Alexander Utendal (1543/45 – 7 May 1581) was a Flemish composer.

Life

Utendal was a native of

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, nowadays a Belgian city, but at the time part of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

which were part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Like many Flemish musicians and composers of his time, he served the Imperial family, the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. He began already at a young age as a choirboy at the court of

Mary of Hungary Mary, also known as Maria of Anjou (, , ; 137117 May 1395), queen regnant, reigned as Queen of Hungary and List of dukes and kings of Croatia, Croatia between 1382 and 1385, and from 1386 until her death. She was the daughter of Louis I of Hun ...

, sister of emperors

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and Ferdinand I of the Holy Roman Empire. She was given the position of

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

(regent) of the Netherlands. In 1564, Utendal became

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

of the court chapel of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, another member of the royal Habsburg family. After Ferdinand was made Archduke of

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

in 1564 after his father's death, he moved his court from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

(he was the governor of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

) to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. Utendal followed his master to the Innsbruck court chapel to gain the position of vice chapel master in 1572 (as successor of Jacob Regnart); he was also in charge of the education of the choir boys. Until 1581, Utendal worked for Ferdinand II in Innsbruck, where he died. Many of his works are in honour of his master. He even refused the position of chapel master at the court of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1580.

Music

Due to his position as vice-chapel master he mostly composed sacred works, although there are also two books known with French and German non-sacred songs. In his work the alto (high voice) is almost always the dominant one, maybe because he was an alto himself. He also used the

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...

fashion in his compositions, which is typical for the late or

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

. All the original sacred compositions of Utendal still exist and they are conserved in many archives and libraries throughout Europe. His works were publicised in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, in this time the most important centre of the German music press. Utendal wrote eighty-four motets.

Publications

* 1570: ''Septem psalmi poenitentiales'' for four voices (published by Dietrich Gerlach) * 1571: ''Sacrae cantiones'' for four, five, six or more voices * 1573: Collection of German songs * 1573: Three masses for five/six voices * 1573: ''Acht magnificat'' for four voices * 1573: ''Sacrae cantiones'' for four, five, six or more voices * 1574: Collection of French songs * 1577: ''Sacrae cantiones'' for four, five, six or more voices * 1586: ''Responsoria''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Utendal, Alexander 1540s births 1581 deaths Year of birth uncertain Classical composers Male classical composers People from the Spanish Netherlands 16th-century Franco-Flemish composers Musicians from Ghent Renaissance composers Flemish composers