Interview, Frank Agsteribbe on elaborate Requiem Masses by Philippus van Steelant

The pomp and splendour that attended the funerary ceremonies for the late Queen Elizabeth II in late 2022 were witnessed, via television and the internet, by huge numbers of people around the globe. The idea of bidding the departed an elaborate and lavish farewell is hardly new, though - state funerals, monuments, mausoleums and indeed millennia-old pyramids all attest to a deep human desire for a grand sendoff that leaves a lasting impression.

A new recording from B'Rock Orchestra and cantoLX, under conductor Frank Agsteribbe, focuses on one particular manifestation of this sense of occasion, delving into works written in seventeenth-century Antwerp by Philippus van Steelant, in response to a fashion in the city for especially sumptuous funerary rites. Frank - in collaboration with musicologist Dr Stefanie Beghein - shares some of his thoughts on this music's impact and significance.

The music recorded here comes from a time and place when private individuals were funding lavish funeral ceremonies for their departed relatives – sometimes to the disapproval of the Church! Was this unique to Antwerp or were there similar fashions in other cities?

Historical research has documented a general ‘baroque’ attitude to death, characterized by the ostentatious and pious staging of death. Lavish funeral ceremonies for private individuals were described in several regions in France, Germany, … Unfortunately, remarkably little attention has been paid to the contribution of music to post mortem ostentation. We know that funeral music flourished in Lutheran Germany during the seventeenth century, particularly between 1650 and 1680. Also, throughout the eighteenth century several authors, including Johann Mattheson, criticized old-fashioned pompous funerals and their musical splendour. This suggests that seventeenth-century Antwerp was not an isolated case within Europe. Nevertheless, further research is still needed in order to document musical practices in funerals in other Catholic cities, in particular in the Low Countries.

Was this only true of funerals, or were other life events – baptisms, weddings – similarly an impetus for extravagant musical spectaculars?

During the 17th and 18th century, this was only true of funerals.

What do we know about van Steelant himself? His music evokes Monteverdi, Schütz and Praetorius – could he have studied or worked with them?

Little is known about Steelant. He was born in Antwerp, and both his father and grandfather were musicians in Antwerp. There is no evidence that Steelant travelled abroad to work with musicians such as Monteverdi, Schütz or Praetorius. Probably he got familiar with contemporary Italian music via the Antwerp music presses (Phalesius and heirs), or via foreign musicians who worked some time in Antwerp.

Did these works enter the broader repertoire, or would they not have travelled beyond Antwerp itself?

The printed Requiem (opus 1) has been listed in several seventeenth- and eighteenth-century historical music inventories for churches in the Southern Netherlands. The heirs of Phalesius also had clients in the north of France and the Northern Netherlands, which suggests that the printed Requiem (opus 1) may have been part of the repertoire in these regions.

During the 18th century, the Requiem in manuscript was acquired by a Brussels music Maecenas and member of the Brussels Saint Gudula Chapter. No other copies are known.

Frank Agsteribbe and Dr Stefanie Beghein - who also contributed to this interview - discuss the music on this recording.