musica Dei donum
Concert reviews
"Salve Susato"
Utopia Ensemble
concert: May 14, 2026, Utrecht, Pieterskerk
Jacobus CLEMENS NON PAPA (c1510/15-c1555/56):
Een venus schoon;
Thomas CRECQUILLON (c1505-c1557):
Je suis aymé de la plus belle;
Mort m'a privé;
Nicolas GOMBERT (c1495-c1560):
Triste départ;
JOSQUIN DESPREZ (c1445/50-1521):
Mille regretz;
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594):
Madonna mia, pietà;
Perch'io veggio;
Jean LECOCQ (fl 1514):
Le bergier et la bergiere;
Tielman SUSATO c1510/15-after 1570):
Hoboecken dansa;
Les miens aussi (Résponce à Mille regretz de Josquin);
Mille regretz fera mon povre cueur;
Missa In illo tempore (Sanctus; Agnus Dei);
Mon amy;
O wrede fortune ghy;
Père éternel;
Ronde;
Salve quae roseo serto (Prima pars);
Si de present peine j'endure;
Wo bistu
Michaela Riener, mezzo-soprano;
Bart Uvyn, alto;
Adriaan De Koster, tenor;
Lieven Termont, baritone;
Guillaume Olry, bass;
with Jan Van Outryve, lute
Each lover of renaissance music knows Tielman Susato. He was one of the most important music printers of his time, and anthologies often include dances from one of the collections that he published. However, he also printed vocal music, both sacred and secular.
Susato was born in Soest, near Cologne in Germany, and moved to Antwerp in the 1520s; 1529 is the first year his presence can be documented. At the time the town was prosperous; it was one of the main economic centres of the Netherlands. It was a truly multicultural society: people from different trades and 'nationalities' were living and working there.
It was the ideal place for Susato to practise innovative printing techniques. He was not the first music printer: in the first decade of the 16th century the first book with polyphonic pieces came from the press in Antwerp. In the next decades several collections were published, with chansons on French texts, psalms in Dutch (Souterliedekens) and motets. In 1543 Susato founded a printing house, and four years later moved to a new property, where he not only printed music, but also sold musical instruments.
In the course of his career as a music printer, Susato produced 22 books of chansons, three of masses and 19 of motets. In addition he published eleven volumes under the title of Musyck Boexken (Little music book). The books with polyphonic Dutch songs were the first ever to be published, and constitute the largest collections of Dutch songs of this period. Susato was not only a productive publisher, but the quality of this printed editions was also exceptional.
Although Susato's collections of music are rich sources for today's performers of renaissance music, for most music lovers he is little more than a name. The man behind the music is little-known. What very few may know is that he was also active as a composer. And that is the aspect of his life that the Utopia Ensemble from Belgium wanted to highlight with a series of concerts, which it has given in several countries, and recently also in the Netherlands.
As a publisher Susato may have arranged some dances, but in the programme we were able to listen to sacred and secular works of his pen. Calling him an amateur would not do him any justice: from 1531 to 1549 he was one of the town's musicians and played several wind instruments, among them recorder and sackbut.
The programme opened and closed with pieces of his pen. The Utopia Ensemble started with Mille regrets fera mon povre cueur, one of his chansons. The title is recognizable as this is also the title of one of Josquin Desprez's most famous chansons. However, they have different texts. Josquin's chanson was performed later in the programme, followed by Susato's response: Les miens aussi. This was a common way to pay tribute to a piece by another composer.
In between were some chansons by two other representatives of the Franco-Flemish school: Thomas Crecquillon and Nicolas Gombert. These pieces were of a rather reflective and intimate character, as the titles indicate: Mort m'a privé (Crecquillon) and Triste départ (Gombert).
The pieces in the first half were all on French texts. The turning point was another piece by Susato himself: Salve quae roseo serto, which sings the praise of Antwerp: "Hail, you who are crowned with roses and surpass all other cities easily. Hail Antwerp, hail love, hail pleasure and delight, splendour and crown of your flourishing land, O blessed one, all hail! Hail, Antwerp, Europe's jewel, flower and delight." Its title inspired also the title of the concert, 'Salve Susato'. This piece was followed by a Sanctus from Susato's Missa in illo tempore. Whereas the secular pieces had been sung in the crossing of the Pieterskerk, for this work the singers moved to the choir.
After a lute piece, played by Jan Van Outryve, we heard another song in French, this time a dialogue, sung by mezzo-soprano and tenor with lute accompaniment. The composer, Jean Lecocq, is an unknown quantity, whose identity has not been established. It was followed by two Dutch songs, one by Susato himself, the other by Jacobus Clemens non Papa, whose oeuvre includes only a few songs in Dutch, but many Psalms on Dutch texts, the so-called Souterliedekens, also published by Susato.
Madrigals in Italian take a minor place in Susato's production; we heard two specimens by one of the most famous representatives of the Franco-Flemish school, Orlandus Lassus. They have the character known from many Italian madrigals of the 16th century, as they focus on love, but then especially the trials and tribulations of it. Madonna mia, pietà started with one voice to the lute, which was then joined by three others.
The concert ended with two further sacred works by Susato: the Agnus Dei from the above-mentioned mass, and Père éternel, a grace to be said after the meal. That was a fitting end of a most interesting and compelling programme, which may have broadened the horizon of the audience.
The Utopia Ensemble was founded in 2015, and has developed into one of the front-rank ensembles in the field of renaissance polyphony. One of its features is the attention for music that is not mainstream and is seldom performed, as the ensemble's discography shows. Its performances are always excellent, and that was the case here as well. The five singers have the perfect voices for this kind of repertoire, and they have a very good feeling for the character of the various pieces, giving each of it what it needs. They don't perform for the gallery, and their performances are sincere and without any gimmicks. They have a good collaboration with the lutenist Jan Van Outryve, who played some nice solo pieces between the vocal items.
The audience showed its appreciation with a long applause, which was well deserved. They may be inspired to look for discs of the Utopia Ensemble and hope to see and hear it again soon.
Johan van Veen (© 2026)