Diary of a Hanseatic merchant

“I’m Hendrik Pieterszoon Schuyt, but just call me Dirk. I was born in 1490. As a child I wanted to be part of something bigger, a circle of friends, an alliance.”

This is how the diary of Hanzekoopman Hendrick Pieterszoon Schuyt begins, written by artistic director and countertenor Sytse Buwalda and actor Alfred van den Heuvel. Using this fictional diary, the Dutch Bach Consort brings history back to life. Old and contemporary music connect the past with the present. An exciting story about betrayal, love affairs, camaraderie and blood spatter in which the music closely follows the story. Beautiful music, some pieces of which have never been performed in the Netherlands!

Completely in line with the Hanseatic ideology, the Dutch Bach Consort commissioned tenor and composer William Knight to compose a piece of music based on the text of a folk song from the 16th century that could once be heard in the streets of Zwolle, Harderwijk, Deventer, for example. and Doesburg. We connect the past with the present through music.

Let yourself be carried away by ‘Hanzestroom’. A unique music performance that fortunately also provides a lot of laughter. Leave that to Hendrick Pieterszoon Schuyt!

“A little later I discovered that my birthplace was part of a great union: the Hanseatic League! Brilliant concept! A brotherhood of cities, beyond language and national borders, that support and protect each other. I sailed from Zwolle to Rostock and beyond, brought cloth and wood and rye from London to Novgorod and returned with fish and skins and iron! I smelled unfamiliar scents and forged forever friendships. I was happy!”

H.P. Schuyt