Séverin Cornet: Opera Omnia

Séverin Cornet was "kapelmeester" (chapelmaster) at St Rombouts Cathedral in Mechelen from 1563 to 1572 and at Our Lady's Cathedral in Antwerp from 1572 until the adoption of the Calvinist Reformation in 1581. In both positions he directed and taught the choir and was in charge of the production of new music for important services. His oeuvre includes four editions: one of Neapolitan songs, one of French chansons, a collection of madrigals and an edition of motets. The last three were printed in the same year by Plantijn, which was rather unusual in those days. It was long thought that the editions of the Chansons françoyses and Madrigali were incomplete, but since the discovery of the missing quinta pars vocal books in Salamanca, Cornet's oeuvre is now complete and can be studied in its entirety.

By means of study, transcription and analysis, the project places Cornet's music in the whole of Franco-Flemish polyphony. The ultimate goal of the project is the publication of Cornet's Opera omnia. Such an edition will provide scholars and performers with a broader view of this composer and his music.

Sources:

• Stadtsbibliothek zu Berlin
• Royal Library of Brussels (KBR)
• Biblioteca Histórica, Universidad de Salamanca
• Microfilms from the collection of Alamire Foundation