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Daughter of Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian
I and Mary of Burgundy, Marguerite of Austria (1480-1530) experienced
a series of personal tragedies during the first three decades of
her life - including deaths of her only brother and both husbands.
Despite her misfortunes, Marguerite
has skillfully ruled The Netherlands for her nephew, Charles V.
She is also remembered for her patronage over the arts. Herself
a creative personality with literary and musical talents, she has
made her court in Mechelen (now Belgium) a mansion of flamboyant
Burgundian culture, shortly before its expiration. There she collected
books and works or art, among which were such gems as 'Trés
riches heures de duc de Berry' by Limbourg brothers or Van Eyck's
'Arnolfini Portrait'.
Some musical manuscripts now in
the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels were probably part of
Marguerite's library. These include two songbooks and a handsome
collection of courtly bassedanse tenors (foundations for improvised
polyphonic dance compositions). All were most likely prepared for
Marguerite herself - song collections contain settings of her plaintive
texts, and the book of bassedanse tenors reflects her nostalgy for
expiring Burgundian glories.
This CD is a co-production of
VRT Klara and the Festival van Vlaanderen Mechelen (in conjunction
with the event "Mechelen 2005: City in Female Hands").
Where to buy
[AMAZON.CO.UK]
[AMAZON.DE]
[FNAC]
(France)
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iTUNES (international) (requires iTunes
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IN THE UPPER-RIGHT CORNER:
detail from the Portrait of Princess Marguerite of Austria, Sothern
Netherlands, around 1495 (private collection, Switzerland)
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