Jacob Regnart

Jacob Regnart (French: Jacques Regnart; 1540s – 16 October 1599) was a Flemish Renaissance composer. He spent most of his career in Austria and Bohemia, where he wrote both sacred and secular music. Biography Regnart was born at Douai, one of five brothers. His first documented appearance is in 1560 as a tenor at the Hofkapelle in Prague under Habsburg ruler Archduke Maximilian; Regnart claimed to have worked there since 1557. In 1564 his first works were published; he moved to Vienna and then Italy, where he studied from 1568 to 1570. The first fruits of these studies, Il primo libro delle canzone italiane, would be published in 1574, with many subsequent volumes to follow. In November 1570 he became an instructor for Maximilian’s chapel choir, and upon Maximilian’s death, Emperor Rudolf II hired him as a member of his Hofkapelle. It was in the 1570s that his volumes of three-voice Teutsche Lieder (German songs) appeared, printed by the Gerlachs of Nuremberg; they sold very well, were reprinted several times, and were arranged in tablature by several composers. In October 1579, he became vice-Kapellmeister, succeeding Alard du Gaucquier; the next year, Orlandus Lassus gave his nam