the first to write an organ fugue which began simply, with one subject, successively adding texture and complexity until a final climax and resolution, an idea which was perfected at the end of the Baroque era by Bach. Stylistically Sweelinck's music also brings together the richness, complexity and spatial sense of the Gabrielis, with whom he was familiar from his time in Venice, and the ornamentation and intimate forms of the English keyboard composers. In formal development, especially in the use of countersubject, stretto, and organ point (pedal point), his music was far beyond the works of Frescobaldi—its nearest predecessor—and looks ahead to Bach. “Bach” redirects here. ... Chanson is a French word for song, and in English-language contexts is often applied to any song with French words, particularly a cabaret song. ... A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ... Gabrieli is the name of two distinguished composers of the Italian Venetian School of the late Renaissance: Andrea Gabrieli (c. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... In music, a countersubject is a melodic or thematic idea which is played against a primary subject of a fugue, ricercar, invention, sinfonia, or other contrapuntal piece of music. ... Stretto (plural: stretti), from the Italian stringere to draw close is a musical term for when a fugue motif is used to accompany itself. ... In tonal music, a pedal point (also pedal tone, organ point, or just pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i. ... Girolamo Frescobaldi. ...

Sweelinck was a master improviser, and acquired the informal title of the "Orpheus of Amsterdam." Over 70 keyboard works of his have survived, and many of them may be similar to the improvisations that residents of Amsterdam around 1600 were likely to have heard. Even his vocal music, which is more conservative than his keyboard writing, shows a striking rhythmic complexity and an unusual richness of contrapuntal devices. Improvisation is the act of making something up as you go along. ... For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ...

Further reading

• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
• Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1947. ISBN 0-393-09745-5
• The Concise Edition of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed. Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky. New York, Schirmer Books, 1993. ISBN 0-02-872416-X
• Pieter Dirksen, The Keyboard Music of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck – Its Style, Significance and Influence. (Utrecht, 1997). ISBN 90-6375-159-1
• Sweelinck Studies, Proceedings of the Sweelinck Symposium, Utrecht 1999, (Utrecht 2001) Edited by Pieter Dirksen. ISBN 90-72786-09-2

Gustave Reese (November 29, 1899 – September 7, 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. ... Manfred Bukofzer (March 27, 1910–December 7, 1955) was a German-American musicologist and humanist. ...

References

1. ^ Stephen Westrop, liner notes for "Christopher Herrick: Sweelinck: Organ Music", Hyperion CDA67421/2
2. ^ Randall H. Tollefsen, Pieter Dirksen. "Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy
3. ^ Sadie, Stanley. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol.8. Macmillan Pubishers Limited, London. Pg. 406-407
4. ^ Sadie, Stanley. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol.8. Macmillan Pubishers Limited, London. Pg. 406-407
5. ^ Sadie, Stanley. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol.8. Macmillan Pubishers Limited, London. Pg. 406-407.
6. ^ Sadie, Stanley. 1980. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol.8. Macmillan Pubishers Limited, London. Pg. 406-407.
7. ^ Randall H. Tollefsen, Pieter Dirksen. "Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy
8. ^ Sadie, Stanley. 1980. "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians". Vol.8. Macmillan Pubishers Limited, London. Pg.401

External links

• Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck free scores in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
• audio of Five Echo Fantasias played on virtual organ
• audio of Variations on Secular Songs and Dances played on virtual organs
• Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck free scores in the Werner Icking Music Archive
• Sweelinck was listed in the International Music Score Library Project