Jacques Buus

Jacques Buus (also Jakob Buus, Jachet de Buus) (c. 1500late August, 1565) was a Franco-Flemish composer and organist of the Renaissance, and an early member of the Venetian School. He was one of the earliest composers of the ricercar, the predecessor to the fugue, and he was also a skilled composer of chansons. Life Buus was probably born in Ghent around 1500, though details of his early life, as is the case with most Renaissance composers, are scanty. Possibly he either studied or had his early career in France, and he maintained some connections there throughout his life. In 1538, he published his first chansons, in Lyon by the printer Jacques Moderne. Three years later, he went to Venice and auditioned for the post of second organist at St. Mark’s, winning the job and working alongside the existing organist, Giovanni Armonio. This was during the tenure of Adrian Willaert, who built the musical forces at St. Mark’s into one of the most impressive in Europe, second only in quality to the papal chapel in Rome. Buus stayed at St. Mark’s until 1550, when he departed for France, ostensibly because he was unable to pay his debts; however it has been suggested that he left because he ha