Jacob van Eyck

As I mentioned in my last post, I was impressed by the Van Eyck piece for solo recorder. So, as one does in Bologna, I walked into the Ut Orpheus music shop today and asked whether the sheet music might be available. Ut Orpheus has a very strong selection of "early music," and they have the entire 143 pieces of van Eyck solo recorder music in three volumes. I bought volume 1, which has the piece "Amarilli mia Bella," based on the famous (at least to singers) aria of that name by Caccini.

Here's the thing: Jacob van Eyck (died in 1657) was a "chime master," an organist, and a flute player. He was also blind, and someone else wrote down the 143 pieces as he played them, or improvised them. van Eyck must have had quite a memory, and his scribe must have been pretty skillful, too.

The 1984 edition of "Der Fluyten Lust-hof" by Amadeus Verlag has a lot of wonderful notes and song texts, since a lot of the pieces are based on popular songs. It's a treasure trove of lively tunes, some psalms, and a few fantasias.