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The Music of Johannes Fresneau
A concert of Dutch Baroque lute music at the 2021 Boston Early Music Festival. You can view samplings from the online Fringe Festival.
About the Program
This performance is of the works of Johannes Fresneau, who was recently discovered by Dutch Scholar Jan Burgers. Although the iconographic sources of paintings of lutes in 17th Century Netherlands are widespread, until now, there had been no music of Dutch baroque lute surviving. Therefore, this music is not only representing a new composer, but a new genre — Dutch baroque lute music. Both sublime and beautiful, this music is of high quality and unique.
About Johannes Fresneau
Fresneau was born around 1615 in France, probably in Selles-en-Berry, the present-day Selles-sur-Cher. Early in 1637 he arrived in Holland, together with a probable relative named Nicolas Frenau. For a while they acted as companions to two Swedish noblemen, Claes Stiernsköld and Axel Akesson, who had recently left Paris and on 26 January matriculated at Leiden University. After the Swedish nobles left Leiden, Fresneau evidently stayed in town, where he made a living as a lutenist, the profession with which he is always identified in documents from the Leiden years.
Fresneau integrated successfully into society, marrying a young woman from a well-to-do family on 30 March 1644. She was Anna (Annetgen) Asseling, daughter of Andries Asseling, who for almost half a century was the town’s most prominent maker of lutes, citterns, viols, and violins. In November 1645 a daughter was born, Maria, who would remain the couple’s only child. Family life was tragically disrupted in the summer of 1661 with the death of Anna, while Maria died in July 1664, a victim of the most recent outbreak of the Plague in Leiden. Johannes Fresneau himself lived until the beginning of 1670. For some time his health had been declining, and on 25 November 1669 he called in a notary, who found the ailing lutenist sitting in a chair near the fire, ready to dictate his last will and testament. In it, sums were bequeathed to various friends and his brother-in-law Hendrik Asseling, but most of his earthly goods were left to his remaining family in France: his sisters Catharina, Catharina Blanche and Johanna were appointed as his universal heirs. On 18 January 1670, Fresneau, even more ill and now receiving the notary while lying in bed, revised some clauses in his testament. He died a few days later; his burial was recorded on 10 February.
Some further details can be gleaned from documents in the Leiden archives. Fresneau probably arrived in Holland as a Roman Catholic, as his daughter was baptized in a Catholic church, although his wife Anna was from a Calvinist family. Later in life Fresneau and Maria seem to have converted to the Reformed faith, as both were buried in the Calvinist Pieterskerk. In a few French documents, Fresneau is seen with the title “esquier” and is once even identified as a “noble homme,” indicating that he belonged to the (lower) nobility. However, the fact that he took up a profession as a lutenist is a sure sign that his social status was not particularly elevated. His economic position was certainly rather modest. After his death an inventory of his goods and chattels was drawn up, and apart from the usual furniture and utensils, he owned five paintings, two suits, and several pairs of trousers. In addition, the inventory mentions fifty books (unfortunately, no titles are given), a box with some music books, and a number of musical instruments, which are listed as “12 lutes, good and bad ones, 2 theorbos, 2 basses, a guitar, 2 citterns, [and] 2 old instruments.” Fresneau may also have been active as an instrument maker. In a Haarlem newspaper of 7 October 1670 is an announcement of a sale to be held on October 24 at the house of L. de Haes in Leiden, featuring “a batch of exquisite music books and many rare instruments, such as lutes, theorbos, viols and guitars, all very beautiful, some of them without equal, made and left behind by I. Frenout [sic], in his life an artful lutenist in Leiden.”
As a lutenist, Fresneau probably taught the children of the Leiden burghers and also the young men who came from all over Europe to study at Leiden University. Leiden lutenists were by tradition closely associated with this institution; Joachim van den Hove, who lived and worked in Leiden from 1592 to 1616, is the best-known example. There is a reason for this: the student population guaranteed a steady stream of pupils eager to have lute lessons. Some of Fresneau’s foreign pupils are known. In 1648, a Polish nobleman named Paulus Olteroski is recorded as having owed him 150 florins for lute lessons; this man is probably the same person as Paulus Oltarzewski, who matriculated at the university in January 1642. Another student from the east presumably taking lessons from Fresneau was one Monsieur Pollcenis to whom he dedicated the piece “Adieu” (track 21 in the present recording). He was most likely the same individual as Georgius a Polsniz, a Polish knight from Silesia who registered as a student at the university on 27 September 1659. On 7 February 1664 Fresneau himself matriculated honoris ergo inscriptus, that is, “because of his merits,” meaning he was admitted without charge. Fresneau probably did not actually embark upon a course of study; like many others, he had himself registered at the university in order to enjoy a number of privileges, such as exemption from the beer and wine tax.
This is an excerpt from the disc liner notes to the recording written by Dutch Scholar Jan Burgers.
About Edward Martin
Edward Martin (renaissance and baroque lute and vihuela) has studied with Toyohiko Satoh, and Hopkinson Smith. He previously held the position of Adjunct Professor of Lute at the College of Saint Scholastica. Martin played in the First International Lute Competition in Toronto. Internationally, Martin has performed in Spain, Scotland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He has frequently been a guest lecturer teacher, and performer at the biannual summer seminar of the Lute Society of America and was a member of its Board of Directors for twelve years. He has recorded extensively for the Magnatune and Gamut Music labels with critical acclaim.