Petrus Hailland

Petrus Hailland, also known as Hayland or Heylanus, was a singer and composer active in Austria during the second half of the sixteenth century, at the court of Archduke Maximilian. For a long time it was thought that Hailland and Heylanus were the same person, a hypothesis now confirmed, which allows his career to be brought together in a single profile.

He first appears in the records of Maximilian's court in 1554 as second alto, with a monthly stipend of ten florins. That sum rose to twelve when Maximilian was elected emperor in 1564. In September 1568 he left the court for a brief period, taking the balance of his salary and an annual allowance of 80 florins. The reason is not known for certain, although the amount suggests that he was held in high esteem. He returned to his former post before 1 December 1569, but in November 1570 he left for good.

His name also appears in numerous extraordinary payments, among them one in 1566 for compositions and a gift of 300 florins in 1568, an exceptionally high figure. His last documented reference is dated 15 December 1571. Eight motets for three and five voices survive, published in RISM collections of 1556, 1564, 1567 and 1569, as well as a chanson for four voices from 1554.