Henry Bredemers
Encyclopedia
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and music teacher. No compositions by him survive, and his historical importance lies chiefly in his activities as a teacher.
The first recorded reference to Bredemers is in a 1488 document which lists him as one of the singers of Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal), Antwerp. In 1491–1492 he served as organist of Saint James' Church
Saint James' church, Antwerp
St. James' Church in Antwerp, Belgium, is built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The present building is the work of the Waghemakere family and Rombout Keldermans, in Brabantine Gothic style...
(Sint-Jacobskerk) of the same city, and in 1493 he occupied a similar position at the Confraternity of Our Lady at Our Lady's church. Bredemers must have attained a considerable reputation in the following years: by 1501 he was distinguished enough to enter the chapel of Philip the Handsome
Philip I of Castile
Philip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
as organist.
The chapel, known then as Grande chapelle, was the main musical establishment of the Burgundian-Habsburg court, and one of the most important court chapels of the Renaissance: it had a long and illustrious history associated with composers of the Burgundian School
Burgundian School
The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The main names associated with this school are Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois,...
, particularly Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
. And at the time Bredemers joined it, members of the chapel included important composers such as Pierre de la Rue
Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de la Rue , called Piersson, was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the...
and Alexander Agricola
Alexander Agricola
Alexander Agricola was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A prominent member of the Grande chapelle, the Habsburg musical establishment, he was a renowned composer in the years around 1500, and his music was widely distributed throughout Europe...
. He was charged with performance duties as well as organisation of the chapel. Bredemers and other musicians of the chapel travelled with the court on multiple occasions: there were two voyages to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(in 1501–1503 and 1505–1506) and one to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
(in 1503). On the latter occasion Bredemers must have met Arnolt Schlick
Arnolt Schlick
Arnolt Schlick was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the Renaissance. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He was most probably born in Heidelberg and by 1482 established himself as court organist for the Electoral Palatinate...
, court organist to the Electoral Palatinate.
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, Spain, it was Bredemers who arranged for the transport of the chapel's liturgical
Liturgical book
A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a church, that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.-Roman Catholic:...
and music books to Antwerp. Philip's eldest son, Charles
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, was too young to succeed his father, and so Margaret of Austria was appointed regent. At her court in Mechelen
Mechelen
Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...
, Bredemers was chosen in 1507 as music teacher of Philip's children (Charles and his sisters Eleanor, Mary and Isabella) and organist of Charles' domestic chapel. He was also to instruct court entertainers and choirboys, as well as purchase and maintain instruments. Bredemers taught Charles and his sisters clavichord daily, as well as other instruments.
Bredemers' influence was spread far by Philip's children. Isabella's lessons came to an end in 1514 when she married Christian II of Denmark
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
, and Eleanor left in 1518, after marrying Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
(and after Manuel died, she married Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
). Before leaving, both sisters asked Bredemers to buy them clavichords to take with them; Eleanor was known as a particularly fine performer. Bredemers retired to Lier
Lier, Belgium
Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...
in 1518, but continued assisting at Margaret's private chapel, and accompanied Charles during his visit to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1520–21. He probably attended Charles' coronation in 1520. In May 1521 Bredemers was made provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
at St Aubin's Cathedral
St Aubin's Cathedral
St Aubin's Cathedral, Namur, Wallonia, the only cathedral in Belgium in academic Late Baroque style, strikes the observer as an unexpectedly Italian statement in this northern city; in fact it was built to designs of the Ticinese architect Gaetano Matteo Pisoni...
, Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
. However, he resigned this position after only a year, in April 1522. He died the following month.
No compositions by Bredemers are known, although two were mentioned by Fétis
François-Joseph Fétis
François-Joseph Fétis was a Belgian musicologist, composer, critic and teacher. He was one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century, and his enormous compilation of biographical data in the Biographie universelle des musiciens remains an important source of information today...
in his Biographie universelle in the second half of the 19th century. Bredemers' importance lies in the influence he must have exerted over European keyboard music during his voyages to Spain, England and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as well as through his pupils.