Hubert Waelrant

Hubert Waelrant or Hubertus Waelrant (last name also spelled Waelrand and Latinised name: Hubertus Waelrandus) ( – 19 November 1595) was a Flemish composer, singer, teacher, music editor, bookseller, printer and publisher active in 16th century Antwerp. He was a member of the generation of the Franco-Flemish School of composers who were contemporaries of Palestrina. Unlike famous composers of his time he mostly worked in northern Europe. His style is a transition between that of Nicolas Gombert and the mature Orlande de Lassus. His compositions were modern in the use of chromaticism and dissonance.

Life Details of Waelrant's roots are uncertain, but he may have been one of a family of lawyers from Antwerp, the city in which he spent most of his life. Since some of his children were also lawyers it is seen as likely that he was related to this family.

As a young man he may have studied in Italy, a common destination for a talented singer and composer from the Netherlands in the 16th century. While there is no documentary evidence for a trip to Italy, Waelrant maintained contact with a wealthy patron there, and his madrigals the influence of some of the more progressive Italian composers of his time. The artist married at least three times: to Maria Loochenborch (1547), to Anna Ablyt (or Van Covelen) (28 July 1564) and to Johanna Cleerhaghen on 3 May 1581. He may have been married a fourth time to Maeyken Corecopers on 23 July 1551 (1995, p. 53). He had 10 children with his first wife. Three of his sons, called Raymond, Peter and Paul became organists.

According to his pupil Frans Sweerts (Franciscus Sweertius), writing in Athenae belgicae (1628), he was an innovator of solmization for which he devised two new methods. The composer first added si to the six syllables of the hexacord and then repeated ut to make a full octave. He then created a new method with these new syllables. The second invention involved the creation of an octave using eight syllables with new names all different from the existing names of notes. The new names are: BO, CE, DI, Ga, LO, MA, and NI. The innovations were intended to address the problems inherent to the existing Guidonian system which used three overlapping hexacords and the difficulties of mutation.

He began his activities as a publisher in the early 1550s in partnership with Jan de Laet. Waelrant acted as the publisher and bookseller and handled the financial and sales aspects of the operation while de Laet took care of everything to do with the printing. Waelrant may also have become involved occasionally with the printing side of the enterprise as he called himself a 'typographus' in two books. The printing and publishing partnership eventually produced 16 publications. This work is now lost.