This
publication offers a critical edition of all the secular works of the
Danish composer Mogens Pedersøn (1585?-1623?), together with a
historical-critical introduction, diplomatic and
diplomatic-interpretative editions of the poetic texts and three
appendixes.
The following
themes are examined in the introduction: the biography and personality
of King Christian IV of Denmark, Pedersøn’s patron; the splendid
musical life at the Danish court in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries; and the life and works of Pedersøn himself, with particular
regard to his relations with the Venetian environment — and
specifically with the school of Giovanni Gabrieli where he trained. A
further useful tool for further research is a table of the works of
composers who set the same texts as Pedersøn.
The
introduction is followed by a double edition of the various texts set
to music: first a conservative edition respecting the graphic
conventions of the period, aimed at presenting the text just as it is
transmitted by the early sources; then the edition adopted in the
score, in which the text is normalized to conform to current
orthographic usage. There follows a critical edition of the music of
Pedersøn’s 31 five-voice madrigals and 2 three-voice
madrigaletti.
The
appendixes contain editions of the texts and music of works by Hans
Nielsen, Francesco Di Gregorii and Amante Franzoni set to the same
poetic texts used by Pedersøn.
"(...) readers might value this publication for its excellent
and detailed presentation of the madrigal texts." (P. Hauge in:
Danish Yearbook of Musicology, 33, 2005)
"The result is a welcome contribution that positions Danish
court music as a musical monument of European stature." (S. L.
Hammond in: Scandinavian Studies, 78.3, Fall 2006,
p.355-357)