Josquin des prez brief biography of williams

According to Matthews and Merkley, "des Prez" was a nickname. He remained there at least until One of Josquin's early motets, Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabosuggests a direct connection with Louis XIwho was king during this time. The period of to has puzzled biographers: some contradictory evidence exists, suggesting either that Josquin was still in France, or was already in the service of the Sforza family, specifically with Ascanio Sforza, who had been banished from Milan and resided temporarily in Ferrara or Naples.

Residence in Ferrara in the early s could explain the Missa Hercules dux Ferrariaecomposed for Ercole d'Este, but which stylistically does not fit with the usual date of —4 when Josquin was known to be in Ferrara. Alternatively it has been suggested that Josquin spent some of that time in Hungary, based on a mid 16th century Roman document describing the Hungarian court in those years, and including Josquin as one of the musicians present.

In either or Josquin is known to have been in the service of the Sforza family in Milan. While in their employ, he made one or more trips to Rome, and possibly also to Paris; while in Milan he made the acquaintance of Franchinus Gaffuriuswho was maestro di cappella of the cathedral there. He was in Milan again inafter a possible period of travel; but he left that year.

He may have gone there as part of a singer exchange with Gaspar van Weerbekewho went back to Milan at the same time. Since it was traditional for singers to carve their names into the walls, and hundreds of names were inscribed there during the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries, it is considered highly likely that the graffiti is by Josquin — and if so, it would be his only surviving autograph.

Josquin's mature style evolved during this period; as in Milan he had absorbed the influence of light Italian secular music, in Rome he refined his techniques of sacred music. Several of his motets have been dated to the years he spent at the papal chapel. Around Josquin most likely re-entered the service of the Sforza family, on the evidence of a pair of letters between the Gonzaga and Sforza families.

Around this time Josquin most likely returned to France, although documented details of his career around the turn of the century are lacking. Prior to departing Italy he most likely wrote one of his most famous secular compositions, the frottola El grilloas well as In te Domine speravi "I have placed my hope in you, Lord"based on Psalm The latter composition may have been a veiled reference to the religious reformer Girolamo Savonarolawho had been burned at the stake in Florence inand for whom Josquin seems to have had a special reverence; the text was the monk's favorite psalm, a meditation on which he left incomplete in prison prior to his execution.

Some of Josquin's compositions, such as the instrumental Vive le royhave been tentatively dated to the period around when he was in France. A motet, Memor esto verbi tui servo tuo "Remember thy promise unto thy servant"was, according to Heinrich Glarean writing in the Dodecachordon ofcomposed as a gentle reminder to the king to keep his promise of a benefice to Josquin, which he had forgotten to keep.

According to Glarean's story, it worked: the court applauded, and the king gave Josquin his benefice. Upon receiving it, Josquin reportedly wrote a motet on the text Benefecisti servo tuo, Domine "Lord, thou hast dealt graciously with thy servant" to show his gratitude to the king. One of the rare mentions of Josquin's personality survives from this time.

Prior to hiring Josquin, one of Duke Ercole's assistants recommended that he hire Heinrich Isaac instead, since Isaac was easier to get along with, more companionable, was more willing to compose on demand, and would cost significantly less ducats vs. Ercole, however, chose Josquin. While in Ferrara, Josquin wrote some of his most famous compositions, including the austere, Savonarola -influenced Miserere[ 18 ] which became one of the most widely-distributed motets of the 16th century; the utterly contrasting, virtuoso motet Virgo salutiferi ; [ 19 ] and possibly the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariaewhich is written on a cantus firmus derived from the musical letters in the Duke's name, a technique known as soggetto cavato.

Josquin did not stay in Ferrara long. An outbreak of the plague in the summer of prompted the evacuation of the Duke and his family, as well as two thirds of the citizens, and Josquin left by April of the next year, possibly also to escape the plague. His replacement, Jacob Obrechtdied of the plague in the summer of[ 13 ] to be replaced by Antoine Brumel inwho stayed until the disbanding of the chapel in During the last two decades of his life, Josquin's fame spread abroad along with his music.

The newly-developed technology of printing made wide dissemination of his music possible, and Josquin was the favorite of the first printers: one of Petrucci 's first publications, and the earliest surviving print of music by a single composer, was a book of Josquin's masses which he printed in Venice in This publication was successful enough that Petrucci published two further volumes of Josquin's masses, in andand reissued them several times.

Pater noster may have been his last work. Josquin lived during a transitional stage in music history. Musical styles were changing rapidly, in part due to the movement of musicians between different regions of Europe. The sinuous musical lines of the Ockeghem generation, the contrapuntal complexity of the Netherlanders, and the homophonic textures of the Italian lauda and secular music began to merge into a unified style; indeed Josquin was to be the leading figure in this musical process, which eventually resulted in the formation of an josquin des prez brief biography of williams musical language, of which the most famous composers included Palestrinaand Lassus.

Since the s, Josquin's music has become central to the repertoire of many early music vocal ensembles and has been increasingly featured in recordings, with those by the Hilliard EnsembleOrlando Consortand A Sei Voci recommended by critics in the Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die survey. See Fallowspp. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Composer of the Renaissance c. Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Josquin disambiguation and Desprez disambiguation. Movements and schools. Major figures. Major forms. Anthem Chanson Madrigal Mass Motet.

Name [ edit ]. Life [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Birth and background [ edit ]. Youth [ edit ]. Early career [ edit ]. Italy and travels [ edit ]. Milan and elsewhere [ edit ]. Rome [ edit ]. France [ edit ]. Ferrara [ edit ]. Music [ edit ]. See also: List of compositions by Josquin des Prez. Masses [ edit ]. Canonic masses [ edit ].

Cantus firmus masses [ edit ]. Paraphrase masses [ edit ]. Parody masses [ edit ].

Josquin des prez brief biography of williams: Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez

Solmization mass [ edit ]. Motets [ edit ]. Secular music [ edit ]. El grillo. Problems playing this file? See media help. Portraits [ edit ]. Left The Portrait of a Musician by Leonardo da Vincimid s, in which Josquin has been tentatively proposed as the sitter Right Early 16th-century painting attributed to Filippo Mazzolawith a man holding the canon by Josquin.

Legacy [ edit ]. Influence [ edit ]. Reputation [ edit ].

Josquin des prez brief biography of williams: Josquin was thus by

Commendation, decline and reconsideration [ edit ]. Skepticism and revision [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. It remains uncertain exactly when he died, and whether the composer was an orphan for much of his youth. Culturally and legally Josquin was a Frenchman". See Finscherpp. See this image for an example. Virgo serena is among Josquin's most frequently analyzed and celebrated works.

It is now thought that this refers to the composer Johannes de Stokem instead, and thus the earliest record of Josquin's employment in the papal choir is from Its structure has been used to date it to both the s and the early s, depending on whether the rigidity of the tenor was interpreted as a sign of immaturity or mastery. The attribution to Busnois, which exists in a single late source, is not generally accepted.

Citations [ edit ]. Sources [ edit ]. Bridgman, Nanie Ars Nova and the Renaissance — The New Oxford History of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN Burkholder, J. A History of Western Music 9th ed.

Josquin des prez brief biography of williams: This book offers factual information on

New York: W. Charles, Sydney R. Josquin des Prez: A Guide to Research. New York and London: Garland Publishing. Elders, Willem, ed. New Josquin Edition30 vols. Utrecht: Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, —. Elders, William Leuven: Leuven University Press. Fallows, David In Haggh, Barbara ed. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. Fallows, David [].

Josquin 2nd ed. Gleason, Harold ; Becker, Warren Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Music Literature Outline Series 3rd ed. Bloomington: Frangipani Press.

Josquin des prez brief biography of williams: He was the most varied in

Haggh, Barbara Smijers in Country: France. Contact About Privacy. Angelo Branduardi. Roque Cordero. He may have gone there as part of a singer exchange with Gaspar van Weerbeke, who went back to Milan at the same time. Since it was traditional for singers to carve their names into the walls, and hundreds of names were inscribed there during the period from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, it is considered highly likely that the graffiti is by Josquin — and if so, it would be his only surviving autograph.

Josquin's mature style evolved during this period; as in Milan he had absorbed the influence of light Italian secular music, in Rome he refined his techniques of sacred music. Several of his motets have been dated to the years he spent at the papal chapel. AroundJosquin most likely re-entered the service of the Sforza family, on the evidence of a pair of letters between the Gonzaga and Sforza families.

Around this time Josquin most likely returned to France, although documented details of his career around the turn of the century are lacking. Prior to departing Italy he most likely wrote one of his most famous secular compositions, the frottola El grilloas well as In te Domine speravi, based on Psalm The latter composition may have been a veiled reference to the religious reformer Girolamo Savonarolawho had been burned at the stake in Florence inand for whom Josquin seems to have had a special reverence; the text was the monk's favorite psalm, a meditation on which he left incomplete in prison prior to his execution.

Some of Josquin's compositions, such as the instrumental Vive le roy, have been tentatively dated to the period around when he was in France. A motet, Memor esto verbi tui servo tuo "Remember your promise to your servant"was, according to Heinrich Glarean, writing in the Dodecachordon ofcomposed as a gentle reminder to the king to keep his promise of a benefice to Josquin, which he had forgotten to keep.

According to Glarean's story, it worked: The court applauded, and the king gave Josquin his benefice. One of the rare mentions of Josquin's personality survives from this time. Prior to hiring Josquin, one of Duke Ercole's assistants recommended that he hire Heinrich Isaac instead, since Isaac was easier to get along with, more companionable, was more willing to compose on demand, and would cost less.

Ercole, however, chose Josquin. While in Ferrara, Josquin wrote some of his most famous compositions, including the austere, Savonarola -influenced [17] Miserere, which became one of the most widely-distributed motets of the 16th century; the utterly contrasting, virtuoso motet Virgo Salutiferi; [18] and possibly the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae, which is written on a cantus firmus derived from the musical letters in the Duke's name, a technique known as soggetto cavato.

Josquin did not stay in Ferrara long. An outbreak of the plague in the summer of prompted the evacuation of the Duke and his family, as well as two thirds of the citizens, and Josquin left by April of the next year, possibly also to escape the plague. His replacement, Jacob Obrechtdied of the plague in the summer of[19] to be replaced by Antoine Brumel inwho stayed until the disbanding of the chapel in During the last two decades of his life, Josquin's fame spread abroad along with his music.

The newly-developed technology of printing made wide dissemination of his music possible, and Josquin was the favorite of the first printers: One of Petrucci's first publications, and the earliest surviving complete collections of music by a single composer, was a book of Josquin's masses which he printed in Venice in