The Duke of Alva's entry into Brussels for brass quintet
by Peter Benoit
Brass Quintet - Digital Sheet Music

The Duke of Alva's entry into Brussels from The Pacification of Ghent,  duration : 2 min

music : Peter Benoit

arr. : Marc Goris

Peter Benoit composed music based on the historical drama with the title 'De Pacificatie van Gent' by Emiel Van Goethem. Because of the combination of drama and music he defined the piece as a lyrical drama. He completed The Pacification of Ghent on 11 July 1876, the world premiere happening on 3 September at the Ghent Municipal Theatre.

On 8 November 1576 a treaty was proclaimed from the balcony of the city hall in Ghent between the different regions of the southern and the northern Netherlands. This "Pacification of Ghent" occurred after the revolt against the Spanish occupation of Philip the Second and was the great ideal of William of Orange: he was striving for unity in the seventeen provinces in the Netherlands as well as for freedom of religion. Furthermore the treaty stipulated that the Spanish troops were to be removed from the Netherlands. Although this treaty was observed for only three years, the Pacification was embellished with a mythical aura in the Flanders of the 19th century.

King Philip II sent the Duke of Alva to Brussels on 22 August 1567, at the head of a powerful army. On arrival, Alva replaced Margaret of Parma, the sister of the Spanish king, as head of the civil jurisdiction. He decided that the local nobility was in open rebellion against the king and supported the new Protestant teachings, heresy in his view.

A few days later, on 5 September 1567, Alva established the "Council of Troubles", popularly known in the Netherlands as the "Court of Blood," to prosecute those responsible for the riots of 1566, especially those who were deemed heretics. Alba also targeted the local Catholic nobility, who favoured dialogue and opposed outside intervention. Two of the three heads of the Flemish nobility, the Count of Egmont, a Catholic General for Philip II, who had led the cavalry that defeated the French at the Battle of San Quentin, and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn, were arrested. The court sentenced both counts to death. The Major of Antwerpen, Anthony van Stralen, Lord of Merksem and Jan van Casembroot were other famous victims of the bloody repression, along with a large group of other "heretics". The condemned persons were executed on 5 June 1568 in the Town Hall Square in Brussels. Alva had little confidence in Flemish justice, which he perceived as sympathetic to the defendants, and witnessed the executions in person.