Thiemo Wind

'Stemme nova' – eine neuentdeckte Komposition Jacob van Eycks [abstract]

['Stemme nova' - a newly discovered Composition by Jacob van Eyck]

Tibia, 2/1993, 466-469

Jacob van Eyck was not the only Dutch composer of his time who wrote variations and other pieces for soprano recorder. Similar compositions have survived of colleagues like Jacob van Noordt, Pieter de Vois, Johan Dix and van Eyck's publisher Paulus Matthysz. Their pieces were printed in anthologies which appeared parallel to Der Fluyten Lust-hof, and were bound together like ‘twin editions': Der Goden Fluit-hemel (1644), ‘t Uitnemend Kabinet I (1646; ²s.d. [1654]) and 't Uitnemend Kabinet II (1649; ²s.d. [c1656]).

When preparing a new edition of the the solo compositions from these anthologies, I got fascinated by an anonymous pieces from Der Goden Fluit-hemel (The God's Flute-Heaven) called 'Stemme nova', consisting of a short theme with two variations. The piece has stylistic features characteristic for van Eyck. There was, however, no reason to guess that a parallel edition would also contain a composition by the blind master from Utrecht. Nevertheless, it does. The anonymous 'Stemme nova' belongs without any doubt to the legacy of Jacob van Eyck: textual errors, bibliographical cicrcumstances and stylistic features together give full evidence.

Perhaps it is a little odd to mention textual errors as the first argument for the attribution of an anonymous work. However, we should bear in mind that the pieces in Matthysz' anthologies were published irreproachably, with 'Stemme nova' as an exception. On the other hand, the works by van Eyck were edited in a rather careless way. The errors in the anonymous 'Stemme nova' are very similar to the ones in Der Fluyten Lust-hof. Van Eyck was blind and could not see what was written and printed.

In the theme, bars 3 and 4 were notated in halved note values. In the second variation (Modo 3) repeat sign were omitted. Contrary to the theme and Modo 2, this variation starts with an upbeat. The typesetter wasn't aware of this and started on the first beat, had to juggle later and made a true mess out of it. Apparently, the original manuscript contained no bar-lines. Similar shifts also occur in the work of van Eyck.

The question arises: how could a piece of his hand turn up in a parallel edition? The answer is quite simple if we examine both editions of 1644: van Eycks Euterpe oft Speel-goddinne I (being the name of Der Fluyten Lust-hof I in its first edition) and the anthology Der Goden Fluit-hemel. Euterpe ends up with two variation pieces called 'Stemme nova'.  What if there were a third 'Stemme nova' by van Eyck? There would have been no space for it. It must have happened this way.

In the same time, Paulus Matthysz needed additional pieces to fill the last page of his anthology. Here the set of variations by van Eyck came as if it had been sent for.

Stylistically the 'Stemme nova' variations are typical for van Eyck, for instance through the use of hasty echo motifs, and the introduction of an upbeat in order to realize them more easily. This has a parallel in Modos 5 and 6 of 'Rosemond die lagh gedoocken' [nve 49].




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