Gezangen of het vrolyk gezelschap der negen zanggodinnen - The Songs of Jan van Elsland
Summary
Most of the Dutch seventeenth and eighteenth century songbooks contain no music, since they needed to be inexpensive. Being rare, songbooks with music are important for researching tunes of songs of which only texts are left. Jan van Elsland’s 'Gezangen. Of het vrolyk gezelschap der negen zanggodinnen' does not only include musical notes, but also displays a broad collection of profane songs. New tunes stand next to old, popular ones. The texts mirror joy and sorrow of Haarlem’s citizens in the eighteenth century.