A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Verdonck, Cornelius

by James Russell Milne

VERDONCK, Cornelius, born at Turnhout in Belgium in 1563, belongs to the later school of Flemish composers, influenced from Italy, as Italy had earlier been influenced from Flanders. He lived chiefly at Antwerp, in the service of private patrons, and died there July 4, 1625. As a musician, he must have been highly appreciated by his contemporaries, as the following epitaph, inscribed to his memory in the Carmelite Church at Antwerp shows; a copy of which we owe to the obliging kindness of M. Goovaerts, keeper of the Public Archives at Brussels:—

D. O. M. S.
SISTE GRADUM VIATOR
UT PERLEGAS QUAM OB REM HIC LAPIS LITTERATUS SIET
MUSICORUM DELICIAE
CORNELIUS VERDONCKIUS
TURNHOLTANUS HOC CIPPO EHEU! CLAUSUS
PERPETUUM SILET
QUI DUM VIXIT
VOCE ET ARTE MUSICA
MORTEM SURDA NI ESSET FLEXISSET
QUAM DUM FRUSTRA DEMULCET
COELI CHORIS VOCEM AETERNAM SACRATURUS
ABIT
IV NON. JUL. ANNO MDCXXV AETAT. LXII
AT TU LECTOR BENE PRECARE ET VALE
CLIENTI SUO MOESTUS PONEBAT
DE CORDES.

His compositions consist chiefly of madrigals for four, six, and up to nine voices, many of which appear in the miscellaneous collections published at Antwerp by Hubert Waelrant and Peter Phalese between 1585 and 1610. For details, see Goovaerts' 'Histoire et Bibliographic de la Typographic Musicale dans les Pays-Bas'; also Eitner's 'Bibliographie der Sammelwerke.' One of his madrigals was received into Young's English collection entitled 'Musica Transalpina,' published in London, 1588. A few sacred compositions also appear among the published works of Verdonck. An Ave Maria of his for 4 voices is printed in the Ratisbon 'Musica Divina,' Annus, ii. Liber ii, 1874.

[ J. R. M. ]