Utendal, Alexander (EN)

Utendal, Uttendal, Utenthal, Alexander, *between 1543 and 1545, †7 May 1581 Innsbruck, a Flemish composer who worked mainly in Tyrol. He was associated with the Habsburg courts; until 1558, he studied and sang as a boy chorister in Mary of Hungary’s choir, in the Netherlands and in Spain (the fact that in 1558 he had not yet undergone puberty suggests his year of birth); in 1564, he was accepted as an alto at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II, where he worked first in Prague and then, from 1566 until the end of his life, in Innsbruck, at least from 1572 as deputy Kapellmeister.

Utendal was a staunch supporter of the then-new 12-modi system, a sentiment he expressed not only in his own work, where he used deviations from its principles to illustrate and express the text, but also in his extensive introduction to the 1570 print. He also “polemicised” with the works of eminent contemporaries. The penitential psalms were a response to a similar collection by Orlando di Lasso, known to Utendal even before its publication. Orlando added an eighth piece to the seven psalms, thus illustrating the eight-modi system in the resulting whole. Utendal added five orations of his own individual compositions to the same psalm texts, presenting the 12-modi system in 12 multi-part compositions. Moreover, Utendal frequently set texts used by Orlando in his motets, sometimes, as in the two feast motets, unknown from the works of other composers. The arrangement, selection of texts, and number of voices in Book 2 clearly allude to the master’s collection (from 1566), whose achievements in the field of textual expression and rendition he drew upon abundantly and creatively. In the motet Adesto dolori meo, Utendal sought to “surpass” Giaches de Wert’s analogous work by chromatising the same imitated theme to a greater extent. Utendal’s motets include works based on cantus firmus or ostinato, as well as cavato delle parole, and in the Magnificatas (in which he set only the even verses), in addition to the cantus firmus, also canon. However, free imitation and free polyphony interspersed with chordal sections predominate; divisions of six- and eight-voice pieces into smaller, dialogue-oriented ensembles are also common. The masses are parody-type pieces, based on Orlando’s motet and chanson, as well as his own motet and lied. The arrangement of Utendal’s collection of songs is well-thought-out. The print contains 13 lieder and 13 chansons; each group contains four-voice pieces (6 and 5 songs), five-voice pieces (6 and 7), and the final group, eight- and six-voice pieces, respectively. In the lieder, the composer often refers to old texts and melodies, but departs from the tenor song type. In both groups, there are many two- to five-part pieces, and the texture is varied, except for two stanzaic and homorhythmic chansons (called villanelles); the songs are characterised by textual illustration and expression typical of the Italian madrigal, which also reflects Orlando’s influence.

Literature: P. Cohen Die Nürnberger Musikdrucker im 16. Jahrhundert, Erlangen 1927; W. Senn Musik und Theater am Hof zu Innsbruck, Innsbruck 1954; W. Senn Innsbrucker Hofmusik, “Österreichische Musikzeitschrift” XXV, 1970; K.F. Armstrong Musical Settings of the Penitential Psalm Cycle 1560–1620, dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana, 1974; I. Bossuyt Die „Psalmi Poenitentiales” (1570) des Alexander Utendal. Ein künst-lerisches Gegenstück der Busspsalmen von Orlandus Lassus und eine praktische Anwendung von Glareans Theorie der zwölf Modi, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” XXXVIII, 1981; I. Bossuyt Alexander Utendal i jego twórczość, “Muzyka” XXVII, 1982 Nos 3–4; I. Bossuyt De componist Alexander Utendal (ca. 1543/1545–1581), Brussels 1983; S. Schulze Die Tonarten in Lassos „Busspsalmen”. Mit einem Vergleich von Alexander Utendals und Jacob Reiners „Busspsalmen,” Neuhausen 1984; N. Meeùs Notations modales au seizième siècle, in: Recevez Ce Mien Petit Labeur. Studies in Renaissance Music in Honour of Ignace Bossuyt, ed. M. Delaere and P. Bergé, Leuven 2008.