Renaissance on Music Theory Print

Adam Jarzębski

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Adam Jarzębski (c. 1590 in Warka – 1648/49 in Warsaw) was an early Baroque Polish composer, violinist, poet, and writer. His main extant work Canzoni e concerti (copied in 1627) is not only one of the most important collections of early baroque instrumental ensemble music in Europe but also stands as a unique historical landmark as containing the first purely instrumental compositions to bear the designation concerto. The first documented mention of Jarzębski was in 1612, when he became a member of the chapel of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg in Berlin. After he had stayed in Italy for a year (1615–16), he became a member of the royal musical establishment, first at the court of Sigismund III Vasa and then of Władysław IV. He was held in great esteem by the royal court and was very popular among the members of the patriciate of Warsaw. In 1635 he managed the construction of the royal palace at Ujazdów. In 1643 he published a literary work Gościniec, albo krótkie opisanie Warszawy (The Main Road, or a Short Description of Warsaw) describing the customs and the musical life of the town. He died in Warsaw in 1649. He was an outstanding figure in the history of the Polish cultu

Adam of Fulda

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Adam of Fulda (c. 1445 – 1505) was a German composer and music theorist of the second half of the 15th century. He was born in Fulda and died in Wittenberg. In Heinrich Glarean’s Dodecachordon he is described as Francum Germanum, i.e., of German origin. Adam of Fulda calls himself at times musicus ducalis (musician of the Court). He also mentions Guillaume Dufay (1397 - 1474) as his contemporary. Biography Adam of Fulda was born approximately 1445. He was educated at the Benedictine Monastery at Vornbach Abbey, where he wrote his De musica. After leaving the monastery, he was a lecturer at the Wittenberg University in Torgau, where he was one of the scholars involved with Renaissance humanism. From 1490 he was choir director. Writings Three writings of his are known. De musica is a four-part manuscript written in Strasbourg, dated 4 November 1490. It deals in 7 chapters with an explication, invention and praise of music; in 21 chapters with the human hand, the chant, the voice, the clefs, the mutation and the keys; in 13 chapters with mensural music and in 8 chapters with proportions and consonances. He wrote “Ein ser andechtig Cristenlich Buchleī aus hailigē schrifften vnd Lerern

Adrian Batten

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Adrian Batten (c. 1591 – c. 1637) was an English organist and Anglican church composer. He was active during an important period of English church music, between the Reformation and the English Civil War in the 1640s. During this period the liturgical music of the first generations of Anglicans began to diverge significantly from music on the continent. Among the genres developed during this period by Batten and other Anglican composers was the ‘verse anthem’, in which sections alternate between the full choir and soloists, underlain and unified by an independent organ accompaniment. Early life Batten was born in Salisbury, and was a chorister and subsequently an organ scholar at Winchester Cathedral, where he studied under John Holmes. (The date of his birth is uncertain, but since Holmes, Batten’s organ instructor, left that post in 1602 when his chorister pupil would have been about twelve years of age, Batten must have been born in about 1590. Most sources give the year as 1591.) Batten remained with the cathedral choir after his voice had changed, as evidenced by graffiti carved into the wall of Bishop Gardiner’s chantry that reads “Adrian Battin: 1608”. Career In 1614, Batten

Adrian Le Roy

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Adrian Le Roy (c.1520–1598) was an influential French music publisher, lutenist, mandore player, guitarist, composer and music educator. Life Le Roy was born in the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer in northern France to a wealthy family. Very little is known about his formative years, but he was probably a chorister and studied the lute, guitar and cittern with various teachers. He became an accomplished musician and entered the service of, first, Claude de Clermont, then, Jacques II (Baron de Semblançay and Viscount of Tours), both members of the aristocracy who had influence at court. In 1546 he met the publisher Jean de Brouilly in Paris and married his daughter Denise de Brouilly. Le Roy and his cousin Robert Ballard (c.1525–1588) founded the printing firm “Le Roy & Ballard”, and in August 1551 obtained a royal privilege from Henry II to print music. The music movable type was supplied by Guillaume Le Bé. In February 1553, the company was awarded the title of “Imprimeur du Roi en musique” (previously held by Pierre Attaignant). This office, which was renewed by successive monarchs, gave the company legal protection against competitors and commercially valuable prestige. Royal patronag

Adrian Willaert

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Adrian Willaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562) was a Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers who moved to Italy and transplanted the polyphonic Franco-Flemish style there. Life He was born at Rumbeke near Roeselare or Bruges. According to his student, the renowned 16th century music theorist Gioseffo Zarlino, Willaert went to Paris first to study law, but instead decided to study music. In Paris he met Jean Mouton, the principal composer of the French royal chapel and stylistic compatriot of Josquin des Prez, and studied with him. Sometime around 1515 Willaert first went to Rome. An anecdote survives that indicates the musical ability of the young composer: Willaert was surprised to discover the choir of the papal chapel singing one of his own compositions, most likely the six-part motet Verbum bonum et suave, and even more surprised to learn that they thought it had been written by the much more famous composer Josquin. When he informed the singers of their error – that he was in fact the composer – they refused to sing it again.

Adriana Basile

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Adriana Basile (baptized 21 December 1586 – after c. 1642) was an Italian composer, musician, poet, and singer of the Baroque period. Life She was born and died in Naples. From 1610, she worked for the Gonzagas in Mantua. Members of her family also worked for the court, including her brothers, Giambattista Basile, a poet, Lelio Basile, a composer, and her sisters, Margherita and Vittoria, who were both singers. Her husband, Mutio Baroni, and her three children, her son Camillo, and two daughters, Leonora and Caterina were also at the court. Leonora and Caterina were both successful singers in their own right. Claudio Monteverdi declared that Basile was a more talented singer than Francesca Caccini, who was at that time at the Medici court. Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga awarded Basile a barony in the Monferrato, and she was also well regarded by Vincenzo’s sons Francesco and Ferdinando. While still working for the Mantuan court, she travelled to Florence, Rome, Naples, and Modena. She performed in Alessandro Guarini’s Licori, ovvero L’incanto d’amore. In 1626 she retired from the service of the Gonzagas, and moved to Naples and later Rome. None of Basile’s music survives, but she is known t

Adriano Banchieri

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Adriano Banchieri (Bologna, 3 September 1568 – Bologna, 1634) was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. Biography He was born and died in Bologna (then in the Papal States). In 1587 he became a monk of the Benedictine order, taking his vows in 1590, and changing his name to Adriano (from Tommaso). One of his teachers at the monastery was Gioseffo Guami, who had a strong influence on his style. Like Orazio Vecchi he was interested in converting the madrigal to dramatic purposes. (1613), while systematizing the legitimate use of the monodic art of figured bass. Banchieri’s last publication was the Trattenimenti da villa of 1630. According to Martha Farahat he wrote five madrigal comedies between 1598 and 1628 with “plot and character development”, starting with La pazzia senile of 1598, the last of them La saviezza giovenile. Works Secular vocal works * Primo libro di Madrigali a 4 voci (Milano, 1597) * 6 Libri di canzonette a 3 voci ** I Libro: (Venezia, 1597) ** II Libro: (Venezia, 1598) ** III Libro: (Milano, 1600) ** IV Libro: (Venezia, 1601) ** V Libro: Op.15 (Milano

Adrianus Petit Coclico

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Adrianus Petit Coclico (1499 in Flanders – after September 1562 in Copenhagen) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. Biography Like many Renaissance composers, very little is known about Coclico’s early life. He was raised Catholic but became a Protestant and left Flanders for Germany. The earliest known reference to him in official documents is at Wittenberg University in 1545, and though he later claimed to have been a pupil of Josquin des Prez and to have worked for Henry VIII, the French royal court, and the Pope, scholarship has not been able to substantiate any of these claims. In 1546, Coclico applied for a position as chair of music at Wittenberg, composing a lost piece on a text by Philipp Melanchthon, and was denied the position. He married around this time, though his wife soon left him, and his attempts to have the union dissolved failed. He then moved to Frankfurt an der Oder and founded a musicians’ society with members of the circle of humanist Jodocus Willich. In poor financial straits, Coclico left Frankfurt for Stettin in 1547, where he was again denied a position; in September of that year he graduated from Königsberg University and entered into the se

Adrianus Valerius

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Adrianus Valerius, also known as Adriaen Valerius, (c. 1575 – 1625) was a Dutch poet and composer, known mostly for his poems dealing with peasant and burgher life and those dealing with the Dutch War of Independence, assembled in his great work Neder-landtsche gedenck-clanck. Life Valerius was born about 1575 in Middelburg to an ethnic French notary, François Valéry. His father had a somewhat prosperous career as a notary and customs official and in 1592 obtained a position as Court Scribe to Pieter van Reigersbergh, the burgemeester (mayor) of the city of Veere in the province of Zeeland. Six years later, Adriaen Valerius was named the Toll and Customs Controller for Veere, starting a prosperous career as both a burgher and a patrician of his city. Having married the burgemeester’s daughter in 1605, he advanced to Tax Collections and later was appointed to the City Council. Work and influence A poet of not inconsiderable talent, Valerius worked on the great Zeelander compendium Zeeusche Nachtegael with a number of other poet-colleagues. The work would be published in 1623. His primary individual opus, on the other hand, is the collection of folk poems and melodies on the Dutch Wa

Adrien Basin

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Adrien Basin ( 1457 – 1476; died after 1498) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and diplomat of the Burgundian School of the early Renaissance. He was listed along with Antoine Busnois and Hayne van Ghizeghem as one of the personal singers to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Life and career Little is known about his early life, and he first appears in the records as a singer to Isabella of Bourbon, who was the wife of Charles the Bold. Later he seems to have joined the personal chapel of Charles, when Charles became Duke. Unlike many of the musicians of the Burgundian court, who travelled along with Charles on his military exploits (who loved music as much as war, and enjoyed having musical entertainment during his military adventures), Basin seems to have remained in Bruges most of the time. After the death of Charles at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, Basin served the court as a diplomat, according to records from the 1480s. The last record of his life is dated to 1498, when he was named as heir to his brother Pierre. All of Basin’s surviving music is secular, although some of the anonymous music in the manuscripts of the time may be by him. Of his secular songs, one became i

Agostino Agazzari

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Agostino Agazzari (2 December 1578 – 10 April 1640) was an Italian composer and music theorist. Life Agazzari was born in Siena to an aristocratic family. After working in Rome, as a teacher at the Roman College, he returned to Siena in 1607, becoming first organist and later choirmaster of the cathedral there. He was a close friend of Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, the early innovator of the basso continuo. Agazzari wrote several books of sacred music, madrigals and the pastoral drama Eumelio (1606). Stylistically, Eumelio is similar to the famous composition by Cavalieri, Rappresentatione di Anima, e di Corpo of 1600, a work of singular significance in the development of the oratorio. In the preface to the drama he mentions that he was asked to set the text to music only one month before the performance; he composed the music in two weeks, and copied the parts and rehearsed it in the remaining two weeks, a feat which would be impressive even in the modern age. Agazzari is best known, however, for Del sonare sopra il basso (1607), one of the earliest and most important works on basso continuo. This treatise was immensely important in the diffusion of the technique throughout Europe:

Alard du Gaucquier

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Alard du Gaucquier (c. 1534 – c. 1582) was a choirmaster at the Imperial Chapel of the Holy Roman Empire. He began composing noted Magnificats and masses in 1574. Approximately in the year 1558 he entered the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II as a tenor singer. He was indeed replaced by Philippe de Monte on 1 May 1568, In 1578, he requested release from his employment after having served the Holy Roman Emperor for twenty years, which was granted by Rudolf II along with a lifelong pension of 100 guilders. He moved to the Netherlands to become a conductor for his former pupil, Matthias, while the latter was acting as Governor-General there. He received an invitation from Archduke Ferdinand II to become Kapellmeister at his Innsbruck court. Gaucquier left Brussels on 29 October 1581 to accept this position but he never arrived there. There is no further mention of Gaucquier until his widow was granted a pauper’s pension of 50 florins in March, 1583. Works In 1574 eight Magnificats, scored for four to six voices, were published in Venice. A set of four masses scored for five to eight voices was published in Antwerp in 1581. An additional four-voice mass has been attribut

Alessandro Grandi

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Alessandro Grandi (1590 – after June 1630, but in that year) was a northern Italian composer of the early Baroque era, writing in the new stile concertato (). He was one of the most inventive, influential, and popular composers of the time, probably second only to Monteverdi in northern Italy. Life Grandi was born in Venice and spent the first part of his life there, likely studying with Giovanni Gabrieli. He held several posts in Ferrara as maestro di cappella at different cathedrals and academies. In 1617 he won a post at St. Mark’s in Venice, during the time Monteverdi was choirmaster there. Eventually he became Monteverdi’s assistant, and during this time seems to have chosen to write works in some of the smaller forms which Monteverdi was neglecting. In 1627 he went to Bergamo, probably because he had an opportunity to be maestro di cappella at a place where he could build up the music program from scratch. Most likely he met Heinrich Schütz on that composer’s second visit to Italy. Unfortunately, after only three years at Bergamo, Grandi died in 1630 during an outbreak of the plague. Works Most of Grandi’s music is vocal with instrumental accompaniment. Stylistically, his ear

Alessandro Piccinini

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Alessandro Piccinini (1566 – 1638) was an Italian lutenist and composer. Piccinini was born in Bologna into a musical family: his father Leonardo Maria Piccinini taught lute playing to Alessandro as well as his brothers Girolamo (died 1615) and Filippo (died 1648). He held appointments at the Este court in Ferrara (from 1582 to 1597) and with Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, papal legate at Bologna and Ferrara. Piccinini died around 1638, probably in Bologna. He is best known for his two volumes of lute music: Intavolatura di Liuto et di Chitarrone, libro primo (Bologna, 1623) and Intavolaturo di Liuto (Bologna, 1639), the latter published posthumously by his son Leonardo Maria Piccinini. The 1623 collection is of particular importance because of Piccinini’s lengthy preface, which includes a detailed manual on performance, as well as claims to have invented the archlute (Piccinini also made important modifications to the chitarrone). Piccinini concentrated on toccatas, courantes and galliards, as well as different kinds of variations. No other works by Piccinini are known; his music for La selva sin amor, the first opera performed in Spain, composed by his brother Filippo Piccinini is

Alessandro Striggio

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Alessandro Striggio (c. 1536/1537 – 29 February 1592) was an Italian composer, instrumentalist and diplomat of the Renaissance. He composed numerous madrigals as well as dramatic music, and by combining the two, became the inventor of madrigal comedy. His compositions include the monumental Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno for up to 60 voices, rediscovered in 2005 after being lost for 400 years. His son, also named Alessandro Striggio, wrote the libretto for Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Life Striggio senior was born in Mantua, evidently to an aristocratic family. Records of his early life are sparse, but he must have gone to Florence as a young man. He began working for Cosimo de’ Medici on 1 March 1559 as a musician, eventually to replace Francesco Corteccia as the principal musician to the Medici court. In 1560 he visited Venice, and produced two books of madrigals in response to the musical styles he encountered there. In 1567 the Medici sent him on a diplomatic mission to England. Throughout the 1560s Striggio composed numerous intermedi for the Medici, for weddings, visits, and other state occasions. In the 1570s he continued to work for the Medici, but there is some evidence he began

Alexander Agricola

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Alexander Agricola (; born Alexander Ackerman; c. 1446 – 15 August 1506) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance writing in the Franco-Flemish style. A prominent member of the Grande chapelle, the Habsburg musical establishment, he was a renowned composer in the years around 1500, and his music was widely distributed throughout Europe. He composed music in all of the important sacred and secular styles of the time. Life Agricola was the son, born out of wedlock, of Lijsbette Naps, a wealthy female merchant who lived in Ghent. He was probably born sometime in the late 1450s and had a brother named Jan. A commemorative motet first published in 1538 gave his age as 60 at the time of his death in 1506, but that may be due to a medieval convention concerning the number 60. He may have received his musical training from the parish church of St Nicolas in Ghent, as his mother made a substantial donation to its musical establishment in 1467. In 1474 Duke Galeazzo Maria wrote a letter of recommendation for a certain “Alexander de Alamania” to Lorenzo de’ Medici. That identification has since been questioned because the Milanese documents do not record the surname of this Alessandro

Alexander Utendal

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Alexander Utendal (1543/45 – 7 May 1581) was a Flemish composer. Life Utendal was a native of Ghent, nowadays a Belgian city, but at the time part of Flanders and the Netherlands which were part of the Holy Roman Empire. Like many Flemish musicians and composers of his time, he served the Imperial family, the Habsburgs. He began already at a young age as a choirboy at the court of Mary of Hungary, sister of emperors Charles V and Ferdinand I of the Holy Roman Empire. She was given the position of Vogt (regent) of the Netherlands. In 1564, Utendal became alto of the court chapel of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, another member of the royal Habsburg family. After Ferdinand was made Archduke of Further Austria in 1564 after his father’s death, he moved his court from Prague (he was the governor of Bohemia) to Innsbruck. Utendal followed his master to the Innsbruck court chapel to gain the position of vice chapel master in 1572 (as successor of Jacob Regnart); he was also in charge of the education of the choir boys. Until 1581, Utendal worked for Ferdinand II in Innsbruck, where he died. Many of his works are in honour of his master. He even refused the position of chapel master at t

Alfonso dalla Viola

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Alfonso dalla Viola (also della Viola) (c. 1508 – c. 1573) was an Italian composer and instrumentalist of the Renaissance. He was the principal composer at the Este court in Ferrara for about four decades in the middle sixteenth century, and was renowned as a player of several instruments, including the viola d’arco. While much of his incidental music, composed for court entertainments, is lost, several books of his madrigals have survived. His position as court composer in Ferrara paralleled that of Francesco Corteccia in the competing city of Florence. Biography Alfonso was one of a large family of musicians active at the court of Ferrara, including Andrea and his brother Zampaulo dalla Viola, active from the 1470s to shortly after 1500; Agostino, son of Andrea, a singer and instrumentalist who is documented from around 1497 to 1522; and the younger Alfonso and Francesco, whose exact relationship to the other three has not been firmly established. Few details have emerged about Alfonso’s early life. He was born in Ferrara, and his father may have been Agostino dalla Viola. If true, Alfonso was born out of wedlock. In 1528 he was already leading the Duke of Ferrara’s private music

Alfonso Ferrabosco III

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Alfonso Ferrabosco (junior) (died 1652) was an English composer and court musician. Biography Alfonso was the son of Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger (d. 1628), who was probably the ‘Master Alphonso Ferrabosco’ who sang in ‘a Hymenœi’ on Twelfth Night 1606, on the occasion of the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, with Lady Frances, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk. He succeeded his father as one of the ‘viols’ in the king’s band in March 1627–1628, and, together with his brother Henry, was appointed to the place of musician in ordinary. The two brothers probably held jointly the post of composer in ordinary (see below). Alfonso died in 1652 and was buried at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, on 14 July 1652. His brother Henry Ferrabosco died around 1658, and their shared post as musician, was filled by Thomas Bates, who seems to have gained by the division of labour practised by his predecessors, as he is given £50 and £40 yearly. The brothers were succeeded in the post of composer in ordinary by Dr. William Child, who was appointed on 4 July 1661 “in the roome of Alfonso Ferrabosco and Henry Ferrabosco, deceased”; he, however, only received a grant of £40 a year. Works

Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder

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Alfonso Ferrabosco (baptized 18 January 154312 August 1588) was an Italian composer. While mostly famous as the solitary Italian madrigalist working in England, and the one mainly responsible for the growth of the madrigal there, he also composed much sacred music. He also may have been a spy for Elizabeth I while he was in Italy. His father, Domenico Ferrabosco, and son, Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger were also composers. Life and career He was the eldest son of Domenico Ferrabosco, and a member of an aristocratic Bolognese family which had many musicians among its members. Alfonso was born in Bologna. Little is known about his early life, but he is known to have spent part of it in Rome and part in Lorraine in the service of Charles of Guise. In 1562, probably with his uncle, he came to England for the first time, where he found employment with Elizabeth I. Throughout his life he made periodic trips to Italy, not without controversy, for evidently neither the Pope nor the Inquisition fully approved of his spending time in England, which was in the late 16th century actively at war with Roman Catholic countries. While in England, he lost his Italian inheritance, and while away in

Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger

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Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger (c. 1575 – March 1628) was an English composer and viol player of Italian descent. He straddles the line between the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Biography Ferrabosco was born at Greenwich, the illegitimate son of the Italian composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder. His mother might have been Susanna Symons, whom Alfonso the elder later married. Ferrabosco the younger was left under the guardianship of Gomer van Awsterwyke, a member of Queen Elizabeth I’s court. Although Alfonso the elder asked for Alfonso the younger to be sent to him in Italy, where he had moved with his wife, the Queen insisted that he stay in England. Ferrabosco remained in Gomer van Awsterwyke’s care until Awsterwyke’s death in 1592. At this time he started a long career as a court musician. After the Union of the Crowns he became the private music tutor of Prince Henry and a groom of privy chamber, with a salary of £50. Ferrabosco was paid for “making the songs” for Anne of Denmark’s masque, The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses, performed in January 1604. Ferrabosco collaborated with Ben Jonson on several projects, including The Masque of Blackness (1605), and wrote music for sever

Alfonso Fontanelli

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Alfonso Fontanelli (15 February 1557 – 11 February 1622) was an Italian composer, writer, diplomat, courtier, and nobleman of the late Renaissance. He was one of the leading figures in the musically progressive Ferrara school in the late 16th century, and one of the earliest composers in the seconda pratica style at the transition to the Baroque era. Life Fontanelli was born in Reggio nell’Emilia, the son of Count Emilio Fontanelli. His early musical education was with composer Gasparo Pratoneri, and he evidently showed a talent for writing as well; a number of his lyric poems survive. He married for the first time in 1580, and in 1584 began his career as a courtier, statesman, and musician to the Este family in Ferrara. It was in the employ of the Este family that he first went to Rome in 1586; while there he probably met the renowned madrigalist Luca Marenzio, as well as members of the Roman school of composition, aspects of whose style appear in his music. His diplomatic activity while in Rome enhanced his reputation greatly, for in 1588 he received two honors: he was named “music counselor” to the Accademia de Parteni in Ferrara, and he was made a gentleman of the Ferrara court

Alonso Lobo

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Alonso Lobo (February 25, 1555 (baptised) – April 5, 1617) was a Spanish composer of the late Renaissance. Although not as famous as Tomás Luis de Victoria, he was highly regarded at the time, and Victoria himself considered him to be his equal. Biography Lobo was born in Osuna, and after being a choirboy at the cathedral in Seville, he received a degree at the University of Osuna, and took a position as a canon at Osuna´s collegiate church sometime before 1591. In that year, the Seville Cathedral appointed him as assistant to Francisco Guerrero, and he later became maestro de capilla during Guerrero’s leave of absence. In 1593, Toledo Cathedral hired him as maestro de capilla; he remained there until 1604, when he returned to Seville, where he died. Lobo’s music combines the smooth contrapuntal technique of Palestrina with the sombre intensity of Victoria. Some of his music also uses polychoral techniques, which were common in Italy around 1600, though Lobo never used more than two choirs (contemporary choral music of the Venetian school often used many more — the Gabrielis often wrote for as many choirs as there were choir-lofts at St Mark’s Basilica). Lobo was influential far be

Alonso Mudarra

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Alonso Mudarra (c. 1510 – April 1, 1580) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance, and also played the vihuela, a guitar-shaped string instrument. He was an innovative composer of instrumental music as well as songs, and was the composer of the earliest surviving music for the guitar. Biography The place of his birth is not recorded, but he grew up in Guadalajara, and probably received his musical training there. He most likely went to Italy in 1529 with Charles V, in the company of the fourth Duke of the Infantado, Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana. When he returned to Spain he became a priest, receiving the post of canon at the cathedral in Seville in 1546, where he remained for the rest of his life. While at the cathedral, he directed all of the musical activities; many records remain of his musical activities there, which included hiring instrumentalists, buying and assembling a new organ, and working closely with composer Francisco Guerrero for various festivities. Mudarra died in Seville, and his sizable fortune was distributed to the poor of the city according to his will. Mudarra wrote numerous pieces for the vihuela and the four-course guitar, all contained in

Ambrose Lupo

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Ambrose, Ambrosius or Ambrosio Lupo (died 10 February 1591) was a court musician and composer to the English court from the time of Henry VIII to that of Elizabeth I, and the first of a dynasty of such court musicians. He is thought to have been born in Milan, though he and his family lived in Venice for a while just before being called to England. He and five other viol players, including Alexandro and Romano Lupo, were summoned to England by Henry in November 1540, to bring English music up to speed with music on the continent. Ambrose, also known as ‘Lupus Italus’ and de Almaliach, was the longest-serving of the group. Ambroso da Venezia was cited as a music-player of the Queen of England by the testimony of Orazio Cogno before the Venice Inquisition on 27 August 1577 regarding his recent stay in England with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Cogno stated Ambroso has two children and had married in England, even though, as Cogno stated he has heard, he has a wife living in Venice whom he sends money. He also stated that Ambroso wanted to teach him the doctrine of heretics and to read heretical books. Living in the parish of St Alphege, Cripplegate, he was granted leases on la

Ambrosio Cotes

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Ambrosio (Coronado de) Cotes (c. 15501603) was a Spanish Renaissance composer. Cotes was born in Villena, Alicante around 1550 of noble birth. He studied theology with the Theatines of Yecla. In 1573 he was maestro de capilla at the church of St. James Church in his hometown. In 1581 he was appointed maestro de capilla of the Royal Chapel of Granada, in the place of Rodrigo de Ceballos. In 1596 he was maestrescuela in Cathedral of Valencia, until 1600 when he succeeded Guerrero at the Cathedral of Seville. His works were copied and carried to the New World. He died in Seville in 1603. Extant works and editions Like many other Spanish composers of the period, his secular villancicos and canzonetas have been lost. Of the sacred works 25 polyphonic compositions are preserved in Granada, a mass in the Cathedral of Valencia, and a further 3 motets in the Colegio del Patriarca. Four separate pieces without words have been published by López Calo, who believes they are the only instrumental works for church to survive from the sixteenth century. * Lamentations (3 sets) * Officium Defunctorum * Mass * Mortus est Phillipus Rex, a 7 voces * Non in solo pane vivit homo, a 4 voces * Visionem q

Andrea Antico

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Andrea Antico (also Andrea Antico da Montona, Anticho, Antiquo) (c. 1480 – after 1538) was a music printer, editor, publisher and composer of the Renaissance born in the Republic of Venice, of Istrian birth, active in Rome and in Venice. He was the first printer of sacred music in Rome, and the earliest competitor of Venetian Ottaviano Petrucci, who is regarded as the first significant music printer. Life Antico was born in Montona, Istria in the Republic of Venice (today Motovun in Croatia). His ethnicity is not known; fifteenth-century Montona had a mixed population of Italians and Croats. Little documentation has yet come to light regarding his early life, but he may have been active in the diocese of Parenzo (now Poreč) in Istria, based on a papal letter of 1516 which called him a “cleric of the diocese of Parenzo, now living in Rome”. His first publication dates from 1510, and was a collection of frottole. Like Petrucci, whose similar Odhecaton had appeared eight years earlier in Venice, he began by publishing popular secular music. In 1513 he secured papal privileges for printing music in the Papal States; this was the first such privilege to be granted, and shortly after the

Andrea Gabrieli

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Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533 – August 30, 1585) was an Italian In 1566 Gabrieli was chosen for the post of organist at St. Mark’s, one of the most prestigious musical posts in northern Italy; he retained this position for the rest of his life. Around this time he acquired, and maintained, a reputation as one of the finest current composers. Working in the unique acoustical space of St. Mark’s, he was able to develop his unique, grand ceremonial style, which was enormously influential in the development of the polychoral style and the stile concertato, which partially defined the beginning of the Baroque era in music. His duties at St. Mark’s clearly included composition, for he wrote a great deal of music for ceremonial affairs, some of considerable historical interest. He provided the music for the festivities accompanying the celebration of the victory over the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto (1571); he also composed music for the visit of several princes from Japan (1585). Late in his career he also became famous as a teacher. Prominent among his students were his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli; the music theorist Lodovico Zacconi; Hans Leo Hassler, who carried the concertato style to Ge

Andreas de Silva

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Andreas de Silva (fl. 1520) was a composer, probably of Portuguese origin, who is known mainly from inclusion of five motets in the Medici Codex. Now attributed to de Silva is a madrigal Che sentisti Madonna, misattributed to Verdelot in 1537. Aspects of his compositional style suggest musical training in Spain, France, and northern Italy. He worked under the patronage of the Medici family and was employed by Pope Leo X in Rome, and wrote the motet Gaude felix Florentia for the Pope’s coronation. In 1519 and 1520 his name was recorded as the cantor et compositor of the papal chapel and as the cantor secretus of the Pope’s private chapel. The last record of him was a payment by the Duke of Mantua in 1522, though other sources suggest he was living in Italy by the end of the decade. While not much about De Silva is known, it is clear that he had quite an influence on 16th century music practices. In 1567 Cosimo Bartoli, in his Ragionamenti accademici, described him as a worthy successor to Josquin and as a composer “who taught the world how music should be written.” Five of his motets were parodied by Arcadelt, Francesco Cellavenia, Lupus Italius, and Palestrina. His works showed a m

Andreas Düben

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Andreas Düben (c. 1597 – 7 July 1662) was a Swedish Baroque composer and organist, and father of Gustaf Düben. Early life Born in Leipzig, Saxony, into the Düben family, which would later be renowned for its contributions to classical music. He was the son of Andreas Düben, who was the organist at the St. Thomas Church, and Elisabeth Bessler, or Bletzchen, who was born in Wurzen. He was appointed conductor of that same group in 1640. He composed a cantata, Pugna triumphalis, on the occasion of the death of Gustavus Adolphus. References

Andreas Pevernage

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Andreas Pevernage or Andries Pevernage (1542 or 1543 – 30 July 1591) was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance and a choirmaster in Bruges, Kortrijk, and Antwerp. He was one of a few composers from the Low Countries who remained in his native land throughout the turbulent period of religious conflict in the late 16th century. He was a skilled composer of chansons, motets and madrigals. Life Pevernage was born in Harelbeke, a small town near to Kortrijk, and probably spent his boyhood years as a singer in the church in Kortrijk. He became the choirmaster at the church of St Salvator in Bruges on 21 January 1563, and later that same year became choirmaster at the Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk (Notre Dame) in Kortrijk. In 1564 he became chaplain there, and rose to the position of permanent vicar in 1569. Also in Kortrijk, he joined the guild of St. Cecilia, for which he wrote some of his music. The religious wars of the 16th century ravaged the Netherlands as they had adjacent regions, and war came to Kortrijk. He fled the city in 1577 or 1578 with his family when the Calvinists took over; they had little use for music, and as a Roman Catholic he was unsafe during this period of persecuti

Andreas Raselius

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Andreas Raselius, also known as Andreas Rasel (c. 1563 – 6 January 1602) was a German composer and kapellmeister during the Renaissance. He worked for much of his career as a teacher and cantor in Regensburg, before being appointed as the court conductor of the Elector Palatine in Heidelberg. He is today best noted as the author of a cycle of motets for use throughout the year, the first such cycle to be composed in the German language, which was published in 1594. Early life and education Raselius was born at Hahnbach in the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria around 1563. He was the son of Thomas Raselius or Rasel, a Lutheran preacher. The elder Raselius had studied at Wittenberg University under the Lutheran theologian and reformer Philip Melanchthon – who had Latinised Raselius’s name – before moving to Hahnbach and marrying a woman from nearby Amberg. From 1575 Andreas Raselius was educated at the Amberg Gymnasium and in November 1581 he enrolled at the University of Heidelberg. He gained a baccalaureate within only eight months and was awarded an M.A. in February 1584. Career A strict Lutheran, he declared himself “outraged at the Calvinist machinations” In 1590 Raselius was promoted

Annibale Padovano

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Annibale Padovano (1527 – March 15, 1575) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance Venetian School. He was one of the earliest developers of the keyboard toccata. Life Padovano was born in Padua — hence his name — but little is known about his early life. He first appears at St. Mark’s in Venice on November 30, 1552, when he was hired as first organist at an annual salary of 40 ducats. He stayed at this post until 1565. St. Mark’s at this time also began to employ a second organist (it was Claudio Merulo for the last eight years of Padovano’s tenure), which allowed two simultaneous, spatially separated organs to perform in the huge space of the cathedral: this was a key development in music of the Venetian school, which was already using spatially separated choirs of voices. Merulo took over the job of first organist when Padovano left. In 1566, Padovano left Venice to go to the Habsburg court in Graz. Many Venetian musicians left their native area to seek their fortunes in Habsburg domains, which generally remained friendly to Venice. Padovano became the director of music at Graz in 1570, and died there five years later. Music and influence Although Padovano pu

Annibale Stabile

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Annibale Stabile (c.1535 – April 1595) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composition, and probably was a pupil of Palestrina. He was active mainly at Rome but moved briefly to Kraków, Poland at the end of his life. Life Records of his early life are inexact, but he was probably born in Naples, and was likely a boy singer at St. John Lateran in 1544 and 1545. An “Annibale contralto” is also listed at the same church in 1555 and 1556; since it is unlikely that a twenty-year-old would have been listed as a contralto, this may have been a different person; alternatively it has been proposed that Annibale was born in the mid-1540s. Stabile himself mentioned that he studied with Palestrina, who was maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1555 and 1556. Stabile became maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran in 1575, and retained that position until 1578, at which time he moved on to a similar position at the Collegio Germanico. Since Giovanni Dragoni also held the position of maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran, beginning in 1576, the two must have shared the post for two years. In 1582 Stabile was ordained a priest; and in 1590 he c

Annibale Zoilo

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Annibale Zoilo (c. 1537–1592) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance Roman School. He was a contemporary of Palestrina, writing music in a closely related style, and was a prominent composer and choir director in Rome in the late 16th century. Life He was born in Rome, but little documentation remains of his early life. In 1558 he is recorded as a singer at the Cappella Giulia (the Julian Chapel), and in 1561 he was already maestro di cappella of San Luigi de’ Francesi; that he rose so quickly to such a prominent position indicates that he was probably a singer prior to the first mention of him at the Cappella Giulia. He retained the position at San Luigi de’ Francesi until 1566, and from 1567 to 1570 he was maestro di cappella at St. John Lateran, one of the most prestigious musical posts in Rome. In 1570 he was succeeded there by Frenchman Bartolomeo Roy, and Zoilo left to sing as an alto in the choir of the Sistine Chapel, remaining there until July 1577, at which time he left due to illness. However, by October he was well enough to be appointed by Pope Gregory XIII, along with Palestrina, to edit and revise the music for the Graduale, as well as other litur

Anthony Holborne

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Anthony Antony Holborne Holburne (c. 1545 – 29 November 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Life An “Anthony Holburne” entered Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1562, and it is possible that this person is the same as the composer. A Londoner of the same name was admitted to the Inner Temple Court in 1565, and again this may have been the same person. It is certain, however, that the composer was the brother of William Holborne and that he married Elisabeth Marten on 14 June 1584. On the title page of both his books, he claims to be in the service of Queen Elizabeth. He died of a “cold” in November 1602. He was held in the highest regard as a composer by his contemporaries. John Dowland dedicated the first song I saw my lady weepe in his Second Booke to Holborne. His patron was the Countess of Pembroke, Mary Sidney. In the 1590s, he entered the service of Sir Robert Cecil, the 1st Earl of Salisbury. His brother was William Holborne. Six of William’s madrigals were included in the Cittarn Schoole. Music His first known book was the Cittarn Schoole of 1597, consisting of compositions for the cittern. The prefac

Antoine Boësset

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Antoine Boësset, Antoine Boesset or Anthoine de Boesset (1586 – 8 December 1643), Sieur de Villedieu, was the superintendent of music at the Ancien Régime French court and a composer of secular music, particularly airs de cour. He and his father-in-law Pierre Guédron dominated the court’s musical life for the first half of the 17th century under Louis XIII. His son Jean-Baptiste Boësset Jean-Baptiste de Boesset , Sieur de Dehault, composed church music. Life Born at Blois and baptised there on 24 February 1587, he was made master of the children within the musical household of the Chambre du roi in 1613. He rose to be the queen’s music master in 1617 and secretary to the Chambre du roi in 1620, and finally surintendant of the musical household of the Chambre du roi in 1623 – in the last of these roles he succeeded Guédron (surintendant under Henry IV and Louis XIII), whose daughter he married in 1613. In 1632 he was conseiller and maître d’hôtel ordinaire du roi. He then held all these posts simultaneously until his death. At the court he got to know Descartes, Mersenne and Huygens. Around 1640 Mersenne arranged a contest between Boësset and the Dutch Catholic priest Joan Albert Ba

Antoine Brumel

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Antoine Brumel (; c. 1460 – 1512 or 1513) was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of the most influential composers of his generation. Life Little is known about his early life, but he was probably born west of Chartres, perhaps in the town of Brunelles, near to Nogent-le-Rotrou, making him one of the first of the Netherlandish composers who was actually French. He sang at Notre-Dame de Chartres from 9 August 1483 until 1486, and subsequently held posts at St Peter’s in Geneva (until 1492) and Laon (around 1497) before becoming choirmaster to the boys at Notre-Dame de Paris from 1498 to 1500, and choirmaster to Alfonso I d’Este at Ferrara from 1506, replacing the famous composer Jacob Obrecht who had died of the plague there the previous year. The chapel there was disbanded in 1510, after which he evidently stayed in Italy; several documents connect him with churches in Faenza and Mantua, where he probably died in 1512 or shortly after. He is known to have written at least one work after his dismissal from Ferrara (the Missa de beata virgine), and he may still have b

Antoine Busnois

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Antoine Busnois (also Busnoys; c. 1430 – before 6 November 1492) was a French composer, singer and poet of early Renaissance music. Busnois and colleague Johannes Ockeghem were the leading European composers of the second half the 15th century, and central figures of the early Franco-Flemish School. While also noted as a composer of motets and other sacred music, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular polyphonic chansons. Between Guillaume Du Fay and Claudin de Sermisy, Busnois was the most prolific and important French composer of songs. Life and career The details of Busnois’s early life are largely conjectural, and nothing is certain. He was probably from the vicinity of Béthune in the Pas-de-Calais, possibly the hamlet of Busnes, to which his name seems to refer. He may have been related to the aristocratic family of Busnes; in particular, a Philippe de Busnes, canon of Notre-Dame in Lens, could have been a relative. He clearly received an excellent musical education, probably at a church choir school somewhere in northern or central France. An aristocratic origin may explain his early association with the French royal court: as early as the 1450s ref

Antoine de Bertrand

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Antoine de Bertrand (also Anthoine) (1530/1540 – probably 1581) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Early in his life he was a prolific composer of secular chansons, and late in his life he wrote hymns and canticles, under the influence of the Jesuits. He was murdered by Protestants during the French Wars of Religion. Life Details of his life are relatively scanty for an otherwise prominent composer of the period, probably because he never held a salaried position as a musician at an establishment whose records have survived. He was born at Fontanges, in Auvergne, and from about 1560 he lived in Toulouse. Details of his death are not known, but that he was martyred for his Jesuit-inspired songs by Protestants is attested by several writers of the time. According to Michel Coyssard, writing in 1608, he was traveling between Toulouse and one of the farms he managed when he was attacked and killed. Music and influence Bertrand published three large books of chansons between 1576 and 1578, and, two years later, two books of sacred music (a third was published posthumously, in 1582). A total of 83 chansons and one Italian madrigal have survived of his secular music, and one chanso

Antoine de Févin

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Antoine de Févin (ca. 1470 – late 1511 or early 1512) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary. Life Févin was most likely born in Arras then in the Burgundian state, the son of an alderman. His brother Robert de Févin was also a composer. Most likely Antoine left Arras in the late 1480s, though there is no evidence that he went to Italy, the commonest destination for Franco-Flemish composers of the time. In the 1490s it is likely he became a priest (although there is no known documentation of that today), and he also may have obtained a master’s degree at a university, since he is commonly known as maistre later in his life. By 1507, he was working as a singer and composer in the chapelle royale for Louis XII of France, who praised him highly. He died at Blois. The Swiss music theorist and biographer Heinrich Glarean, writing in 1547, noted that Févin was a follower of Josquin, and that he died young; he also mentioned him as being a composer of Orleans, though this most likely referred to the association of that city with the court of Louis XII. Works All of Févin

Antoine de Longueval

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Antoine de Longueval (fl. 1498–1525) was a French singer and composer of the Renaissance. A contemporary of Josquin des Prez, he was singing master of the French royal chapel under King Francis I, and was important in the history of the polyphonic setting of the Passion. Life Little is known about his early life, not even his approximate birthdate, but he was probably from the village of Longueval in the Somme region of Picardy (scene of much heavy fighting during the Somme battles in 1916). By 1498, court records indicate that he was employed by Anne of Brittany, and between 1502 and 1504 he was a singer at the Savoy court, where his high pay indicates the respect he was accorded as a musician. From there he went to Ferrara, where he was a singer between December 1503 and September 1504; therefore he was there at the same time as Josquin des Prez. It is presumed that he wrote his most famous composition, the passion setting Passio Domini nostri for Holy Week of 1504, the same event for which Josquin’s famous Miserere was likely written. Why he left Ferrara is not known, but he may have fled an outbreak of the plague, as did Josquin and a large proportion of the town’s population.

Antoine Francisque

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Antoine Francisque (c. 1570 in Saint-Quentin – 1605 in Paris) was a 16th-century French lutenist and composer. Biography Little is known of the details of Francisque’s life. Francisque was born in Saint-Quentin circa 1570. On 23 February 1596, in Cambrai, he married Marguerite Behour Bonhour , daughter of a tavern keeper. The marriage contract, registered in 1605, did not mention Francisque’s profession. He moved to Paris shortly afterwards, publishing his Le trésor d’Orphée in 1600. On 28 September 1601 he was identified as Anthoine François, a “lute player in Paris,” in a document registering a mutual beneficiary relationship between him and his wife. Works In 1600, Francisque published a unique collection of lute pieces: :: Le trésor d’Orphée, livre de tablature de luth contenant une Susane un jour, plusieurs fantaisies, préludes, passemaises, gaillardes, pavanes d’Angleterre, pavane espagnolle, fin de gaillarde, suittes de bransles tant à cordes avalées qu’austres, voltes & courantes mises par Antoine Francisque. – Paris: Pierre I Ballard, 1600. – 2°, 32 f., French tablature. The sole surviving copy of Le trésor d’Orphée is held in Paris, in the Département de la Musique of the

Antonino Barges

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Antonino Barges (fl. 1546–1565) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Venice and Treviso. While known as a composer of light popular secular forms such as the villotta, he also wrote motets and a Requiem. He was a friend and probably a student of Adrian Willaert, the founder of the Venetian School, and was listed as a witness to Willaert’s last will and testament. Little is known about his early life. He was born in Barges. Like many of his countrymen, he received a good musical education in the Low Countries, and either in youth or early adulthood came to Italy, where employment prospects for singers and composers were better than at home. By 1550 he had become maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (known as the Ca’ Grande) in Venice, a prestigious post. He left Venice in 1555, going to Treviso, where he became a Franciscan and joined the convent of San Francesco. Further records show that he was employed at Treviso Cathedral between 1562 and 1565 as maestro di cappella. No further records of his life have yet been found, and he has not yet been the subject of a dedicated scholarly biography. Barges venerated his te

Antonio Brunelli

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Antonio Brunelli (20 December 1577 – 19 November 1630) was an Italian composer and theorist of the early Baroque period. He was a student of Giovanni Maria Nanino and served as the organist at San Miniato in Tuscany from 1604 to 1607, then moved to Prato where he served as maestro di capella at the Cathedral there. On 12 April 1612 he was appointed as maestro di capella to the Order of Saint Stephen at the Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri Church in Pisa in the service of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Between 1605 and 1621 he published works including motets, canzonette, Psalms, madrigals, Requiems, and other sacred works, some of which were included in Donfried’s Promptuarium musicum (1623). Brunelli wrote and published several theoretical treatises, most notably the Regole utilissime per i scolari che desiderano imperare a cantare (Florence, 1606), one of the first published methods for voice. His other writings include Esercizi ad 1 e 2 voci (Florence, 1607) and Regole et dichiarazione de alcuni contrappunti doppii (Florence, 1610). Works * Esercizi a una e due voci op. 1 – Florence, Marescotti (1605) * Regole utilissime – Florence, Volcmar Timan (1606) * Affettuoso et invaghito, Canzone

Antonio Cifra

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Antonio Cifra (1584? – 2 October 1629 in Loreto) was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the significant transitional figures between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and produced music in both idioms. Life and works Son of Costanzo and Claudia, Antonio Cifra was born perhaps in Bassiano (near Terracina). He studied with Giovanni Bernardino Nanino from 27 June 1594 at San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome and then, from 18 January 1597, he was boy soprano of the Cappella Giulia at St Peter. From 1605 to 1607 he was maestro at the Roman Seminary, and from 1608 to 1609 he held the same position at the German College in Rome. In 1609 he was hired as maestro di cappella at Santa Casa in Loreto, where he remained the rest of his life. Cultural connections between Loreto and Rome were close (since Loreto was a pilgrimage destination), and he maintained contact with the composers in Rome during this period. Near the end of his life he took part in several large musical events in Rome, including a large Vespers at St. Peter’s for which he batteva (beat time) for one of the choirs. Cifra was a prolific composer, with 45 separate publi

Antonio de Cabezón

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Antonio de Cabezón (30 March 1510 – 26 March 1566) was a Spanish Renaissance composer and organist. Blind from childhood, he quickly rose to prominence as a performer and was eventually employed by the royal family. He was among the most important composers of his time and the first major Iberian keyboard composer. Life Cabezón was born in Castrillo Mota de Judíos, a municipality near Burgos, in the north of Spain. Nothing is known about his formative years. He became blind in early childhood, and he may have been educated at the Palencia Cathedral by the organist there, García de Baeza. At the time, the country was slowly entering its Golden Age. On 14 March 1516, Charles V was proclaimed King of Castile and of Aragon jointly with his mother, the first time the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united under the same king. After the death of his paternal grandfather, Maximilian, in 1519, Charles also inherited the Habsburg lands in Austria, and later went on to become Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and one of the most powerful monarchs in the world. In 1525, Charles married Isabella of Portugal, further strengthening his position in Spain. It was Isabella who employed Cabezón int

Antonio Gardano

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Antonio Gardano (also Antoine Gardane) (1509 – 28 October 1569) was a French-born Italian composer and important music publisher and printer based in Venice. Life and career Gardano arrived in the city as a “musico francese” whose musical compositions had been published in Lyons by Jacques Moderne from 1532. Gardano set up a publishing house and between 1538 and 1569 published 450 editions of prominent composers, half of them Italian madrigals. The composers best-represented in Gardano’s output included Jacques Arcadelt, Cipriano de Rore, Orlande de Lassus, and Adrian Willaert, accounting for about 25 percent of his total publications. Gardano and Girolamo Scotto, owner of the other large Venetian publishing house in the middle of the 16th century, held an effective monopoly on publishing in Italy for several decades. While the house of Scotto published volumes on law, medicine, philosophy, and theology in addition to music, Gardano published only music. After his death, his sons Alessandro and Angelo carried on with the activity of the Gardano publishing house, producing more than 1000 more editions of music. Works Intabolatura Nova di Balli, a representative collection of 25 piec

Antonio il Verso

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Antonio Il Verso (1565 – August 23, 1621) was an Italian composer. Il Verso was born at Piazza Armerina, and began his musical studies under the guidance of Pietro Vinci. He was active in Venice in the last years of the sixteenth century is given in Venice, then the seat of the Venetian school, where he refined his studies in the madrigal and polyphonic music. Back in Sicily settled in Palermo where he taught music at the Convent of San Domenico, on Via dei Bambinai. He was an exponent of mannerism and set to music verses major poets such as Torquato Tasso and Gabriello Chiabrera in addition to the major poets of the period. He often utilised melodies of other composers, modifying their style but not distorting their compositional integrity. In the 1591 Second Book of ricercars, Verso based his ricercars on the models of his teacher Vinci. Between 1590 and 1619 Verso composed at least 15 books of madrigals for 5 voices, and additional books for 3 and 4 voices and monodies. He died in Palermo. Il Verso is honoured today as the patron composer of the Palermo-based Associazione per la musica antica Antonio Il Verso, and the early music group Studio di Musica Antica Antonio Il Verso, f

Antonio Maria Abbatini

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Antonio Maria Abbatini (c. 1609 or 1610 – c. 1677 or 1679) was an Italian composer, active mainly in Rome. Abbatini was born in Città di Castello. He composed church music, and published three books of Masses, four of Psalms, various 24-part Antiphons (1630, 1638, 1677), five books of Motets (1635), and a dramatic cantata, Il Pianto di Rodomonte (1633). He also worked with Athanasius Kircher on the Musurgia Universalis. In addition, he produced three operas: Dal male il bene (Rome, 1654; in collaboration with Marco Marazzoli), which was one of the earliest comic operas, and historically important as it introduced the final ensemble; Ione (Vienna, 1666); and La comica del cielo, also called La Baltasara (Rome, 1668). Antonio Cesti was among his pupils. References Sources * Note *This article or an earlier version incorporates text from the 3rd edition (1919) of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, a publication now in the public domain. External links *

Antonio Squarcialupi

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Antonio Squarcialupi (27 March 1416 – 6 July 1480) was a Florentine organist and composer. He was the most famous organist in Italy in the mid-15th century. Life He was born in Florence to a butcher named Bartolomeo with the family name of Giovanni; however he took the name of Squarcialupi, a well-known family from Tuscany, by mid-century, possibly to disguise his less than aristocratic origins. Most of his early life must have been spent in Florence, and he likely studied with both organist Giovanni Mazzuoli (also called Jovannes de Florentia, who was a pupil of Francesco Landini), as well as Matteo di Pagolo da Prato. He acquired the post of organist at the Orsanmichele in Florence in 1431, but only remained there for two years, moving instead to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, at which post he remained for the rest of his life. He has been honored with a bust in this church. Music and influence Squarcialupi was part of the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici, and was also a colleague of Guillaume Dufay; there are numerous laudatory references to him in the middle of the 15th century, some, for instance that of diarist Luca Landucci, comparing him in stature to figures such as th

Antonius Divitis

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Antonius Divitis (also Anthonius de Rycke, and Anthoine Le Riche – “the rich”) (c. 1475 – c. 1530) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance, of the generation slightly younger than Josquin des Prez. He was important in the development of the parody mass. Life He was born in Leuven. He first appears in the historic record in 1501 in Bruges, at the church of St. Donatian, where he taught singing to the choirboys. Later in 1501 he became singing master, then he became succentor, and at the end of 1501 was ordained a priest. He took a similar musical post in Mechelen at the church of St. Rombout in 1504, but he had fallen into debt, and left his job in a hurry in 1505, evidently fleeing from bill collectors. In late 1505 he joined the singers in the chapel of Philip the Fair. Along with Pierre de la Rue, Alexander Agricola, and others in the chapel, he went to Spain in 1506 with Philip when he was summoned there to become king; although Philip died of typhoid later that year, the singers remained until 1508, maintained by Philip’s insane widow, Joanna of Castile. The chapel was disbanded in 1508 and the singers scattered. Divitis left Spain and returned to northern Europe. His next do

Arnold de Lantins

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Arnold de Lantins (fl. 1420s – before 2 July 1432) was a Netherlandish composer of the late medieval and early Renaissance eras. He is one of a few composers who shows aspects of both medieval and Renaissance style, and was a contemporary of Dufay during Dufay’s sojourn in Italy. Very little is known about his life, except for a few years in the 1420s to around 1430. It is presumed that he was from Flanders or adjacent areas. In the early 1420s he was probably in the service of the Malatesta family in either Rimini or Pesaro, since Dufay mentioned him in the text of a rondeau which was written between 1420 and 1424. Lantins was in Venice in 1428 and Rome in 1431, in the latter city as a singer in the papal chapel choir, along with Dufay. He was only in Rome six months; after that he disappears from history. Rome was entering a period of turmoil related to the Conciliar movement after the death, in February 1431, of Pope Martin V; many musicians left at that time or shortly after, and Lantins may have been one of them. It is not known for certain if Arnold de Lantins was a relative of Hugo de Lantins, a composer active at the same time, but since their works often appear together in

Arnold von Bruck

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Arnold von Bruck (also Arnold de Pruck, Arnoldus de Bruck, Arnoldus Brugensis, indicating his origin) ( 1500 – 6 February 1554) was a Franco-Flemish composer of Renaissance music, active in several Habsburg courts. He was one of the most famous and influential composers in German-speaking areas during the first half of the 16th century, the period of the Protestant Reformation; however, he seems to have remained a Roman Catholic. Life He was born in Bruges, and received at least part of his musical training as a choirboy in the chapel of Charles V, where he probably studied with Marbrianus de Orto. Pierre de La Rue was also a member of that chapel, which was one then of the most distinguished musical organizations in Europe. Bruck likely left around 1519, and his whereabouts are unknown until 1527, when he became a priest in the Pas-de-Calais, in the Thérouanne diocese. That same year he became court Kapellmeister for Archduke Ferdinand, before he was emperor; Bruck was to retain this post for all of his active career, retiring at the end of 1545. Bruck’s reputation was such that he received numerous dedications and awards, including medallions, sculptures, book dedications, and mu

Arnolt Schlick

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Arnolt Schlick (July 18?, c. 1455–1460 – after 1521) was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the Renaissance. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He was most probably born in Heidelberg and by 1482 established himself as court organist for the Electorate of the Palatinate. Highly regarded by his superiors and colleagues alike, Schlick played at important historical events, such as the election of Maximilian I as King of the Romans, and was widely sought after as organ consultant throughout his career. The last known references to him are from 1521; the circumstances of his death are unknown. Schlick was blind for much of his life, possibly from birth. However, that did not stop him from publishing his work. He is best known for Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten (1511), the first German treatise on building and playing organs. This work, highly influential during the 16th century, was republished in 1869 and is regarded today as one of the most important books of its kind. Schlick’s surviving compositions include Tabulaturen etlicher lobgesang (1512), a collection of organ and lute music, and a few pieces in manuscript. The lute pieces—mostly setti

Asprilio Pacelli

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Asprilio Pacelli (or Pecelli) (1570 – 4 May 1623) was an Italian Baroque composer. He was born in Vasciano near Narni in Stroncone, Province of Terni, Umbria, Italy; and died in Warsaw. Life He was a boy chorister at Cappella Giulia under Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. He served at two Roman churches: Santa Maria in Monserrato and Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini. Maestro di cappella of the Collegio Germanico (from 1595), he held the same position at S Pietro from 1602, but he left the post to Francesco Soriano from 1 January 1603; in the same year Pacelli became Maestro di cappella of King Sigismund III of Poland, who had one of the most important royal chapels in Europe. He remained at that position until his death. In appreciation, the King ordered an epitaph commemorating Pacelli to be constructed in the St. John’s Cathedral in Warsaw. The original epitaph with the composer’s portrait was destroyed when the Cathedral was also destroyed during the Planned destruction of Warsaw; it was nonetheless reconstructed after the war. References Bibliography * Mirosław Perz, Asprilio Pacelli, in «New Grove Dictionary»; * Cristina Santarelli, Asprilio Pacelli, in «Dizionario Encicloped

Baldassare Donato

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Baldassare Donato (also Donati) (1525-1530 – June 1603) was an Italian composer and singer of the Venetian school of the late Renaissance. He was maestro di cappella of the prestigious St. Mark’s Basilica at the end of the 16th century, and was an important figure in the development of Italian light secular music, especially the villanella. Life Details of his early life are unavailable; it is not even known where he was born. The first record of Donato is as a singer at St. Mark’s in Venice in 1550, and he was given charge of the musical training of the boys there in 1562. When Gioseffo Zarlino took over the post of maestro di cappella from Cipriano de Rore in 1565, Donato was demoted back to being a singer; conflict between the two men seems to have been a feature of life at St. Mark’s, culminating in a climactic fight in 1569, publicly and scandalously, during the Feast of St. Mark. In 1577 Donato took a position at the Scuola Grande di S Rocco, another Venetian church with an impressive musical tradition and substantial performing ensemble; however he failed to get along with his employers there as well, resigning by 1580. In 1588 he became assistant maestro di cappella at St.

Bálint Bakfark

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Bálint Bakfark (; in contemporary sources Valentin Bakfark or (from 1565 onward) Valentin Greff alias Bakfark, his name is variously spelled as Bacfarc, Bakfarc, Bakfarkh, Bakffark, Backuart) (c. 1507 – 15 or 22 August 1576) was a Hungarian composer of Transylvanian Saxon origin, and lutenist of the Renaissance. He was enormously influential as a lutenist in his time, and renowned as a virtuoso on the instrument. Life He was born in Brassó, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (today Brașov in Romania), into a family of Transylvanian Saxon origin. An orphan, he was brought up by the Greff family and was educated in Buda at the court of John Zápolya. Bakfark remained there until 1540, though he possibly traveled to Italy once during this time. Sometime in the 1540s he traveled to Paris, but, finding the position of lutenist to the king filled, he left for Jagiellon Poland in 1549, where he was employed as a court lutenist by Sigismund II Augustus. From then until 1566, he traveled extensively around Europe, with his renown increasing, but remained faithful to his employer in spite of numerous efforts by other monarchs to win him away; the riches bestowed on him by Sigismund may have aff

Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx

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Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx ( modernized French: Balthazar de Beaujoyeux ), originally Baldassare da (or di) Belgiojoso ( modern Italian pronunciation: ; died c. 1587 in Paris) was an Italian violinist, composer, and choreographer. Career Beaujoyeulx moved to Paris in 1555, where he became a servant at the court of Catherine de’ Medici. He tutored two of her sons and displayed a talent for arranging elaborate entertainments for the court. He participated in the masquerade Défense du paradis in 1572 and mounted the Ballet aux ambassadeurs polonais in 1573: one of the first works to be recognized as a true court ballet, staged to honor the Polish ambassadors who were visiting Paris upon the accession of Henry of Anjou to the throne of Poland. the music by “Lambert de Beaulieu” (in fact Girard de Beaulieu), the sets by Jacques Patin, and Beaujoyeulx, who created the scenario, choreographed, stage managed, and directed. Since it incorporated a story line about the legend of the mythological enchantress Circe, it is generally regarded as the first ballet. The title page of his published account of the event states that he was employed as valet de chambre to both the King (Catherine’s son,

Balthasar Resinarius

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Balthasar Resinarius (born Balthasar Harzer; c. 1483 – 12 April 1544) was a German composer, and a Lutheran bishop, one of the first Lutherans in Bohemia. Life and career It is regarded as proven the Resinarius, listed by the music publisher Georg Rhau, is identical with the composer Balthasar Harzer, also listed by Rhau. He died in Leipa. After Resinarius’ death, the Renaissance humanist Georg Hansch, who lived in Leipa, published several commemorative publications (“Epitaphs”) in memory of him; these present him as a kind and friendly, also helpful and with a beautiful voice talented person. In particular, Hansch repeatedly praises his striking, outstanding gift as a speaker and his theological scholarship and persuasiveness – with which he had won many followers for the Protestant teaching. Importance As a composer, Resinarius is regarded as one of the most important representatives of the first Protestant generation. His works are only known through the publications of Georg Rhau. He was directly inspired to write these works by the latter, who also introduced him, in the preface to his Responsories, as an aged and hitherto unknown master. In his publication Encomion Musicae (1

Bartholomäus Gesius

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Bartholomäus Gesius (also: Göß, Gese, c. 1562 – 1613) was a German theologian, church musician, composer and hymn writer. He worked at Schloss Muskau and in Frankfurt (Oder) and is known for choral Passions in German and Latin and for the melody and first setting of the Easter hymn “Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn”, which was used in several compositions including a cantata by Dieterich Buxtehude and a chorale prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 630), concluding the Easter section of his Orgelbüchlein. Life Born in Müncheberg, Gesius studied theology between 1578 and 1585 at the Alma Mater Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). He worked from 1582 as Kantor (church musician) in Müncheberg and from 1587 as teacher and musician at Schloss Muskau (now a World Heritage Site). In 1588, he began to compose a Passion after the Gospel of John in German, a St John Passion for five-part chorus. In spring of 1593, Gesius became Kantor at the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder) and at the same time teacher at the Ratsschule, today the Karl-Liebknecht-Gymnasium. In 1613, he composed a six-part St Matthew Passion in Latin. He died the same year in Frankfurt (Oder) from the plague. External links * * *

Bartolomé Ramos de Pareja

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Bartolomé Ramos de Pareja (ca. 1440 – after 1490), Life By his own testimony at the end of his Musica practica, Ramos de Pareja was born in Baeza, possibly around 1440. Most of the biographical details of his life must be culled from this treatise. At Salamanca he had many debates with Pedro de Osma concerning his musical theories. He moved to Italy in the 1470s, likely due to his treatment by the university. However, another source from 1521 describes Pareja as having “long been dead”, though it is not known whether this is meant figuratively or literally. Ramos de Pareja’s new division was only slowly accepted. Afterwards he worked in Italy, primarily at Bologna, where his theories engendered serious controversy, even polemics, from conservatives such as Franchino Gaffurio. After a long stay there he moved to Rome, where he died shortly after 1521. Ramos de Pareja sought to heal the divide between music in theory and in practice. To this end he sought to render the dissonant thirds and sixths consonant. He proposed the intervals 5/4, 6/5, 5/3, and 8/5 for the division of the monochord, subsequently accepted universally. Less successful was his attempt to replace hexachordal notat

Bartolomeo Barbarino

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Bartolomeo Barbarino (known as “il Pesarino”) (c. 1568c. 1617 or later) was an Italian composer and singer of the early Baroque era. He was a virtuoso falsettist, and one of the most enthusiastic composers of the new style of monody. Life Nothing is known about his early life; his birthdate is inferred from the description by an English visitor in 1608 who described him as being “about forty.” The first record concerning him is from 1593, when he was employed as an alto in Loreto at Santa Casa. Until 1602 he was in Urbino, where he served both Monsignor Giuliano della Rovere and the Duke of Urbino. From 1602 to 1605 he worked as organist at Pesaro Cathedral, and afterwards worked in Padua for the Bishop of Padua. In 1608 he went to Venice to take part in the Festival of San Rocco. Evidently his fame as a singer was widespread at this time, as he was one of the most distinguished visitors. An English visitor to Venice, Thomas Coryat, left this description of his singing (Coryats Crudities, London, 1611): :“Of the singers there were three or foure so excellent that I thinke few or none in Christendome do exell them, especially one, who had such a peerelesse and … supernaturall voic

Bartolomeo da Bologna

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Bartolomeo da Bologna (fl. 1405 – 1427) was an Italian composer of the transitional period between the late medieval style of the Trecento and the early Renaissance. Life Little is known with certainty about his life, but he was probably from Bologna or nearby, and seems to have spent part of his life in Ferrara. He was a Benedictine, and may have been the prior of San Nicolò in Ferrara; in addition he was the organist there in 1407, and he is documented in that cathedral at the beginning of 1427. He also seems to have been connected with the chapel of John XXIII in Bologna, since one of his ballades (Arte psalentes) is probably addressed to the singers in his choir. (He is frequently referred to in manuscripts with the Latin form of his name, “Bartolomeus de Bononia”) Music Bartolomeo is one of only a few native Italian composers of the early 15th century of whom works have survived with reliable attribution; many of the musicians in Italy during the 15th century were foreigners, and it was not until later in the century that there were as many Italians as there were émigrés from northern Europe composing music there. Seven pieces by Bartolomeo have survived, all for three voices:

Bartolomeo degli Organi

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Bartolomeo degli Organi (24 December 1474 – 12 December 1539) was an Italian composer, singer and organist of the Renaissance. Living in Florence, he was closely associated with Lorenzo de’ Medici, and was music teacher both to the Florentine composer Francesco de Layolle and Guido Machiavelli, the son of the famous writer. Life He was born in Florence, and seems to have spent most of his life there. He was a singer in the cathedral of Santissima Annunziata from 1488, and was appointed as a singer in the baptistry chapel by Lorenzo de’ Medici himself. In addition he worked as an organist at several locations in Florence, finally obtaining the position of organist at the cathedral in 1509, a position he retained for the rest of his life. Bartolomeo was well-connected with the artistic and cultural life in Florence. In addition to being part of the circle of Lorenzo de’ Medici, his friends included the poet Lorenzo Strozzi, and he was the music teacher of the son of Niccolò Machiavelli. He also may have been one of the teachers of Francesco Corteccia, the most prominent Florentine musician of the middle of the 16th century. Some of Bartolomeo’s children and grandchildren also became

Bartolomeo Tromboncino

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Bartolomeo Tromboncino (c. 1470 – 1535 or later) was an Italian composer of the middle Renaissance. He is mainly famous as a composer of frottole; he is principally infamous for murdering his wife. He was born in Verona and died in or near Venice. Life There is little information on his early life, as is common for most composers of the time. He mentions in a letter that he was originally from Verona, and it is most likely that he grew up in Mantua. Until around 1500 he lived and worked in Mantua, though he made occasional trips to adjacent cities such as Ferrara, Este, Vicenza, Milan, and Pavia, especially when he was in trouble. He fled Mantua in 1495 for unknown reasons, returning later that same year. In 1499 he murdered his wife when he discovered her in flagrante delicto but, unlike Gesualdo a hundred years later, he may have spared the man (the sources are contradictory on this detail). Curiously, he seems to have been pardoned again and again for his misdeeds, but he left Mantua again “without permission, and for despicable reasons”, as recorded in a letter from one of the Gonzaga family, his employers. His skill as a composer probably endeared him to Isabella d’Este, one o

Benedetto Pallavicino

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Benedetto Pallavicino (c. 1551 – 26 November 1601) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. A prolific composer of madrigals, he was resident at the Gonzaga court of Mantua in the 1590s, where he was a close associate of Giaches de Wert, and a rival of his younger contemporary Claudio Monteverdi. Biography He was born in Cremona in either 1550 or 1551. While little is known about his early life, a mid-17th century document by Cremonese writer Giuseppe Bresciani indicates he served as an organist at several churches in the Cremona region while young, and it is possible he studied with Marc’ Antonio Ingegneri, the same man who was the teacher of Monteverdi. His older brother Germano was also a prominent local organist. The Gonzaga family employed Benedetto at Sabbioneta beginning in 1579 and probably lasting until 1581, first as a singer, and in 1583 he began service with the Gonzagas in Mantua, a musical center of immense importance in the last decades of the 16th century; he stayed there for the rest of his life. While there he associated with some of the most famous composers of the last two decades of the 16th century, including Giaches de Wert, Francesco Sor

Benedictus Appenzeller

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Benedictus Appenzeller (between 1480 and 1488 – after 1558) was a Franco-Flemish singer and composer of the Renaissance, active in Bruges and Brussels. He served Dowager Queen Mary of Hungary for much of his career, and was a prolific composer of vocal music, both sacred and secular, throughout his long career. Life Appenzeller was probably born in Oudenaarde in East Flanders, and his approximate birthdate is inferred from a document late in his life, dated July 1558, in which he gave his age as “over 70”. Appenzeller is first mentioned in cathedral records in 1518, when he is a singer, and in 1519, when he became choirmaster at the cathedral of St. Jacob in Bruges. His several publications during the following years show that he was active then as a composer, but nothing is known of his actual whereabouts or employment until 1536, when Dowager Queen Mary of Hungary (daughter of Philip I and Joanna the Mad of Castile) brought him into her Brussels chapel as a singer. By the next year he had become the master of the choirboys – the one responsible for teaching them music, and caring for them – and he was to hold this position, or its equivalent, until either 1551 or 1555. While he s

Bernardo Pisano

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Bernardo Pisano (also Pagoli) (October 12, 1490 – January 23, 1548) was an Italian composer, priest, singer, and scholar of the Renaissance. He was one of the first madrigalists, and the first composer anywhere to have a printed collection of secular music devoted entirely to himself. Life He was born in Florence, and may have spent some time in Pisa (hence his name). As a young man, he sang and studied music at the church of Annunziata in Florence. In 1512 he became maestro di cappella there, a job which held in addition to supervising the choristers and singing in its various chapels. Evidently, he was favoured by the Medici, for they not only hired him for his church job but gave him a post as a singer in the papal chapel in Rome in 1514, immediately after Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici became Pope Leo X. Sometime during the period 1512 to 1520, he was the teacher of Francesco Corteccia, organist and composer to Cosimo I de’ Medici. Pisano remained based in Rome for the rest of his life. In addition to singing in the papal chapel choir, he acquired ecclesiastical benefices from the Pope, including one each at the cathedrals of Seville and Lerida. Between 1515 and 1519 he travelled

Biagio Marini

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Biagio Marini (5 February 1594 – 20 March 1663) was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer in the first half of the seventeenth century. Marini was born in Brescia. He may have studied with his uncle Giacinto Bondioli. His works were printed and influential throughout the European musical world. He travelled throughout his life, and occupied posts in Brussels, over thirty years in Neuburg an der Donau and Düsseldorf, and Venice in 1615, joining Monteverdi’s group at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Padua, Parma, Ferrara, Milan, Bergamo, and Brescia in Italy. There is evidence that he married three times and fathered five children. He died in Venice. Although he wrote both instrumental and vocal music, he is better known for his innovative instrumental compositions. He contributed to the early development of the string idiom by expanding the performance range of the solo and accompanied violin and incorporating slur, double and even triple stopping, and the first explicitly notated tremolo (in the sonata La Foscarina, op. 1 No. 14; 1617) effects into his music. He was also among the first composers, after Marco Uccellini, to call for scordatura tunings. He made contributions to most of the

Cajus Schmiedtlein

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Cajus Schmiedtlein (c. 15551611) was a German Renaissance composer and organist and is best known for his time as the organist at St. Mary’s Church, Gdańsk. His name appears in different spelling variants in the Low German dialect (Caj Schmedeke, Key Schmedeke, Schmedecke, Smedeke, Schmedcke, Schmiedeke) and in Standard High German (Cajus Schmiedlein, Caius Schmitlein, Schmidtlein, Schmittlein). Biography Schmiedtlein is assumed to have been born around 1555 in the Dithmarschen district of Northern Germany. For an unspecified period he was active as organist in Husum until 1578, when he became organist at Saint Olaf’s Church, Helsingør. But just a year later had to resign from this post following a controversy over his own initiative to create a pedal division and thus modifying the organ without the church authority’s approval. It is unclear what Schmiedtlein did following his resignation in Helsingør, but it is believed he went to Hamburg. In 1585 Schmiedtlein became the organist at St. Mary’s Church, Gdańsk. He married in 1591 and was awarded the citizenship of the city of Gdańsk. On 2 August 1596 he was one of 54 invited organists to play at the inauguration of the new organ at

Camillo Cortellini

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Camillo Cortellini (24 January 156112/13 February 1630) was an Italian composer, singer, and violinist. Biography Cortellini was born in Bologna, and was the son of the composer Gaspare “the viola” Cortellini. In following his father’s profession Camillo was nicknamed “violino.” His first musical education was received from his father who was employed at the Concerto Palatino. He then was taught by Alfonso Ganass . On 26 February 1577, Cortellini succeeded his father in the Concerto della Signoria. In the same month, Cortellini was also admitted as the second soprano Cornett player for the group Concerto Palatino where he would later come back and direct in 1613. In 1593 he was elected cantor at the prestigious chapel of San Petronio Basilica, where he worked until his death in 1630. From 1582 to 1599 Cortellini was in and out of works with the Capella Musicale of San Petrinio (“San Petronio Basilica”) and served there as a singer and trombonist from 1600 to 1629 with a break between 1607 and 1610. In 1626 Cortellini became a member of Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna (“philharmonic academy of Bologna”). In 1583 he released his first publication where he labeled himself as “Musico

Carlo Gesualdo

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Early life#

Gesualdo’s family had acquired the principality of Venosa, in what is now the Province of Potenza, Southern Italy, in 1560. He was probably born on 30 March 1566, three years after his older brother, Luigi, though some sources have stated that he was born on 8 March. Older sources give the year of birth as 1560 or 1561, but this is no longer accepted. A letter from Gesualdo’s mother, Geronima Borromeo, indicates that the year is most likely 1566. Gesualdo’s uncle was Carlo Borromeo, later Saint Charles Borromeo. His mother was the niece of Pope Pius IV. Carlo was most likely born at Venosa, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, but little else is known about his early life. “His mother died when he was only seven, and at the request of his uncle Carlo Borromeo, for whom he was named, he was sent to Rome to be set on the path of an ecclesiastical career. There he was placed under the protection of his uncle Alfonso (d. 1603), then dean of the College of Cardinals, later unsuccessful pretender to the papacy, and ultimately Archbishop of Naples.” His brother Luigi was to become the next Prince of Venosa, but after his untimely death in 1584, Carlo became the designated successor. Abandoning the prospect of an ecclesiastical career,, he married, in 1586, his first cousin, Donna Maria d’Avalos, the daughter of Carlo d’Avalos, prince of Montesarchio and Sveva Gesualdo. They had one child, a son, Don Emmanuele. Gesualdo had a musical relationship with Pomponio Nenna, though whether it was student-to-teacher, or colleague-to-colleague, is uncertain. Regardless of this, however, he had a single-minded devotion to music from an early age, and is said to have shown little interest in anything else. In addition to the lute, he played the harpsichord, and guitar. In addition to Nenna, Gesualdo’s accademia included the composers Giovanni de Macque, Scipione Dentice, Scipione Stella, Scipione Lacorcia, Ascanio Mayone, and the nobleman lutenist Ettorre de la Marra.

Carlo Milanuzzi

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Carlo Milanuzzi (c. 1590 – c. 1647) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era. Life Carlo Milanuzzi was born in Santa Natoglia, or Esanatoglia in the Marche region, to Milanuzzo and donna Felice, probably around 1590, but not after 1592, the starting-date of the Baptismal Books of the town, in which no documentation of his birth has been found. He spent most of his life in Venice. Though he was an Augustinian friar, he composed both sacred and secular music, and his work is very interesting particularly for the later development of the solo cantata. As Dinko Fabris wrote: «the collections of Ariose vaghezze published by Milanuzzi in Venice between 1622 and 1643 were a veritable mine of arias and proto-cantatas that had numerous affinities with Falconieri»; into the collections there are inserted many dances, and a quantity of them are for Spanish guitar. For example, the ‘Terzo scherzo delle ariose vaghezze’ of Milanuzzi contains 12 ballettos for solo voice and continuo, and 7 for guitar alone. Two short arias by Francesco Monteverdi, elder son of Claudio Monteverdi, survive in Milanuzzi’s ‘Quarto scherzo delle ariose vaghezze’. Milanuzzi died perhaps around 1647, the date o

Carpentras (composer)

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Carpentras (also Elzéar Genet, Eliziari Geneti) (ca. 1470 – June 14, 1548) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous during his lifetime, and was especially notable for his settings of the Lamentations which remained in the repertory of the Papal Choir throughout the 16th century. In addition, he was probably the most prominent Avignon musician since the time of the ars subtilior at the end of the 14th century. Life He was born in the town of Carpentras, but nothing else is known about his early life. Sometime before 1505, he took ecclesiastical orders, since when he was hired in the Avignon chapel in that year he was called “clericus.” He spent most of his life alternately in Avignon and Rome. Evidently he was acquainted with Avignon bishop Giuliano della Rovere, for when the bishop became Pope Julius II Carpentras went with him to Rome, where he sang in the papal chapel; he was listed in a roll of the singers there in 1508. However, after a few years he left the chapel to work at the court of Louis XII of France, though little is known about him at this time; clearly he was composing large quantities of secular music, some of it quite irreverent, for when he returne

Caterina Assandra

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Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 – after 1618) was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun. In her surviving motet book, Motetti a due a tre voci op.2, Assandra alludes to her birthplace being in the Province of Pavia. She became famous as an organist and published various works during her lifetime. Her work Motetti a due was dedicated to G.B. Biglia, the Bishop of Pavia, and was first recognized by publisher Lomazzo. Although Assandra had accumulated a substantial reputation for her works as a composer, even reaching outside the borders of Italy, she was at times confused with an 18th-century composer with the same name. And although the date of her birth is approximate, the date of her death is still unknown. Early life Assandra composed a number of motets and organ pieces, written in German tablature. She studied counterpoint with Benedetto Re, or Reggio, one of the leading teachers at Pavia Cathedral, who dedicated a piece to her in 1607. Re may have been an exiled German Catholic. Assandra’s musical talents were noted by the publisher Lomazzo early in her career, in his dedication of the works of Giovanni Paolo Cima. She composed many works during the first half of the 17th century,

Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli

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Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli (born 1573 - ) was an Italian composer of the Baroque period. She published a book of twenty madrigals in 1597, dedicated to Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, which survives as two partbooks and a manuscript tablature. The book contains two madrigals by Alberto Ghirlinzoni, and has texts by Torquato Tasso, Giovanni Battista Guarini, and Antonio Ongaro. Life and career Ricci was born circa 1573 in Cingoli, near Ancona. She was related to the family of Cardinal Giovanni Ricci (1497–1574) by birth, and the noble family of Tingoli by marriage. Ruggiero Giovannelli might have been her teacher, as evidenced by similarities of style in her compositions. Ricci published Il Primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci, con un dialogo a otto novamente composti & dati in luce in Venice in 1597, which is a composition known as a madrigal. This collection includes 20 madrigals, and is dedicated to Monsignore il Cardinale San Giorgio, the Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini. It survives in two partbooks and a manuscript tablature also survives. The cantus and quintus partbooks do not survive. Il primo libro contains 14 five-voice madrigals and an eight-voice dialogue by Ricci, and two m

Charles d'Helfer

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Charles d’Helfer (1598–1661) was a French baroque composer and maître de musique at Soissons Cathedral. His masses follow a strict one syllable per note style. He is best remembered for his requiem for four voices of 1656 which was used for the funeral of composer Michel Richard Delalande in 1726 and was the basis of Julien-Amable Mathieu (1734-1811) and François Giroust’s requiem mass for Louis XV in 1775. Works * Missa quatuor vocum ad imitationem moduli Benedicam Dominum, Paris 1653 * Missa pro defunctis quatuor vocum, Paris 1656 * Missa quatuor vocum ad moduli Lorsque d’un désir curieux, Paris 1658 * Missa sex vocum ad imitationem moduli In aeternum cantabo, Paris 1658 * Vespres et Hymnes de l’année avec plusieurs motets du St. Sacrement, de la Vierge des SS. et patrons de lieux etc à 4 parties, Paris 1660 * Missa quatuor vocum ad imitationem moduli Deliciae Regum, Paris 1664 * Missa sex vocum ad imitationem moduli Quid videbis in Sunamitae, Paris 1674 * Missa quatuor vocibus ad imitationem moduli Laetatus sum, Paris 1678 Recordings * Requiem, with funeral oration for Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d.1608). A Sei Voci. 1994 References Sources Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, The Polyph

Charles Racquet

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Charles Racquet (1597–1664) was a French organist and composer, best known for his monumental organ Fantaisie. He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre-Dame de Paris at an early age, in 1618. He held the post until shortly before his death and was succeeded by another member of the Racquet family. He also served as musician to Marie de’ Medici (a post that his father Balthazar occupied earlier) and to Anne d’Autriche, the Queen Mother. Racquet was very highly regarded by his contemporaries: his pupils included the famous lutenist Denis Gaultier (who wrote a tombeau on his teacher’s death), Jesuit scholar Marin Mersenne was a close friend of his. In the 18th century writer Jean-Benjamin La Borde named Racquet “the best organist of his time.” .The layout is as follows: * Section 1: traditional imitative counterpoint with several countersubjects * Section 2: imitative counterpoint on an ornamented version of the subject, with faster counterpoints * Section 3: subject in augmentation, stated once in each voice * Section 4: a bicinium duplici contrapuncto, a two-voice section in which the subject in its original form is combined with

Christoph Demantius

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Johann Christoph Demantius (15 December 1567 – 20 April 1643) was a German composer, music theorist, writer and poet. He was an exact contemporary of Monteverdi, and represented a transitional phase in German Lutheran music from the polyphonic Renaissance style to the early Baroque. Life He was born in Reichenberg (now Liberec, in the Czech Republic, north of Prague near the border with Germany), and probably received his early training there, though little information is available about his early life. By the early 1590s he was in Bautzen, where he wrote a school textbook, and in 1593 he received a degree from the University of Wittenberg. In 1594 he moved to Leipzig, and in 1597 he acquired the post of Kantor at Zittau, where he probably taught the young Melchior Franck. His next post, one he held for the rest of his life, was as Kantor to Freiberg Cathedral. While he was able to keep his position, the Thirty Years’ War was disruptive to his life, and most of his children, of four different marriages, died due to the hardships imposed by the war. In the realm of sacred music Demantius wrote motets, masses, Magnificat settings, psalm settings, hymns, and a splendid setting of the

Christoph Praetorius

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Christoph Praetorius (died 1590) was an author, choirmaster and composer. He entered the University of Wittenberg in 1551. appears to be from around 1560, He was obliged to resign as Kantor because he had become deaf, yet he continued his compositional activity as evidenced by a wedding motet written for Euricius Dedekind’s wedding. Published works Prose * Erotemata renovatae, Wittenberg, 1574 * Erotemata renovatae musicae, Ülzen, 1581 Music * De obitu, Wittenberg, 1560 * Melodia epithalamia composite in nuptiis, Wittenberg, 1561 * Fröliche und liebliche Ehrnlieder, Wittenberg, 1581 * Der ander Teil: frölicher und lieblicher Ehrnlieder, Wittenberg, 1581 * Carmen nuptial in honorem, Ülzen, 1581 References

Christopher Tye

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Christopher Tye (c. 1505before 1573) was an English Renaissance composer and organist. Probably born in Cambridgeshire, he trained at the University of Cambridge and became the master of the choir at Ely Cathedral. He is noted as the music teacher of Edward VI and was held in high esteem for his choral music, as well as chamber works such as his 24 polyphonic In nomines. It is likely that only a small percentage of his compositional output survives, often only as fragments; his Acts of the Apostles was the only work to be published in his lifetime. He ceased composing when he was ordained, returning to Ely Cathedral and later becoming rector of Doddington, Cambridgeshire. Today, he is perhaps best known for the hymn “Winchester Old”, based on a theme from Acts of the Apostles, which forms the basis of the most commonly performed version in the United Kingdom of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”. Beginnings Little is known about Tye’s origins. Cambridge University records for the academic year 1536–37 indicate that he received the degree of Bachelor of Music after “a study of ten years in the musical art”; from this it is supposed that Tye was born around 1505 (making him a dir

Cipriano de Rore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cipriano de Rore (occasionally Cypriano) (1515 or 1516 – between 11 and 20 September 1565) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. Not only a central representative of the generation of Franco-Flemish composers after Josquin des Prez who went to live and work in Italy, Rore was one of the most prominent composers of madrigals in the middle of the 16th century. His experimental, chromatic, and highly expressive style had a decisive influence on the subsequent development of that secular music form. Life Early years Little is known of Rore’s early life. His probable birth years (1515/1516) are known from his age at death (49, recorded on his tombstone in the cathedral in Parma), and his probable birthplace was a small town in Flanders, Ronse (Renaix), on the boundary between the French- and Dutch-speaking areas. Research has established that his parents were Celestinus Rore (died before 1564) and Barbara Van Coppenolle, and he had at least two siblings, Franciscus and Celestinus. The family was active in Ronse at least since 1400, and its coat of arms appeared both on his personal seal and his tombstone in Parma Cathedral. Where Rore got his musical trainin

Claude Gervaise

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Claude Gervaise (1525–1583) was a French composer, editor and arranger of the Renaissance, who is remembered mainly for his association with renowned printer Pierre Attaingnant, and for his instrumental music. Life Little research has been done on Gervaise’s life, and details are known only of the period in which he was active in Paris as an assistant to Attaingnant. He first appears around 1540, mentioned as an editor on the title pages for several of Attaingnant’s books of instrumental dances. After Attaingnant died in late 1551 or 1552, Gervaise continued to assist Attaingnant’s widow, Marie Lescallopier-Attaingnant, in carrying on their publishing business. Where Gervaise went after the last publication under the Attaingnant name in 1558 is not known. Music Gervaise’s extant output consists of chansons, mostly for three or four voices, and instrumental music, mostly dances. He appears to have written no sacred music at all, an unusual omission for a composer of the time. In addition to being a composer, he appears to have been an innovator in notation of instrumental music: in an instruction manual for the viol (1548, now lost), he is known to have produced the first viol tabla

Claude Goudimel

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Claude Goudimel (c. 1514 to 1520 – between 28 August and 31 August 1572) was a French composer, music editor and publisher, and music theorist of the High Renaissance. Biography Claude Goudimel was born in Besançon, modern-day France, which at that time was a French-speaking imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Few details of his life are known until he is documented in Paris in 1549, where he was studying at the University of Paris; in that year he also published a book of chansons. In the early 1550s he worked with printer , and may have still been studying at the University of Paris until 1555; by 1555 he was also Du Chemin’s partner in the publishing business. Goudimel moved to Metz in 1557, converting to Protestantism, and is known to have been associated with the Huguenot cause there; however he left Metz due to the increasing hostility of the city authorities to Protestants during the Wars of Religion. First he settled in his native town of Besançon, and later moved to Lyon. It is thought that Goudimel was murdered in Lyon in August 1572, during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, along with much of the Huguenot population of the city. However, his last letter to his clos

Claude Le Jeune

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Claude Le Jeune (; 1528 to 1530 – buried 26 September 1600) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He was the primary representative of the musical movement known as musique mesurée, and a significant composer of the “Parisian” chanson, the predominant secular form in France in the latter half of the 16th century. His fame was widespread in Europe, and he ranks as one of the most influential composers of the time. Life He was born in Valenciennes, where he probably received his early musical training. Sometime fairly early in life he became a Protestant. The first record of his musical activity is from 1552, when four chansons attributed to him were published at Leuven, in anthologies of works by several composers. In 1564, he moved to Paris, where he became acquainted with the Huguenots. By this time, he had already acquired some international fame, as evidenced by the appearance of his name in a list of “contemporary composers of excellence” in a manuscript copy of the Penitential Psalms of Orlande de Lassus, which were probably composed in the 1560s in Munich. Lassus may have met Le Jeune in the mid-1550s during a trip to France; however this has not been definit

Claudin de Sermisy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Claudin de Sermisy (c. 149013 October 1562) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music. His music was both influential on, and influenced by, contemporary Italian styles. Biography Sermisy was most likely born either in Picardy, Burgundy, or Île-de-France, based on the similarity of his surname to place names there. His birthdate is inferred from the date he joined the royal chapel; 18 was about the right age for such an appointment. In 1515 he went to Italy with Francis I, and in 1520 he was part of the musical festivities arranged by Francis I and Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, directed by Jean Mouton, where he was almost certainly a singer. Typically Sermisy’s chansons are chordal and syllabic, shunning the more ostentatious polyphony of composers from the Netherlands, striving for lightness and grace instead. Sermisy was fond of quick repeated notes, which give the texture an overall lightness and dance-like quality. Another stylistic trait seen in many of Sermisy’s chansons is an i

Claudio Merulo

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Claudio Merulo (; 8 April 1533 – 4 May 1604) was an Italian composer, publisher and organist of the late Renaissance period, most famous for his innovative keyboard music and his ensemble music composed in the Venetian polychoral style. He was born in Correggio and died in Parma. Born Claudio Merlotti, he Latinised his surname (meaning little blackbird) when he became famous in Venetian cultural clubs. Life Little is known about his early life except that he studied in Correggio with Tuttovale Menon, a famous madrigalist who also worked in the Ferrara court; he also studied with Girolamo Diruta, an organist. It is likely that he studied with Zarlino at St. Mark’s in Venice. While in Venice he became close friends with Costanzo Porta, a friendship which was to endure for his entire life. On 21 October 1556, he was appointed organist at Old Cathedral of Brescia (Duomo Vecchio), and his skill as an organist must have been impressive, because he became organist at St. Mark’s, one of the most prestigious positions for an organist in Italy, in 1557; he was selected over a list of candidates that included Andrea Gabrieli. This was the first important event of his career, and he was consid

Claudio Monteverdi

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Cremona: 1567–1591#

Monteverdi was baptised in the church of SS Nazaro e Celso, Cremona, on 15 May 1567. The register records his name as “Claudio Zuan Antonio” the son of “Messer Baldasar Mondeverdo”. He was the first child of the apothecary Baldassare Monteverdi and his first wife Maddalena (née Zignani); they had married early the previous year. Claudio’s brother Giulio Cesare Monteverdi was also to become a musician; there were two other brothers and two sisters from Baldassare’s marriage to Maddalena and his subsequent marriage in 1576 or 1577. Cremona was close to the border of the Republic of Venice, and not far from the lands controlled by the Duchy of Mantua, in both of which states Monteverdi was later to establish his career. Monteverdi’s first publications also give evidence of his connections beyond Cremona, even in his early years. His second published work, Madrigali spirituali (Spiritual Madrigals, 1583), was printed at Brescia. His next works (his first published secular compositions) were sets of five-part madrigals, according to his biographer Paolo Fabbri: “the inevitable proving ground for any composer of the second half of the sixteenth century … the secular genre par excellence”. The first book of madrigals (1587) was dedicated to Count Marco Verità of Verona; the second book of madrigals (1590) was dedicated to the President of the Senate of Milan, Giacomo Ricardi, for whom he had played the viola da braccio in 1587.

Claudio Pari

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Claudio Pari (1574 – after 1619) was an Italian composer, born in the County of Burgundy, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He is classified in the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a competent madrigalist, well regarded by his peers, as well as a late representative of the musical style/ethos known as musica reservata. Life Pari was born in Salines (Salins-les-Bains), Franche-Comté, Holy Roman Empire. While little is known about his early life, he probably came to the Italian peninsula or Sicily early in his life. He was at the monastery of S. Domingo in Palermo in 1598, where he fell afoul of the Inquisition; at an auto-da-fé there he was sentenced to row in the galleys for five years, on a charge of heresy. By 1611 at the latest he was back in Palermo, since he published a book of madrigals there. Whatever his history as a heretic may have been, he must have been forgiven, for he was appointed to be music director at a Jesuit institution at Salemi (in western Sicily) in 1615. His final publication—his fourth book of madrigals—was in 1619 and nothing further is known about his life. Music and influence Much of Pari’s music is in the manneristic style whi

Claudio Saracini

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Claudio Saracini (1 July 1586 – 20 September 1630) was an Italian composer, lutenist, and singer of the early Baroque era. He was one of the most famous and distinguished composers of monody. Life Saracini was born to a noble family, probably in Siena. Little is known for certain about his education, but it is presumed that he traveled widely while he was young, for not only did he establish numerous foreign connections—as evidenced by his dedications of music to foreign aristocrats—but he absorbed some of the musical styles of the lands he visited. He seems never to have held a professional musical position of which record has survived; indeed he seems to have been an extraordinarily talented amateur, one who was admired even by Claudio Monteverdi. The references to Saracini as “Il Palusi” seem to indicate that he was a member of an academy, although further details are lacking. All of his music was published in Venice between 1614 and 1624. Music and influence Of his music, 133 songs have survived, and all are monodies—secular compositions for solo voice, generally sung in a highly ornamented style, with instrumental accompaniment. All but one are in Italian, and encompass a wide

Clément Janequin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Life#

Janequin was born in Châtellerault, near Poitiers, though no documents survive which establish any details of his early life or training. His career was highly unusual for his time, in that he never had a regular position with a cathedral or an aristocratic court. Instead he held a series of minor positions, often with important patronage. In 1505 he was employed as a clerk in Bordeaux, to Lancelot du Fau, who eventually became Bishop of Luçon; he retained this position until du Fau’s death in 1523, at which time he took a position with the Bishop of Bordeaux. Around this time he became a priest, though his appointments were rarely lucrative; indeed he always complained about money. After 1530 Janequin held a succession of posts in Anjou, beginning as a singing teacher to the choirboys at the cathedral at Auch, and progressing to maître de chapelle at the singing school at Angers Cathedral. Around this time he attracted the attention of Jean de Guise, the patron of Erasmus, Clément Marot, and Rabelais; it was a welcome career boost, and, in 1548, with the additional assistance of Charles de Ronsard (the brother of poet Pierre de Ronsard), he became curate at Unverre, not far from Chartres. During this time he lived in Paris. By 1555 he was listed as a “singer ordinary” of the king’s chapel, and shortly thereafter became “composer ordinary” to the king: only one composer (Sandrin, also known as Pierre Regnault) had previously had this title. In his will, dated January 1558, he left a small estate to charity, and he complained again of age and poverty in a dedication to a work published posthumously in 1559. He died in Paris.

Colinet de Lannoy

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Colinet de Lannoy (died before 6 February 1497) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers/singers working at the Milan chapel at the time of the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, and he possibly also worked in France. Life Very little is known for certain about his life, and some details have been confused with other musicians named “Lannoy” or “Lanoy”. Two other singers named Lannoy, Jehan and David, were known to be active at the French court in the middle of the 15th century, and may have been related; in addition, a “Karolus de Launoy”, active at Bourges and later in France, was previously confused with him. In 1477, Lannoy, along with Jean Japart, Johannes Martini, and Loyset Compère, was given a pass to leave Milan following the murder of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. The singing group at the chapel had been one of the most distinguished in Europe, and the compositional style which developed there in the 1470s was widely influential: for example the motet-chanson was probably a Milanese invention. It is not known to what degree Lannoy was involved in the development of this style, nor is it known where Lannoy went after his dismiss

Conrad Paumann

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Conrad Paumann (c. 1410 – January 24, 1473) was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the early Renaissance. Born blind, he became one of the most talented musicians of the 15th century, and his performances created a sensation wherever he went. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. Life He was born in Nuremberg to a family of craftsmen. His musical ability must have become apparent early, for he received an excellent training with the support of aristocratic patrons. In 1447 he became the official town organist of Nuremberg, and the councilors even issued orders for him not to leave without their permission. As rebellious as he was talented, Paumann left what was probably a stifling environment, traveling secretly to Munich in 1450 where he was immediately employed by Duke Albrecht III as court organist, who also gave him a house. Munich was officially his home for the remainder of his life, although he began to travel extensively. While exact records of his travels do not remain, they were clearly extensive, and everywhere he went he was greeted with astonishment; his renown as a performer and composer grew. Milan and Naples both made him attractive job off

Constantijn Huygens

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Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens. Biography Constantijn Huygens was born in The Hague, the second son of Christiaan Huygens (senior), secretary of the Council of State, and Susanna Hoefnagel, niece of the Antwerp painter Joris Hoefnagel. Education Constantijn was a gifted child. His brother Maurits and he were educated partly by their father and partly by carefully instructed governors. When he was five years old, Constantijn and his brother received their first musical education. Music education They started with singing lessons, and they learned their notes using gold-coloured buttons on their jackets. It is striking that Christiaan senior imparted the “modern” system of 7 note names to the boys, instead of the traditional, but much more complicated hexachord system. Two years later the first lessons on the viol started, followed by the lute and the harpsichord. Constantijn showed a particular acumen for the lute. At the age of eleven he was already asked to pl

Cornelis Verdonck

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cornelis Verdonck (1563 – 5 July 1625) was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the last members of the Franco-Flemish school of polyphony, and was a notable composer of madrigals in a style that blended both Italian and native Netherlandish idioms. Life Verdonck was born in Turnhout. From his earliest years, he was in the household of Cornelis Pruenen, senator and treasurer of Antwerp; in addition he was a choirboy at Antwerp Cathedral until about the age of 9. In 1572 he went to Spain to be part of the choir of Philip II in Madrid, where he stayed until his voice broke in early 1580, at which time he returned to the Netherlands to study in Antwerp with Séverin Cornet, and possibly with Hubert Waelrant as well. His earliest works, published along with those of Cornet, date from this period. In 1584 Verdonck returned to Spain, once again singing in the choir of Philip II, staying there until 1598 or 1599, after which he again returned to Antwerp. Also in 1599 he participated in the elaborate entry procession of the newly married Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella into Antwerp, writing a motet (Prome, novas) for the occasion: it was performed by a six-memb

Cornelius Canis

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cornelius Canis (also de Hondt, d’Hondt) (between 1500 and 1510 – 15 February 1562) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and choir director of the Renaissance, active for much of his life in the Grande Chapelle, the imperial Habsburg music establishment during the reign of Emperor Charles V. He brought the compositional style of the mid-16th century Franco-Flemish school, with its elaborate imitative polyphony, together with the lightness and clarity of the Parisian chanson, and he was one of the few composers of the time to write chansons in both the French and Franco-Flemish idioms. Life No specific records have survived documenting his early life. He was most likely from Ghent, since a surviving letter indicates that his parents lived there, and the earliest records of his career show that he was the singing-master and teacher of the choirboys at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-op-de-rade confraternity, part of the Church of St. John in Ghent. He may have been part of a large musical family, since other musicians named d’Hondt, de Hondt, and Canis were active in Ghent, Kortrijk, and other places with connections to the imperial chapel during the 16th century. In 1542, he was given the re

Costanzo Antegnati

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Costanzo Antegnati (9 December 1549 - 14 November 1624) was an organist, organ builder and composer. Biography He was born in Brescia, to a family of prolific organ builders, a profession which also included his father Graziadio. His was musically educated by Giovanni Contino and Girolamo Cavazzoni. Organ builder At age 21, he was sent by his father, who reassured the Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga of his son’s abilities, to fix the organ of the basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua. Additionally, Costanzo worked with his father in the construction of the Antegnati organ, at one time the largest and most famous in the world, which was built in 1581 for the friars of St. Joseph’s Church in Brescia. In 1595 he was commissioned by Catherine Gonzaga, daughter of the Marquis Alfonso Gonzaga, for the construction of the organ at the Church of St. Erasmus Prepositurale in Castel Goffredo. Although few of his instruments survive, the remarkable Organ Antegnati of the church of St. Nicholas (1588) in Bergamo was restored in 1996. He is most famous for the work L’arte organica (1608) which provides technical details of 144 organs built by his family, rules about the tuning of organs and harpsichords,

Costanzo Festa

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Costanzo Festa (c. 1485/1490 – 10 April 1545) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. While he is best known for his madrigals, he also wrote sacred vocal music. He was the first native Italian polyphonist of international renown, and with Philippe Verdelot, one of the first to write madrigals, in the infancy of that most popular of all sixteenth-century Italian musical forms. Life Not much is known about his early life. He was probably born in the Piedmont near Turin, but the evidence is not certain, being based mainly on later documents referring to him as a clericis secularibus, i.e. not a monk, from that region. His birth date has been given as early as 1480 and as late as 1495, but recent scholarship has tended to narrow the range to the late 1480s. In addition he may have been related to his slightly younger contemporary Sebastiano Festa, another early madrigal composer, also from the same region. Sebastiano’s father, Jacobinus, was a resident in Turin around 1520. In early 1514, Festa wrote a motet, Quis dabit oculis, on the occasion of the death of the Queen of France (Anne of Brittany) (9 January 1514). Anne’s funeral was an extensive affair, lasting 40 days; Johannes

Costanzo Porta

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Costanzo Porta (1528 or 1529 – 19 May 1601) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, and a representative of what is known today as the Venetian School. He was highly praised throughout his life both as a composer and a teacher, and had a reputation especially as an expert contrapuntist. Biography Porta was born in Cremona. Details of his early life are slim, but he probably was educated at the Convent Porta San Luca in Cremona. Around 1550 he is thought to have studied with Adrian Willaert, who was maestro di cappella at St. Mark’s in Venice; while he was there he met Claudio Merulo, who was also a student; they remained close friends throughout their lives. In 1552 Porta became maestro di cappella at Osimo Cathedral; in 1565 he took a position in Padua briefly, but took a more important position in Ravenna the next year, where he was hired to build an entirely new music practice at the cathedral. By 1580 his services were much in demand, and there was competition for him; he declined an offer from Milan, moving instead between positions in several cities. In addition he had become a renowned teacher by this time, and numerous composers of the next generation learned their cont

Cristóbal de Morales

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Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500 – between 4 September and 7 October 1553) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He is generally considered to be the most influential Spanish composer before Tomás Luis de Victoria. Life Cristóbal de Morales was born in Seville and, after an exceptional early education there, which included a rigorous training in the classics as well as musical study with some of the foremost composers, he held posts at Ávila and Plasencia. All that is known about his family is that he had a sister, and that his father died prior to his sister’s marriage in 1530. Others who lived in Seville are considered to be potential relatives of Morales. These include Cristóbal de Morales, a singer employed by Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1504; Alonso de Morales, treasurer of the cathedral in 1503; Francisco de Morales (d. 1505), a canon; and Diego de Morales, who was the cathedral notary in 1525. Earlier Spanish popes of the Borja family held a long tradition of employing Spanish singers in the papal chapel’s choir. This had a significant effect on Morales’ success. Starting in 1522, there are three different occurrences where a Cristóbal de Morales was indicated to be an organ

Cyprian Bazylik

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Cyprian Bazylik (c. 1535 in Sieradz – c. 1600) was a Polish composer, usually designated as C.B. or C.S. (Cyprian of Sieradz). Besides writing music, he was also a writer, poet, and printer. Biography He was a townsman from Sieradz. In the semester of 1550/1551 he matriculated at the Krakow Academy. He had already leaned towards Calvinism. He created poetic and musical works. Thanks to the support of Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Black, he received a position in the chancellery of Sigismund Augustus in Vilno. In 1557 he met Jacob Heraclides Basilicus and with his support was ennobled under his patron’s coat of arms and name, as well as the title poeta laureatus. In 1558 he went to Lithuania, where he became a musician and rhyme-maker at the court of Mikolaj Radziwill the Black (along with Wacław of Szamotuły, who was already there). In 1569 he was secretary to Sieradz voivode Olbracht Łaski. He also soon married Agnes Lern, daughter of Stanislaw, a townsman from Krakow. He was a chanceller, printer and translator of Calvinist publications. In 1569-1570 he was the owner of the Radziwill printing house in Brest. He held the office of alderman in Mielnik and in the affiliated village of Orlov

Daniel Bacheler

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Daniel Bacheler, also variously spelt Bachiler, Batchiler or Batchelar, (baptized 16 March 1572 – buried 29 January 1619) was an English lutenist and composer. Of all the English lutenist-composers, he is now credited as probably being the most successful in his own lifetime. Bacheler was born in the Buckinghamshire village of Aston Clinton, a son of Richard Bachelor and his wife Elizabeth (née Cardell). He served an apprenticeship with his uncle, Thomas Cardell, who was a lutenist and dancing-master in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. He worked for Sir Francis Walsingham, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and finally as a groom of the privy chamber for Queen Anne of Denmark, consort of James I. Elizabeth Roche, reviewing a CD of his work for The Daily Telegraph commented on the current neglect of Bacheler’s music, suggesting that one reason is the “difficulty of his ornamental style, including arpeggios, trills, and even the dazzling tremolos that conclude his variations on Monsieurs Almaine”. The Heralds Visitation records show that Bacheler received a grant of arms in 1606. He was buried on 29 January 1618/1619 in St Margaret’s churchyard, Lee, Kent. Bibliography *Bacheler, Dan

Daniel Friderici

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Daniel Friderici (1584 – 23 September 1638) was a German cantor, conductor, and composer. Life Friderici was born in Eichstaedt (today Querfurt) to a poor family and had been a choirboy in his younger years. He was trained by Valentin Haussmann and Frederick Weissensee. In 1612 he enrolled at the University of Rostock. Two years later he was appointed as a cantor for Oldenburg by Count Anton Günther and later moved in 1618 to the same position at the St. Mary’s Church in Rostock. After he had finished his training, he was appointed conductor of all churches in Rostock. There he worked until he died there in 1638 from the plague. Works He wrote many high quality secular and sacred polyphonic vocal works, which became widely known in his lifetime and afterwards. He wrote Musica figuralis which taught techniques of singing. Sacred works *Sertum Musicale primum oder Erstes Musicalisches Kräntzlein. 1614 *Sertum musicale alterum oder Anderes Musicalisches Kräntzlein. 1619 *Psalmus Regii Prophetae Davidis. 1622 *Bicinia sacra. 1623 *Viridarium Musicum Sacrum. 1625 *Selige Grab- und Himmels Leiter von sieben Spalten. 1628 *Deliciae iuveniles. 1630 Secular works *Servia musicalis prima. 16

David Gregor Corner

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David Gregor Corner (1585 – 9 January 1648) was a German Benedictine abbot, hymn writer and theologian best known for his influential 1631 Gross Catholisches Gesängbuch (“Great Catholic Hymnal”). Born in Hirschberg, Germany (now Jelenia Góra, Poland), he studied theology at Prague, Graz and Vienna, where he earned a doctorate. He died 9 January 1648 at Göttweig. His magnum opus, the Gross Catholische Gesängbuch was published in 1625, and a later publication from 1631 contained 546 hymns and 276 melodies (including 76 Latin hymns), one of the largest song books of the 16th and 17th century. The collection was derived from a large variety of sources - earlier Jesuit hymn collections, manuscripts, and even Protestant writers. A separate collection, Geistliche Nachtigal (“Holy Nightingale”) was published in 1649, perhaps posthumously. This contained 363 hymns and 181 melodies (including 42 Latin hymns), and was essentially a retitled and revised version of his original collection. After his death, editions of Geistliche Nachtigal were published in 1658, 1674 and 1676. References External links *Biography at the German Wikisource.

Diego Ortiz

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Diego Ortiz (c. 1510 – c. 1576) was a Spanish composer and music theorist in service to the viceroy of Naples ruled by the Spanish monarchs Charles V and Philip II. Ortiz published the first manual on ornamentation for bowed string instruments, and a large collection of sacred vocal compositions. Biography Very little is known about Ortiz’s life. He is believed to have been born in Toledo and probably died in Rome, where his trail is lost. In 1553 Ortiz was living in the viceroyalty of Naples. Five years later, the third duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, appointed him maestro di cappella of the Chapel Royal of Naples. In 1565 Ortiz still held the post under the Viceroy Pedro Afán de Ribera, duke of Alcalá. A recent study suggests that Diego Ortiz could have been the model for a very relevant personage in the famous work of Paolo Caliari Veronese “The Wedding at Cana”, based on the instrumental ensemble represented by the painter, the edition date of Ortiz’s second book Musices liber primus in Venice, the repeated confusions and misattributions about this person in the literature down to the present, and the striking resemblance of the painted character with the only known e

Diego Pisador

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Diego Pisador (1509/10? – after 1557) was a Spanish vihuelist and composer of the Renaissance. Life Little is known of the details of Pisador’s life, not even the exact dates of his birth and death. It is known that he was born in Salamanca around the years 1509 or 10. He was the oldest son of Alonso Pisador and Isabel Ortiz, who married in 1508. Ortiz’s father, Alfonso III of Fonseca, Archbishop of Santiago, was a great patron of music. Alonso Pisador worked as a notary in the audience of the archbishop and, in 1524, he moved to Toledo, following his steps. There he entered the service of the count of Monterrey, possibly Alonso de Acevedo y Zúñiga, who was also a grandson of Alfonso III. In 1526 Pisador took minor orders, but did not continue in an ecclesiastical career. In 1532, his father moved to Galicia following Alonso de Acevedo y Zúñiga as the corregidor of Monterrey. He would not return to Salamanca until 1551, after his wife died in September 1550. He settled in Salamanca in the care of his mother and his younger brother. He had charge of the economic affairs of the family and the position of majordomo/administrator in the city of Salamanca, once held by his father. At th

Diomedes Cato

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Diomedes Cato (1560 to 1565 – d.1627 in Gdansk) was an Italian-born composer and lute player, who lived and worked entirely in Poland and Lithuania. He is known mainly for his instrumental music. He mixed the style of the late Renaissance with the emerging Baroque, and also Italian idioms with Polish folk material; and in addition he was one of the first native-born Italian composers to visit Sweden. Life He was born near Treviso between 1560 and 1565, possibly at Serravale where his father is documented as being a teacher. Around 1565 his family, who were Protestants, fled Italy to escape the Inquisition, and settled in Poland. Cato, who had left Italy before the age of five, received all of his musical education in Kraków, where the family settled. The first record of his employment dates from 1588, when he was hired as a lutenist by the court of King Sigismund III Vasa, a position he kept until 1593. In 1591 he wrote music for the wedding of Jan Kostka at Świecie castle; the Kostka family may have been patrons of his, since Stanisław Kostka left him a considerable legacy in 1602. In 1593 and 1594 he went with King Sigismund to Sweden, where his fame as a lutenist and composer wa

Domenico Allegri

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Domenico Allegri (c. 1585 – 5 September 1629) was an Italian composer and singer of the early Baroque Roman School. He was the second son of the Milanese coachman Costantino Allegri, who lived in Rome with his family, and was a younger brother of the more famous Gregorio Allegri. Costantino sent three sons, Gregorio, Domenico and Bartolomeo, to study music at San Luigi dei Francesi, under the maestro di capella Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, brother of Giovanni Maria Nanino. The little boy had as schoolmates his elder brother Gregorio and then Antonio Cifra, Domenico Massenzio and Paolo Agostini. In 1606, Allegri was maestro di cappella of the church of Santa Maria at Spello, and from September 1609 until April 1610 served in the same role at the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. From 3 April 1610 until his death, he held the same position at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, where he was buried. Allegri is mainly famous for being one of the first to include specific instrumental accompaniments to sacred vocal music on a small scale. While much of his music is lost, one piece which has survived is the Modi quos expositis in choris of 1617 which has accompaniments to the

Domenico Ferrabosco

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Domenico Maria Ferrabosco (14 February 1513 – February 1574) Little is known about his early life. He was a singer at the cathedral of San Petronio, and by 1540 had established a high enough reputation for his various musical activities that the city officials gave him a lifetime stipend to oversee the palace musicians. Sometime in the 1540s he went to Rome, and he became magister puerorum (director of the boy’s choir) for the Julian Chapel in 1546. However, due to family obligations he returned to Bologna in 1547, and became maestro di cappella (choir director) at San Petronio, the church where he had previously been a singer, in 1548. The Bolognese Senate also granted him a non-musical position, Regulator et scriba campionis creditorum Montis portarum. Palestrina was one of the other composers and singers working in the principal Roman chapels at that time, and the two of them, along with all the other married singers, were removed from their posts, on pension, in September 1555 under an edict by the new Pope Paul IV, who decided to more rigidly enforce the rule on celibacy for his musicians than had his predecessors. Ferrabosco probably did not go back to Bologna after this, but

Dominique Phinot

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Dominique Phinot (c. 1510 – c. 1556) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy and southern France. He was highly regarded at the time for his motets, which anticipate the style of Palestrina, and in addition he was an early pioneer of polychoral writing. Life He may have been French in origin, since Girolamo Cardano, writing about him in his Theonoston (1560) called him “Gallus”, and French was evidently his native language. Few details of his life are known with certainty, but some inferences can be made. Much of his career he spent in Italy, and he worked at both the court and cathedral in Urbino in 1544 and 1545. Some of his life he also probably spent in Lyon, as evidenced by several publications there, the music of which contains items of local interest; in addition the dedications are to citizens of Lyon. While stylistically some of his music seems likely to have been connected with Venice, there is no evidence of his activity there; however he published two books of psalm settings in Venice in 1554. According to Cardano he was executed for “homosexual practices”, probably in Lyon in 1556. Cardano relates that ‘Jacob Bonfadius, a man otherwise not in

Duarte Lobo

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Duarte Lobo (c. 1565 – 24 September 1646; Latinized as Eduardus Lupus) was a Portuguese composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. He was one of the most famous Portuguese composers of the time, together with Filipe de Magalhães, Manuel Cardoso, composers who all began their academic studies as students of Manuel Mendes. Along with John IV, King of Portugal, they represent the “golden age” of Portuguese polyphony. Life Details of his life are sparse. He was born in Alcáçovas, in Alentejo, southern Portugal. He is known to have been a choir boy at Évora where he subsequently studied with Manuel Mendes. His first position was as mestre de capela of the cathedral of Évora sometime before 1589, he became maestro di cappella at the Hospital Real, Lisbon. By 1591 he was appointed as mestre de capela at the cathedral in Lisbon, a position he held till 1639. This was the most prestigious musical appointment in the country. He also served as director of the Seminary of São Bartolomeu, and was also a professor of music at the ‘Colégio do Claustro da Sé’ (College at the Holy See Cloisters) in Lisbon, where he taught Manuel Machado. While chronologically his life overlapped with the b

Edward Gibbons

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Edward Gibbons (bapt. 21 March 1568 – in or before July 1650) was an English choirmaster and composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Born in Cambridge, Gibbons’s youth is completely unknown, but he later received degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. From 1591/92 to 1598 he worked at King’s College, Cambridge, as a lay clerk and choirmaster. During his tenure he married Jane, with whom he had six children. Gibbons’s whereabouts the next few years remain uncertain; he may have lived in Acton, Bristol or Exeter, but by 1607 he was the choirmaster of the Exeter Cathedral, where the choristers included Matthew Locke. By 1609 Gibbons received a special dispensation to become a priest vicar, becoming the head of the college of priest-vicars and succentor. Jane died in 1628, and Edward married Mary Bluet; the family was evicted from their home during the English Civil War, but moved to their estate in Dunsford. A few compositions of Gibbons survive: an organ prelude, two verse anthems, two works for viol consorts, and some sacred music. Of these, commentators have mainly praised the verse anthems, How hath ye City sate solitary and What Strikes the Clo

Ellis Gibbons

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Ellis Gibbons (bapt. 30 November 1573 – 14? May 1603) was an English composer of the late Renaissance who was associated with the English Madrigal School. Born in Cambridge to a musical family, Gibbons was the second surviving son of William Gibbons, a town wait. By 1598 he was known to be living in Cambridge’s High ward, and later the Market ward. He owned property in Cambridge and London and probably spent much time there, presumably as a musician of some kind (although this has never been verified). At the age of 28 he became one of only two composers to contribute two pieces to The Triumphs of Oriana, a collection of 25 madrigals published in 1601. These madrigals were Long live Oriana and Round about her ; modern commentators generally favor the latter. No other compositions by Gibbons survive, and some scholars have doubted his authorship of these works, ascribing them to his brothers. Two months after his mother’s death, his career was cut short by his early death in May 1603, leaving behind his brothers Edward, Ferdinando and Orlando, who would become the most famous musician of the family. Orlando’s son, Christopher, was also a noted composer. Life and career Ellis Gibbons

Eloy d'Amerval

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Eloy d’Amerval (fl. 1455 – 1508) was a French composer, singer, choirmaster, and poet of the Renaissance. He spent most of his life in the Loire Valley of France. From his poetic works, especially his enormous 1508 poem Le livre de la deablerie, it can be inferred that he knew most of the famous composers of the time, even though his own musical works never approached theirs in renown. Life Although a long period of activity is documented for this composer, nothing is known of either his birth or death, other than that he likely was from Amerval in the Pas-de-Calais. Since he was listed as a tenor at the chapel in Savoy beginning in 1455, he probably was born before 1440. The choirmaster at the Savoy chapel at the time of Eloy’s admission was Guillaume Dufay. Eloy spent most of his life serving in institutions connected with the French royal court. In 1464 and 1465 he is recorded as a singer for Charles, Duke of Orléans. In 1468 and 1471 he is mentioned as choirmaster of the boys at St. Aignan in Orléans. He had the same position at Ste. Croix Cathedral in Orléans in 1483 (old scholarship reporting him in Milan, at the Sforza chapel, during the 1470s has been recently debunked). In

Emilio de' Cavalieri

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Emilio de’ Cavalieri (c. 155011 March 1602), or Emilio dei Cavalieri (the spellings “del” and “Cavaliere” are contemporary typographical errors), was an Italian composer, producer, organist, diplomat, choreographer and dancer at the end of the Renaissance era. His work, along with that of other composers active in Rome, Florence and Venice, was critical in defining the beginning of the musical Baroque era. A member of the Roman School of composers, he was an influential early composer of monody, and wrote what is usually considered to be the first oratorio. Life Cavalieri was born in Rome of an aristocratic and musical family. He was the son of Tommaso dei Cavalieri (c. 1509–1587), a close friend of Michelangelo. He probably received his early training there, and was working as an organist and music director in the period from 1578 to 1584. He spent much of his time in Rome as an organiser of Lenten oratorios. While in Rome he became associated with Cardinal Ferdinando I de’ Medici. In 1587, Ferdinando de’ Medici succeeded his brother as Grand Duke of Tuscany, and in 1588 he brought Cavalieri to Florence as an overseer of artists, craftsmen and musicians. Cavalieri was master of ce

Emmanuel Adriaenssen

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Emmanuel Adriaenssen (also Adriaensen, Adriansen, Hadrianus, Hadrianius; c. 1554 in Antwerp – buried 27 February 1604 in Antwerp) was a Flemish lutenist, composer and master of music. He authored the influential Pratum Musicum, which contains scores for lute solos, and more importantly settings of madrigals for multiple lutes and different ensembles involving lutes and voices. He also had an important influence on the next generation of lutenists through his activity as a teacher of music in his own music school. Life Emmanuel Adriaenssen was born in Antwerp between 1540 and 1555. The brothers had in 1587 a conflict with the musicians’ guild of Antwerp because they practised as musicians without becoming members of the guild. Emanuel later became a master of the guild. He married Sybilla Crelin in 1584 with whom he had six sons and one daughter. Their sons Alexander (1587–1661), Vincent (1595–1675) and Niclaes (1598–1658) became respectively a still life painter, a battle painter and a portrait painter. Prior to the Fall of Antwerp, Emmanuel was likely a Calvinist as he only had his first son baptised in a Catholic after the Fall of Antwerp. He was registered as a Catholic in the p

Ercole Bottrigari

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Ercole Bottrigari (24 August 153130 September 1612 ) was an Italian scholar, mathematician, poet, music theorist, architect, and composer. Life The illegitimate son of Giovanni Battista Bottrigari, a wealthy Bolognese aristocrat, and Cornelia (alias Caterina) de’ Chiari of Brescia, he was legitimized on 16 August 1538 and then raised in his father’s house at Sant’Alberto, near Bologna. On 7 March 1542 Bottrigari was selected by the Bolognese senate as one of a group of 12 young aristocrats deputed to welcome the new Cardinal Legate, Gasparo Contarini, to the city. Evidently Bottrigari distinguished himself in the recitation of poetry and orations on this occasion; he was duly rewarded by Contarini who invested him with the titles of Knight of the Holy See and Lateran during a Pontifical High Mass in Bologna Cathedral on 9 April 1542. As a young man he studied classical languages with Francesco Lucchino of Trento, perspective and architecture with Giacomo Ranuzzi and mathematical sciences with Nicolò Simo, professor of astronomy at the University of Bologna. Bottrigari also studied music with Bartolomeo Spontone with whom he remained in close contact for many years; their friendship

Ercole Pasquini

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Ercole Pasquini (ca. 1560 – between 1608 and 1619) was an Italian composer and organist. Biography Pasquini was born at Ferrara, and studied with Alessandro Milleville (1521?-1589). He was described by Agostino Superbi (1620) as a most clever and excellent musician and organist. “He had a very nimble hand; and sometimes played so splendidly that he enraptured the people and truly amazed them.” In the 1580s, Pasquini took over the musical instruction of the daughters of Giovan Battista Aleotti, court architect of Ferrara, from Milleville. On 1 May 1592, Pasquini became the organist of the ridotti of Mario Bevilacqua and of the Olivetian church, Santa Maria in Organo, in Verona. While he held these positions, he wrote and published a favola boscareccia entitled I fidi amanti (Verona, 1593) in anticipation of the wedding of Don Carlo Gesualdo and Eleonora d’Este which took place in Ferrara the following year (1594). Upon the death of Bevilacqua, Pasquini apparently returned to Ferrara, where he succeeded Luzzasco Luzzaschi as organist of the Accademia della Morte. He was succeeded in this position by Girolamo Frescobaldi. On 6 October 1597, Pasquini was elected organist to the Capella

Esteban Daza

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Esteban Daza (or Estevan Daça) (c. 1537 in Valladolid – between 1591 and 1596 in Valladolid) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist of the Renaissance. He was one of the last major vihuelists of the 16th century, as the instrument’s popularity was eclipsed by that of the guitar. Daza came from a middle class family, and was the eldest of fourteen children. He studied at the University of Valladolid, where he graduated probably in the early 1560s. There is no evidence that he ever practised a profession, he was able to survive on income from his family’s investments. As revealed by the research of John Griffiths (musician), he lived in his parents’ home until at least the time of his father’s death 1569, although probably until long after the publication of his vihuela music. The last documents that mention in the early 1590s indicate that he was living outside the city wall of Valladolid in a house owned by his brother Baltasar. El Parnaso (Parnassus) is the only known book of music published by Daza. It was printed in 1576 in Valladolid, and contains works for solo vihuela and for vihuela and voice. The full title of the work is Libro de música de cifras para vihuela, intitulado El

Estêvão Lopes Morago

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Estêvão Lopes Morago () (c. 1575 in Vallecas, Spain – 1630 in Viseu, Portugal) was a Spanish-born composer who studied, lived, worked and died in Portugal. He is one of the most important polyphonists in the music history of Portugal. Another representative of the high level of cultural interchanges between the two countries, as some of the highest figures of the peninsular cultural history have moved around between the two countries freely and mostly in a way unrelated to the political events of the time (Diego Velázquez was of Portuguese origin; and Alonso Sánchez Coello are some of the examples). Life Lopes Morago was born in Vallecas, near Madrid, but he passed the vast majority of his life in Portugal. He was a student of Filipe de Magalhães at the Cathedral of Évora, where he obtained his licentiate degree. After that, in August 1599, he went to the Cathedral of Viseu where he was appointed canon and mestre de capela. In 1626, the chapter of the Cathedral allowed him to go to Lisbon to publish his works. These included the Livro Comum and the Vesperal, which have survived. The place and year of his death are uncertain. There are indications that Morago moved to Spain and died

Étienne Moulinié

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Étienne Moulinié (10 October 1599 – 1676) was a French Baroque composer. He was born in Languedoc, and when he was a child he sang at the Narbonne Cathedral. Through the influence of his brother Antoine (died 1655), Moulinié gained an appointment at court, as the director of music for Gaston d’Orléans, the younger brother of King Louis XIII. For this post he wrote sacred and secular music, for voice or voices and lute or continuo. He also wrote music to accompany the ballet or other dances. He taught Gaston’s daughter, Mlle de Montpensier. Moulinié worked for Gaston until the latter’s death in 1660, at which point he was forced to find new employment. For this he returned to his birthplace of Languedoc. Moulinié wrote in the genres of airs de cour and airs à boire. His airs de cour are strophic and syllabic, but generally freer than others in the genre. His works were printed in a number of different forms (for voices alone and voice with continuo), and many were changed into sacred texts for use in church, although he also wrote other pieces which were religious from the start. His work may have been influenced by music of other countries, including the dance music of Spain and It

Eustache Du Caurroy

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François-Eustache du Caurroy (baptised February 4, 1549 – August 7, 1609) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was a prominent composer of both secular and sacred music at the end of the Renaissance, including musique mesurée, and he was also influential on the foundation of the French school of organ music as exemplified in the work of Jean Titelouze. Life According to Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, writing in 1780, Du Caurroy was born in Gerberoy and was baptised in Beauvais. He probably entered royal service around 1569, and in 1575 is first mentioned in documents from the royal court, when he won a song competition: he was to win two more, in 1576 and 1583, for a motet and a chanson respectively. He became sous-maître de la chapelle royale, a post which he held until 1595, at which time he was appointed to be official composer of the royal chamber; in 1599 he also acquired the post of composer at the royal chapel. Du Caurroy accumulated wealth and honours in the first decade of the 17th century, including benefices and a large estate in Picardy. In his late years he also held the post of canon at several churches, including Sainte-Croix in Orléans, Sainte-Chapelle in D

Felice Anerio

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Felice Anerio (c. 156026 or 27 September 1614) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a member of the Roman School of composers. He was the older brother of another important, and somewhat more progressive composer of the same period, Giovanni Francesco Anerio. Life Anerio was born in Rome and lived his entire life there. He sang as a boy soprano at the Julian Chapel (the Cappella Giulia) from 1568 until 1577 (by which time he was an alto) and then he sang at another church until 1580. Around this time, he began to compose, especially madrigals; this was one of the few periods in his life during which he wrote secular music. He was likely influenced by Luca Marenzio, who was hugely popular at the time and who was in Rome at the same time Anerio began composing. By 1584, Anerio had been appointed maestro di cappella at the Collegio degli Inglesi; he also seems to have been the choirmaster at another society of Rome’s leading musicians called the vertuosa Compagnia de i Musici di Roma. These positions must have given him considerable opportunity to exercise his compositional talents, for he had already written the music, songs, madrigals, and chor

Fernando de las Infantas

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Fernando de las Infantas (1534ca. 1610) was a Spanish nobleman, composer and theologian. Life Infantas was born in Córdoba in 1534, a descendant of Juan Fernández de Córdoba who had conveyed the two daughters, infantas (hence the surname), of Pedro I of Castile to safety after the Battle of Montiel in 1369. The family was still notable in Córdoba at the time of Fernando’s birth and he enjoyed a privileged education, and later a patrimonio, or stipend, remitted to him in Rome from his family in Spain. From 1572–1597 Infantas resided in Rome, voluntarily giving his services to a hospital for the poor. In 1577 Infantas came into conflict with Pope Gregory XIII and the composers Palestrina and Annibale Zoilo over the reversal of reforms in Gregorian chant, at one point causing his sponsor Philip II of Spain to instruct the Spanish ambassador in Spain to intercede with the Pope. In 1584 Infantas took holy orders and served a small church on Rome’s outskirts. He had returned to Spain by 1608 and presumably died around 1610. Theological controversies From 1584 until his death, Infantas was constantly involved in theological debate. In later life he was embroiled in the regalist and Molini

Firminus Caron

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Firminus Caron (fl. 1460–1475) was a French composer, and likely a singer, of the Renaissance. He was highly successful as a composer and influential, especially on the development of imitative counterpoint, and numerous compositions of his survive. Most of what is known about his life and career is inferred. Life Most musical manuscripts give his name only as “Caron.” But his contemporary, the music theorist Johannes Tinctoris names him in three different treatises as “Firminus Caron” and the Vatican choirbook San Pietro B80 has “F. Caron” written above its copy of his Missa L’homme armé. Attempts in the past to identify him with people named Philippe Caron and Jean Caron are therefore to be discarded. Furthermore, a reference to “Firminus Caron” as primus musicus at Amiens cathedral in 1422 has now been shown to be misdated: his activity in Amiens is attested by numerous documents dating from 1459 to 1475 (when his father died). A document of 1473 names him “maistre Fremin le Caron,” implying that he had a university master’s degree, and that of 1475 names him “sire Fremin le Caron,” meaning that he had been ordained a priest. Some writers of the time, including Tinctoris, praise

Francesca Caccini

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Francesca Caccini (; 18 September 1587 – most likely between 1641 and 1645) was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was also known by the nickname La Cecchina , given to her by the Florentines and probably a diminutive of Francesca. She was the daughter of Giulio Caccini. Her only surviving stage work, La liberazione di Ruggiero, is widely considered the oldest opera by a woman composer. As a female composer she helped to solidify the agency and the cultural and political programs of her female patron. Personal life Early life Caccini was born in Florence on September 18, 1587. She received a humanistic education (Latin, some Greek, as well as modern languages and literature, mathematics) in addition to early musical training with her father. According to Liliana Panella, the first well-founded testimony of Francesca’s singer’s activity, together with her sister Settimia, at the Medici court, is 1602: in his diary Cesare Tinghi notes that on 3 April 1602 St. Nicholas church in Pisa, where the court moved every year during Lent, polychoral music was directed by “Giulio Romano Giulio Caccini , having the wife (the second wife,

Francesco Canova da Milano

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Francesco Canova da Milano (Francesco da Milano, also known as Il divino, Francesco da Parigi, etc.) (18 August 1497 – 2 January 1543) was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Monza, near Milan, and worked for the papal court for almost all of his career. Francesco was heralded throughout Europe as the foremost lute composer of his time. More of his music is preserved than of any other lutenist of the period, and his work continued to influence composers for more than a century after his death. Life Francesco da Milano was almost certainly born in Monza, a small city some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. His father Benedetto was a musician, as was his elder brother Bernardino. According to Luca Gaurico’s Tractatus astrologicus (1552), Francesco studied under Giovanni Angelo Testagrossa, but today this is considered somewhat unlikely. By 1514 Francesco was a member of the papal household in Rome. From that time for most of his career he was closely associated with the papal court. He and his father became private musicians to Pope Leo X in October 1516; Francesco’s father kept this position until December 1518, but Francesco stayed until Leo’s death in 1521. Little is kno

Francesco Cellavenia

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Francesco Cellavenia (fl. c. 1538 – 1563) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, active in Casale Monferrato. Little is known about his life, and the few details once thought secure are contested. He may have been from Cilavegna, a town near Pavia, judging by his name, and he likely spent a large portion of his career in Casale Monferrato, a town in northwestern Italy. He may have been maestro di cappella at the cathedral there, or perhaps held a similar post at S Maria di Piazza. The cathedral in Casale Monferrato possesses several important manuscripts which contain the surviving work by Cellavenia. One of the manuscripts, Casale Monferrato, Duomo, Archivio Capitolare, D (F), includes seven compositions by Cellavenia out of a total of sixty-six compositions, mostly motets (other composers with works in the collection include Jean Mouton, Jean Richafort, Jacquet of Mantua, Cristóbal de Morales, and others). Another manuscript, I-CMac (N)(H), has four motets by Cellavenia. Both were copied in the period from 1538 to 1545. Cellavenia’s music shows a mixture of Italian elements and stylistic traits of the Franco-Flemish composers from the north. Many of his motets are based on p

Francesco Corteccia

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Francesco Corteccia (July 27, 1502 – June 7, 1571) was an Italian composer, organist, and teacher of the Renaissance. Not only was he one of the best known of the early composers of madrigals, and an important native Italian composer during a period of domination by composers from the Low Countries, but he was the most prominent musician in Florence for several decades during the reign of Cosimo I de’ Medici. Life He was born in Florence. By 1515 he was a choirboy and was enrolled in the cathedral school; around this time he probably studied organ with Bartolomeo degli Organi, and composition with Bernardo Pisano. On October 22, 1527, he became chaplain at the baptistry, and in 1531 entered indirectly into the employ of the Medici as both chaplain and organist at the church of San Lorenzo, the Medici family church. From 1535 to 1539 he was organist at San Lorenzo, and from 1540 until his death was maestro di cappella to the court of the Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de’ Medici. During his long tenure as maestro di cappella to the Medici, he gradually rose in position and prominence in Florence. In the chapel, he was successively chaplain, supernumerary canon, and canon; and in additio

Francesco de Layolle

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Francesco de Layolle (also spelled dell’Aiolle, dell’Aiuola, dell’Ajolle, dell’Aiolli), (March 4, 1492 – c. 1540) was an Italian composer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the first native Italian composers to write sacred music in the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style, combining it with the indigenous harmonic idioms of the Italian Peninsula. Life He was born in Florence. In 1505, around the time of his 13th birthday, he joined the choir of the church Ss. Annunziata in Florence, where his teacher was the distinguished composer to the Medici family, Bartolomeo degli Organi. Layolle eventually married his teacher’s younger sister-in-law, Maddalena Arrighi. In 1518 he left Florence, settling in Lyon in 1521. While in Florence he also served as a music teacher to sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, who referred to him as a superb organist, musician, and composer. Layolle remained in Lyon for the rest of his life but retained a number of friends in Florence, including several men who conspired to overthrow the Medici in 1521. After the failure of the plot and the uncovering by the Medici of the perpetrators, the conspirators fled Florence, finding refuge in Lyon with Layolle, who wa

Francesco Manelli

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Francesco Manelli (Mannelli) ( 1595 – 1667) was a Roman Baroque composer, particularly of opera, and a theorbo player. He is most well known for his collaboration with fellow Roman composer Benedetto Ferrari in bringing commercial opera to Venice. The first two works, in 1637 and 1638, to be put on commercially in the Teatro San Cassiano were both by Manelli – his L’Andromeda and La Maga Fulminata. Francesco Manelli was for many years confused with the Franciscan friar Giovanni Battista Fasolo, because of the resemblances between Manelli’s cantata Luciata (published in Musiche varie, op. 4 Venice, 1636), and Fasolo’s dialogue Il carro di Madama Lucia (Rome, 1628), and the shared text of the first piece in both collections. In a comparison of the two cantatas Fasolo’s version is “languid and melancholy”, while Manelli’s version is “spirited and biting”. A mid-14th-century Florentine scholar of the same name, also called dei Pontigiano, was a close friend of Giovanni Boccaccio. Works Operas, music for all of which is lost. *L’Andromeda (libretto: Benedetto Ferrari) (1637) *La maga fulminata (Ferrari) (1638) *Delia ossia La sera sposa del sole (Giulio Strozzi) (1639) *Il pastor regio

Francesco Portinaro

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Francesco Portinaro (c. 1520 – ?1578) was an Italian composer and humanist of the Renaissance, active both in northern Italy and in Rome. He was closely associated with the Ferrarese Este family, worked for several humanistic Renaissance academies, and was well known as a composer of madrigals and dialogues. Life He was born in Padua around 1520. While he published a book of motets in Venice in 1548, no biographical details are available for the period before 1550. He was the son of a Paduan official, was married to Laura d’Este, and was resident in the Este palace in Padua. In 1555 he applied unsuccessfully for the post of maestro di cappella, music director, at the city’s cathedral, and failing in this enterprise, spent the rest of the decade in humanistic as well as musical pursuits. In particular, he had an active life working for four secular groups: a group of musicians in Padua, and three humanistic academies in Vicenza, Padua, and Verona. One of his master was Lorenzo Barozzi. Such academies were becoming common in the late 16th century, as a part of the Renaissance rebirth of humanistic thought; in music they were the location of the first experiments with monody and multi

Francesco Rasi

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Francesco Rasi (14 May 1574 – 30 November 1621) was a Tuscan composer, singer (tenor), chitarrone player and poet. Rasi was born in Arezzo. He studied at the University of Pisa and in 1594 he was studying with Giulio Caccini. He may have been in Carlo Gesualdo’s retinue when he went to Ferrara for his wedding in 1594. In 1598 he joined the court of Duke Vincent I in Mantua, and probably served the Gonzaga family the rest of his life, with whom he travelled all over Italy and as far afield as Poland. He sang in the first performances of Jacopo Peri’s Euridice and Caccini’s Il rapimento di Cefalo in 1600. In 1607 he created the title role in Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo, and in 1608 sang in the first performances of Marco da Gagliano’s La Dafne. In 1610 in Tuscany Rasi and his accomplices were sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered for the murder of his stepmother’s servant and the attempted murder of his stepmother; however because of the protection of the Gonzaga family he escaped, and his sentence was eventually annulled with the agreement that he never return to Arezzo, his birthplace. Rasi was a well-respected singer, whose skill in ornamentation and diminution, beautiful vo

Francesco Rovigo

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Francesco Rovigo (1540/1541 – 7 October 1597) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance, active in Mantua and Graz. Life Nothing is known of his life prior to 1570, when he went to Venice, already 29 or 30 years old, to receive a musical education with the renowned organist and composer Claudio Merulo of the Venetian School. By 1573 he was in Mantua, where he composed hymns which were used in the church of Santa Barbara, which was the ducal chapel of the Gonzaga family. He served that aristocratic family until 1582, when he went to Graz to work for Archduke Charles II of Austria both as court organist and music tutor to the Archduke’s children. When the Archduke died in 1590 he returned to Mantua and resumed his former service of the Gonzaga family, specifically as organist at the chapel. While in Mantua, and under the patronage of the artistically inclined Gonzaga family, he was part of an illustrious group of composers that included some of the most famous in Italy, such as Alessandro Striggio, Giaches de Wert, Benedetto Pallavicino, Francesco Soriano, Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, and of course Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi mentioned Rovigo him favorably in his

Francesco Soriano

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Francesco Soriano (1548 or 1549, in Soriano nel Cimino – 19 July 1621, in Rome) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most skilled members of the Roman School in the first generation after Palestrina. Soriano was born in Soriano, near Viterbo. He studied at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome with several people including Palestrina, and became a priest in the 1570s. By 1580 he was maestro di cappella at S. Luigi dei Francesi, also in Rome. In 1581 he moved to Mantua, taking a position at the Gonzaga court there; but in 1586 he moved back to Rome where he spent the rest of his life working as choirmaster at three separate churches, including the Cappella Giulia at St. Peter’s. He retired in 1620. Soriano worked with Felice Anerio to revise the Roman Gradual in accordance with the needs of the Counter-Reformation; this work was left incomplete by Palestrina. Stylistically, Soriano’s music is much like Palestrina’s, but shows some influence from the progressive trends prevalent around the turn of the century. He adopted the polychoral style, while retaining the smooth polyphonic treatment of Palestrina, and he had a liking for homophonic textures,

Franchinus Gaffurius

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Franchinus Gaffurius (Franchino Gaffurio; 14 January 1451 – 25 June 1522) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. Life He was born in Lodi to an aristocratic family. Early in life he entered a Benedictine monastery, where he acquired his early musical training; later he became a priest. Later he lived in Mantua and Verona before settling in Milan as the maestro di cappella at the cathedral there, a position which he accepted in January 1484. During the previous decade the Sforza family, using the composer Gaspar van Weerbeke as a recruiter, had built the choir at their chapel in Milan into one of the largest and most distinguished musical ensembles in Europe: composer-singers such as Alexander Agricola, Loyset Compère and Johannes Martini had all been employed there. While the membership of the choir at the Milan cathedral was mostly Italian, the cross-influence between his choir and the group at the Sforza chapel was significant. Gaffurius retained the post at the cathedral for the rest of his life, and it was in Milan that he knew both Josquin des Prez and Leonardo da Vinci. Writings Gaffurius was widely read, and showed a strong Renaissance humanist bent.

Francis Cutting

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Francis Cutting (c.1550–1595/6) was an English lutenist and composer of the Renaissance period. He is best known for “Packington’s Pound” and a variation of “Greensleeves” called “Divisions on Greensleeves”, both pieces originally intended for the lute. Cutting was employed as a musician for the Howard family, which included Philip Howard, earl of Arundel. Little is known of the composer’s early life, but he had ten children with his wife, Elizabeth, eight of whom appear in the parish registers of St Clement Danes, Westminster, the parish in which Arundel House, the London residence of the Howards, was located. The diplomat William Trumbull compiled a manuscript anthology of lute music which includes works by the Bassano family and Francis Cutting. Thomas Cutting His son, Thomas Cutting, became a distinguished lutenist himself. He worked for Arbella Stuart. In March 1608, Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and the courtier John Elphinstone wrote to her at Sheffield to request that Thomas Cutting be sent to the queen’s brother Christian IV of Denmark. Arbella reluctantly agreed. Thomas Cutting subsequently joined Prince Henry’s household. Notes Further reading * Spring, Matthew. The Lut

Francis Tregian the Younger

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Francis Tregian the Younger (c. 1574–1618) was a Cornish recusant. Once thought to have been the copyist of a handful of important music manuscripts, his musical activities are the subject of dispute. Biography Francis Tregian was the son of Francis Tregian the Elder and Mary Stourton. He is thought to have been born in about 1574. (The birth year is derived from a household list drawn up in 1594 at the death of his teacher William Allen which referred to Tregian as being 20 years old: “molto nobile, di 20 anni, se colare di ingennio delicessimo dotto in filosofia, in musica et nella lingua latina.” Not only is this the only document suggesting his age but it is also the only document associating him with music.) In 1577 his father was arrested for being a Roman Catholic and sheltering priests. He was imprisoned and dispossessed, and the Tregian family had to leave their manor house in Probus, Cornwall. Tregian’s mother and her children travelled 200 miles to London. She hoped that her brother John Stourton, 9th Baron Stourton, could intercede for her husband. She lodged in Clerkenwell with her mother, who had remarried after her father’s death (her father had been executed). She e

Francisco Correa de Arauxo

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Francisco Correa de Araujo (or Arauxo, or Acebedo) (1584–1654) was a Spanish organist, composer, and theorist of the late Renaissance. Life Correa de Araujo was born in Seville. Like most Spanish organists from this era, details of his life are clouded by obscurity. For some time even the years of his birth and death were disputed. His musical background is unclear; he claimed to have learned theory by studying the works of Francisco de Peraza and Diego del Castillo. In 1599 he received an organ appointment in Seville, but became embroiled in a lawsuit with rival Juan Picafort, which delayed confirmation of this appointment for six years. In 1608, he was ordained as a priest. He maintained the post at Seville until 1636. Several times he applied unsuccessfully for other positions, and once again in 1630, he became embroiled in lawsuits which culminated in a brief period of imprisonment. In 1636, he left Seville and took up a post at Jaén Cathedral. In 1640, he was appointed as a prebendary at Segovia Cathedral, and remained there for the last fourteen years of his life. He died in Segovia in abject poverty. Works Correa’s writings make reference to two other publications (a Libro d

Francisco de la Torre

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Francisco de la Torre (c. 1460 – c. 1504) was a Spanish composer mainly active in the Kingdom of Naples. His hometown may have been Seville. His music can be found in La música en la corte de los Reyes Musulmanes, edited by H. Anglès (1947–51). Biography Francisco served as a singer at the Seville Cathedral from at least 1464 until 1467, and probably remained connected with Seville until 1485, when he left with the Aragonese royal chapel, whose choir he had joined on 1 July 1483. He would have been back in Seville when the court returned there for a residence lasting from the end of 1490 until March 1491 . He took an annual salary of 25,000 maravedís and served in the same capacity for seventeen years. On 15 July 1488 he was awarded a half-prebend from Ferdinand II . In May 1488 La Torre presented the Seville Cathedral Chapter with a claim that he had already been appointed to a half-prebend left vacant by its previous holder, Alonso Martínez de San Vicente. The chapter, which routinely resisted appointing prebendaries to non-resident applicants, rejected La Torre’s claim and bestowed the position on their own candidate, Juan de Alifón. La Torre appealed the decision and, a month l

Francisco de Peñalosa

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Francisco de Peñalosa (c. 1470 – April 1, 1528) was a Spanish composer of the middle Renaissance. Life He was born in Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo. He spent most of his career in Seville, serving as the maestro di capilla, though he also spent time in Burgos, and three years in Rome at the papal chapel (1518–1521). He died in Seville. Music and influence Peñalosa was one of the most famous Spanish composers of the generation before Cristóbal de Morales, and his compositions were highly regarded at the time. Unfortunately for him, his music was not widely distributed; he did not benefit from the invention of printing, since he mostly remained in Spain, away from cities such as Venice and Antwerp which were the first centers of printed music. Later generations of Spanish composers—Guerrero, Morales, Victoria—went to Italy for parts of their careers, where their compositions were printed and were as widely distributed as the music of the Franco-Flemish composers who dominated music in Europe in the 16th century. Peñalosa wrote masses, Magnificat settings, motets and hymns. Eleven secular compositions have survived, including an ensalada (a form of quodlibet) Por las

Francisco de Salinas

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Francisco de Salinas (1513, Burgos – 1590, Salamanca) was a Spanish music theorist and organist, noted as among the first to describe meantone temperament in mathematically precise terms, and one of the first (along with Guillaume Costeley) to describe, in effect, 19 equal temperament. In his De musica libri septem of 1577 he discusses 1/3-, 1/4- and 2/7-comma meantone tunings. Of 1/3-comma meantone, which is essentially identical to the meantone of 19-et, he remarks that it is “languid” but not “offensive to the ear”, and he notes that a keyboard of 19 tones to the octave suffices to give a circulating version of meantone. The 19th-century musicologist Alexander John Ellis maintained that Salinas really meant to characterize 1/6-comma meantone, and made a mistake due to his blindness. Others point out that Salinas’s descriptions of his tuning as “languid” but not “offensive to the ear” seem to apply to 1/3-comma meantone, not to 1/6-comma meantone, which in any case has a much sharper fifth than musicians of Salinas’s own time preferred. Salinas was also interested in just intonation, and advocated a 5-limit just intonation scale of 24 notes he called instrumentum perfectum. Biogr

Francisco Gabriel Gálvez

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Francisco Gabriel Gálvez (c. 1510 – 1578) was a Spanish Renaissance composer of sacred music and was the maestro di cappella of Cuenca Cathedral from 1560 until his death. His only extant score is a five-part motet, Emendemus in melius. Life and works Little is known about Gálvez’s early life. The musicologist Miguel Martínez Millán (1911–1985) assumed that he was born in or near the Spanish city of Cuenca where there were several members of a Gálvez family active in the musical life of its cathedral. He served as a musician at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome before being summoned to Spain in 1560 to serve as the maestro di cappella of Cuenca Cathedral. He remained in that post for the rest of his life, although from September 1863 to March 1564 he absented himself to Aragon in a dispute over his pay. He returned when the cathedral offered him a substantial increase and back pay for the period of his absence. He later received another substantial increase to match an offer for his services from the Cathedral of Segovia. According to Martínez Millán, Gálvez died shortly after 10 July 1578, and the following September Ginés de Boluda was appointed his successor. Gálvez i

Francisco Guerrero (composer)

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Francisco Guerrero (October 4 (?), 1528 – November 8, 1599) was a Spanish Catholic priest and composer of the Renaissance. He was born and died in Seville. Life and career Guerrero’s early musical education was with his older brother Pedro and after that with the famous composer Cristóbal de Morales. At the age of 18 he was appointed maestro de capilla (i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral. Three years later he accepted a position of singer at Seville Cathedral. During this time he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer. After several decades of working and traveling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582) where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, sto

François Roussel

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François Roussel (c.1510 – after 1577), also known as Francesco Rosselli (the Italian version of his name), was a French Renaissance composer of both sacred and secular music. His works included motets, masses, madrigals, and songs. Little is known about Roussel’s life in France, apart from his having been a protégé of Guillaume de Gadagne in Lyons sometime before 1568. He was primarily active in Rome. Records show that he was employed as a musician by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1544 and was listed again as a member of his household in 1563. He was the maestro di cappella of the Cappella Giulia, the choir of St. Peter’s Basilica, from 1548 until 1550 when he was succeeded by Palestrina. In his first volume of madrigals, Palestrina wrote one in praise of Roussel declaring that he “must surely have been in heaven whence he brought down the divine harmony to mortals.” Roussel later served as the maestro di cappella in three other Roman churches: San Lorenzo in Damaso (1564–1566), San Luigi dei Francesi (1566–1571), and San Giovanni in Laterano (1572–1575). His motet Adoramus te, Christe performed by the Sistine Chapel Choir appears on the 2019 Deutsche Grammophon recording O Crux

Gabriel Bataille

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Gabriel Bataille (between June 1574 and June 1575 – 17 December 1630) was a French musician, lutenist and composer of airs de cour. He should not be confused with his son Gabriel II Bataille. Biography The allusions to Brie in his verse pieces suggest that Gabriel Bataille was a native of this province. He had a brother Louis, a tailor, quoted in an act of 1621 and a sister Catherine, married to Didier Dutour, usher of the accounts and treasures in Paris, and died before 1600. At the time of his marriage with Catherine Carre, on 12 February 1600, he was already a Parisian, but his marriage contract specified that he was then clerk to the parliamentary counselor Germain Regnault; thus he was not yet a professional musician. When in 1608 Pierre I Ballard published the first volumes of his Airs de différents autheurs, he had probably become one: from 1614 he was listed as master of music. From 1617 to his death, he was master of music of the house of Anne of Austria (1601–1666), by semester, alternating with Antoine Boësset. He had signed a contract with the latter, which also aimed at this post, so that the one who would obtain it would share it with the other (what happened). He had

Gabriel Mena

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Gabriel Mena (1470-1528) was a Spanish poet, composer, musician and singer. He was a servant of the Admiral of Castile, don Fadrique Enríquez and cantor of the chapel of Fernando el Católico until the king’s death in 1516. He is first referenced in royal household accounts in 1496 and continued his work there until at least 1502. It is thought that after the king’s death he entered into the service of Enríquez, Fernando’s cousin, until he returned to serve the royal family in 1523. Here, he was in the employ of Juana “the Mad”, where he remained until his death. A poem in the 1554 Cancionero general refers to him as a married man living close to Tordesillas in Torrelobatón. In fact, Mena was married twice with three children. Music Mena was a respected poet and composer, with 19 musical works surviving. All but one of his works are preserved in the Cancionero Musical de Palacio, with the other being preserved in the records of the Biblioteca de Catalunya. Most of his songs are concerned with the hardship of love and contain quotes of other popular refrains. The songs Aquel pastorcico, madre, La bella malmarida, Aquella mora garrida, and Sola me dexastes all contain full quotations

Gallus Dressler

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Gallus Dressler (16 October 1533 – 1580/9) was a German composer and music theorist who served as Kantor in the church school at Magdeburg. Though a few of his works have remained in the choral repertoire, he is best known for his theoretical writings, especially his Praecepta musicae poeticae (MS, 1563), which contains some of the earliest detailed description of the compositional process of the Renaissance motet. Life Dressler was born in Nebra in Thuringia, but probably received most of his musical education in the Netherlands. He seems particularly influenced by Clemens non papa, and a perusal of the musical examples he cites in his theoretical writings shows that he was strongly influenced by the Franco-Flemish generation immediately following Josquin des Prez. After a brief tenure at Jena in 1558, Dressler succeeded Martin Agricola as Kantor of the church school in Magdeburg, where most of his career was spent. His compositions were almost entirely in the genre of the Latin motet, largely ignoring the Lutheran chorale, though he is noted for some of the first German-language motets. Dressler studied at Wittenberg, receiving the master’s degree in 1570, and was closely associa

Gaspar Fernandes

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Gaspar Fernandes (sometimes written Gaspar Fernández, the Spanish version of his name) (1566–1629) was a Portuguese-Mexican composer and organist active in the cathedrals of Santiago de Guatemala (present-day Antigua Guatemala) and Puebla de los Ángeles, New Spain (present-day Mexico). Life Most scholars agree that the Gaspar Fernandes listed as a singer in the cathedral of Évora, Portugal, is the same person as the Gaspar Fernández who was hired on 16 July 1599 as organist and organ tuner of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala. In 1606, Fernandes was approached by the dignitaries of the cathedral of Puebla, inviting him to become the successor of his recently deceased friend Pedro Bermúdez as chapel master. He left Santiago de Guatemala on 12 July 1606, and began his tenure in Puebla on 15 September. He remained there until his death in 1629. Work One of his most important achievements for posterity was the compilation and binding in 1602 of various choir books containing Roman Catholic liturgical polyphony, several of which are extant in Guatemala. These manuscripts contain music by Spanish composers Francisco Guerrero, Cristóbal de Morales, and Pedro Bermúdez; the latter was

Gaspar van Weerbeke

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Gaspar van Weerbeke (c. 1445 – after 1516) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, but unique in his blending of the contemporary Italian style with the older Burgundian style of Du Fay. Life He was born somewhere in the diocese of Tournai, evidently out of wedlock, and was educated at Oudenaarde. While little is known of the first two decades of his life, he probably knew or studied with Johannes Regis, and he may have studied with Johannes Ockeghem; in addition it is likely he knew Dufay at the Burgundian court of Charles the Bold, since so much of his music follows the model of the older composer. In 1471 he went to Milan, where he joined the singers of the Sforza chapel, which included Johannes Martini, Alexander Agricola, and Loyset Compère. In 1472 and 1473 he went back north to Burgundy to find more singers for his Italian employer. Successful in his quest, he returned to Milan, and soon the Sforza chapel had one of the largest choirs in Europe. After the murder of Duke Sforza in 1476, however, the singers mostly disbanded. Weerbeke then joined the papal choir in Rome under Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII, where he rema

George de La Hèle

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George de La Hèle (also Georges, Helle, Hele) (1547 – August 27, 1586) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, mainly active in the Habsburg chapels of Spain and the Low Countries. Among his surviving music is a book of eight masses, some for as many as eight voices. While he was a prolific composer during his time in Spain, much of his music was destroyed in 1734 in the burning of the chapel library in Madrid. Life La Hèle was born in Antwerp, and received his musical training both there and possibly at Soignies. He spent his teenage years as a choirboy in Madrid, in the chapel of Philip II, then led by Pierre de Manchicourt, another northern composer who spent much of his career in Spain; Manchicourt probably identified the young La Hèle himself on one of his talent-scouting trips to his own homeland. After singing as a choirboy for several years, in the late 1560s La Hèle went to study at the University of Alcalá, and in 1570 returned north, enrolling at the University of Leuven. While his course of study has not been documented, it is presumed he studied not music but theology. He seems not to have achieved the priesthood, but rose high enough in the Church hierarchy

George Kirbye

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George Kirbye (or Kirby; c. 1565 – buried 6 October 1634) was an English composer of the late Tudor period and early Jacobean era. He was one of the members of the English Madrigal School, but also composed sacred music. Little is known of the details of his life, though some of his contacts can be inferred. He worked at Rushbrooke Hall near Bury St Edmunds, evidently as a tutor to the daughters of Sir Robert Jermyn. In 1598 he married Anne Saxye, afterwards moving to Bury St Edmunds. Around this time he probably made the acquaintance of John Wilbye, a much more famous madrigalist, who lived and worked only a few miles away, and whose style he sometimes approaches. In 1626 his wife died, and he is known to have been a churchwarden at St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds during the next several years until his death. Kirbye’s most significant musical contributions were the psalm settings he wrote for East’s psalter, The Whole Book of Psalmes (1592), the madrigals he wrote for the Triumphs of Oriana (1601), the famous collection dedicated to Elizabeth I, and an independent set of madrigals published in 1597. Kirbye was employed by East to arrange tunes featured in his psalter, and it is

Géry de Ghersem

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Géry de Ghersem (also Géry Gersem) (1573 to 1575 – 25 May 1630) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active both in Spain at the court of Philip II and Philip III, and in his native Low Countries. He was a prolific and highly regarded composer at the time, but little of his work survives, almost all having been destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755. Life Ghersem was born in Tournai, and received his boyhood musical training there, possibly under the direction of composer George de La Hèle. While still young, “between the ages of 7 and 12” according to the Habsburg chapel records, he was one of 14 boys brought to Spain to sing in the imperial chapel choir, the capilla flamenca. During this period, as during the previous two hundred years, the Low Countries provided a dependable source of talented young musicians for the choirs of kings and aristocrats in other parts of Europe. This practice was shortly to come to an end, as the last known group of choirboys from Flanders went to Spain in 1594. After coming to Spain, Ghersem may have worked again with La Hèle briefly, since he directed the choir in Madrid, but La Hèle died in 1586. Ghersem rose in the

Gheerkin de Hondt

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Gheerkin de Hondt (also Gheerken, Gheraert, Gerit, Gerrit, Gheerart, Gerryt de Hont) was a Dutch singer, choirmaster, and composer of polyphonic songs. Despite the enormous popularity of his songs, very little biographical information survives. He was probably born c. 1495, the son of a Jacob de Hondt; if this was the Jacob who was guardian of the choirboys in Bruges in the 1530s, this may imply he was a native of Bruges. He was appointed choirmaster in Delft’s Nieuwe Kerk in mid-1521 but left at the end of 1523; he was re-appointed to the post in 1530. He left Delft 18 months later to take up the equivalent position at the church of Sint-Jacob in Bruges, where he remained until 1539. In December 1539 he became choirmaster of the Marian brotherhood in ’s-Hertogenbosch, where he remained until he left in 1547, apparently dismissed for failing to take adequate care of the choirboys. It appears he went to Friesland, but he disappears from the historical record at this point - although Diehl asserts that there is a record of his death in the Bruges archives in 1562. Of his compositions 5 mass settings, 4 motets and 9 songs survive, most of them preserved in the songbook of Zeghere van

Ghiselin Danckerts

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Ghiselin Danckerts (c. 1510 – late September 1567) was a Dutch composer, singer, and music theorist of the Renaissance. He was principally active in Rome, in the service of the Papal Chapel, and was one of the judges at the famous debate between Nicola Vicentino and Vicente Lusitano in 1551. Life He was born in Tholen, in Zeeland, but nothing is known of his early life. Like many of his contemporaries from the Low Countries, he may have received his early training in his homeland, going to Italy as a young adult. In his manuscript treatise Sopra una differentia musicale sententiata he asserts that he was employed by Pierluigi Carafa, member of an aristocratic family in Naples. He was admitted as a singer at the Papal Chapel 21 March 1538, a position he retained, seemingly without break, until 1565. In August 1565 he was forced to retire from the papal chapel as part of a reorganization and reduction in size which followed from the reforms of the Council of Trent. The entry in the chapel records for his dismissal includes the notice: “he is without voice, he is given to women, is excessively rich, and is useless because of illness.” He was granted a monthly pension of six ducats and

Giaches de Wert

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Giaches de Wert (also Jacques/Jaches de Wert, Giaches de Vuert; 1535 – 6 May 1596) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active in Italy. Intimately connected with the progressive musical center of Ferrara, he was one of the leaders in developing the style of the late Renaissance madrigal. He was one of the most influential of late sixteenth-century madrigal composers, particularly on Claudio Monteverdi, and his later music was formative on the development of music of the early Baroque era. Life Little is known about his early life, except that he was from Flanders, from either the vicinity of Ghent or Weert, near Antwerp. As a boy he went to Avellino in southern Italy, near Naples, where he became a choir boy in the chapel of Maria di Cardona, Marchesa of Padulla. Maria was the wife of Francesco d’Este, Marchese di Massalombarda, a captain under Charles V; Francesco was a son of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, and her husband Alfonso I d’Este. Francesco was often in France and adjacent areas on military campaigns, and as an adjunct to these adventures he brought musically talented youths back to Italy with him. Wert’s association with the Este family was to endure

Giacomo Fogliano

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Giacomo Fogliano (da Modena; also Jacopo, Fogliani; 1468 – 10 April 1548) was an Italian composer, organist, harpsichordist, and music teacher of the Renaissance, active mainly in Modena in northern Italy. He was a composer of frottole, the popular vocal form ancestral to the madrigal, and later in his career he also wrote madrigals themselves. He also wrote some sacred music and a few instrumental compositions. Life Giacomo Fogliano was the older brother of Lodovico Fogliano (c. 1475 – 1542). Lodovico, also a composer, was better known as a theorist. Giacomo was born in Modena, where he evidently spent most of his career. Details of his life are sketchy, but most of his years of employment and at least one of his journeys are known. Early in his life he was praised for his mastery of various instruments, particularly the organ and the harpsichord, and in 1479 he became organist at Modena Cathedral – an unusual achievement for a musician of 11. The records of the cathedral list him as maestro di cappella (singing master) also starting in that year, ending in 1497, at which time he vanished from the record, reappearing again in 1504, from which year he held the dual post of organist

Giammateo Asola

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Giammateo Asola (also spelled Gian Matteo, Giovanni Matteo; Asula, Asulae; 1532 or earlier – 1 October 1609) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He was a prolific composer of sacred music, mostly in a conservative style, although he may have been one of the first composers to write a part for basso continuo. Life He was born in Verona, and began studying at San Giorgio in Alga in 1546 in the congregation of secular canons. While in Verona he most likely studied with Vincenzo Ruffo. In 1569 he became a secular parish priest, and in 1577 became maestro di cappella at Treviso Cathedral; however, in 1578 he went to Vicenza Cathedral to take the equivalent job there, where the pay and musical opportunities were greater. He only stayed there four years, going to Venice in 1582, which was the center of activity in northern Italy for sacred music. Except for a short return to Verona c. 1590–1591, he lived in Venice until his death, working at the church of S Severo, as one of four chaplains; apparently he was never associated with St. Mark’s. Music and influence Asola was a rare case of a composer working in Venice who showed almost no stylistic influence from the Venetian sch

Giandomenico Martoretta

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Giandomenico Martoretta (also Giandominico, La Martoretta, Il Martoretta; Mileto 1515–1560s?) was an Italian Renaissance composer. Little is known of his life, but the style of the dedication of the “master of theology” Giovanfrancesco di Chara in the second book indicates that Martoretta may have been minor gentry or member of an academy. But the preface to the third book of madrigals reveals that he had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and stayed in Cyprus as guest of a certain noble cavaliere, Piero Singlitico. His first book of madrigals was written in the rapid note nere, black note, style introduced by Constanzo Festa. Theodor Kroyer (1902) believed that Martoretta’s madrigals demonstrated chromatic keys. Editions *Il primo libro di madrigali cromatici a quattro voci (1548) Gardano, Venice. *Il secondo libro di madrigali cromatici a quattro voci (1552) edited by Maria Antonella Balsano, Firenze, 1988 (Musiche Rinascimentali Siciliane Vol.11). *Il terzo libro di madrigali cromatici a quattro voci (1554) References

Giles Farnaby

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Giles Farnaby (c. 1563 – November 1640) was an English composer and virginalist whose music spans the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Life Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall or near London. His father, Thomas, was a Cittizen and Joyner of London, and Giles may have been related to Thomas Farnaby (c. 1575–1647), the famous schoolmaster of Kent, whose father was a carpenter. But it was his cousin Nicholas Farnaby (c. 1560–1630), who may have turned him to music. Nicholas was a virginal maker, at this time a generic word that included the entire family of plucked keyboard instruments: the harpsichord, virginal, muselar and doubtless the clavichord, and it is for these instruments that Farnaby’s compositions are best known. Like his father however, Giles trained as a joiner or cabinet-maker, starting his apprenticeship in about 1583, and gave this trade as his occupation for most of his life. He married Katherine Roane on 28 May 1587, and first lived in the parish of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, in London. The couple had a daughter, Philadelphia, baptised on 8 August 1591, when the Farnabys moved to the neighbouring parish of St Peter’s, We

Gilles Binchois

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Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; c. 1400 – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois is a renowned melodist and miniaturist; he generally avoided large scale works, and is most admired for his shorter secular chansons. Contemporary musicologists generally rank his importance below his colleague Guillaume Du Fay and the English composer John Dunstaple, but together the three were the most celebrated composers of the early European Renaissance. Binchois was born in Mons (modern-day Belgium) to an upper-class family from Binche. His youth is largely unknown, although early chorister training is likely; by late 1419 he had obtained a local organist post. By 1423 he was in Lille and probably a soldier under the Englishman William de la Pole, eventually in Paris and Hainaut. Sometime during the 1420s, Binchois settled in the culturally thriving court of Burgundy under Philip the Good, where he became a subdeacon and was awarded numerous prebends. He retired to Soignies in 1453 amid a substantial courtly pension, dying in 1460. It is thought that considerably more of his sacred mus

Gilles Joye

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Gilles Joye (1424 or 1425 – 31 December 1483) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A member of the Burgundian school, he was known mainly for his secular songs which were in a lyrical and graceful style. Life He may have come from Kortrijk, since an Oliver Joye, possibly his father, has been identified there in 1420. Gilles seems to have had an excellent musical education, probably at either Kortrijk or Bruges, where he was hired as a singer in 1449. Documents from the cathedral archives show that he was often in trouble: engaging in street brawls, frequenting brothels, refusing to take part in regular singing events, and in particular visiting a notorious prostitute of the town named “Rosabelle”. In spite of these activities, he was made a priest, and became a canon at Cleves in 1453 and at St. Donatian in 1459. Between 1454 and 1459 no record of his activities survives in the Low Countries; based on his composition of an Italian ballata on a poem by a contemporary Florentine, it has been suggested that he spent some time in Italy, as did so many other Franco-Flemish composers of his and succeeding generations. By 1459 he was back at St. Donatian in Bruges. In 1462 he

Gilles Reingot

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Gilles Reingot (French: Gillequin de Bailleul; fl. 1501–1530) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, associated with the Habsburg court of Philip I of Castile. He was a close associate of composer Pierre de La Rue. Life After first serving as a sommelier for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, then an infant, Reingot became part of the grande chapelle of Philip I. He first appears in the records of the Habsburg chapel singers in November 1501, in a master list of singers compiled prior to Philip’s first trip to Spain. Reingot went on the trip, as part of the musical ensemble which was one of the most distinguished in Europe; they were in Spain for part of 1502, and singing again in France later that year. Reingot went on Philip’s second trip to Spain as well, the infamous trip which was to prove fatal to Philip, and fatal to the sanity of his wife, Joanna the Mad. In September 1506, when Philip died of a fever in Spain, many of the singers of the grande chapelle departed, mostly going back to France or the Netherlands, but Reingot was one of the ones who remained behind, along with Pierre de La Rue. For the next several years they took part in Juana’s bizarre journey across C

Giorgio Mainerio

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Giorgio Mainerio (c. 1530s – 3 or 4 May 1582) was an Italian musician, composer, and occultist. He started his career as a presbyter and would only later start his musical career in the 1560s. Most of the songs he composed were in the 1570s and were mainly church music. He dabbled in occultism and was later investigated for it. Before his death, he suffered from health issues. Biography Mainerio was born in Parma, Italy between 1530 and 1540. His father is thought to have been Scottish given that Giorgio signed Mayner as his family name. During his education, he studied music, but he did not immediately begin a musical career. In 1560, being a presbyter, he sought work as a chaplain and altarista by the church of Santa Maria Annunziata in Udine. In Udine, Mainerio spent ten years (from 1560 to 1570) and there, thanks to his previous musical knowledge and to the lessons given to him by two local contrapuntists, Gabriele Martinengo (Maestro di cappella from 1562 to 1567) and Ippolito Chamaterò (Maestro di cappella from 1567 to 1570), he started his musical career. After three years in Udine he became interested in occultism (astrology, magic and necromancy) and there were rumours tha

Gioseffo Guami

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Gioseffo Guami (27 January 1542 – 1611) (Gioseffo Giuseppe Guami or Gioseffo da Lucca) was an Italian composer, organist, violinist and singer of the late Renaissance Venetian School. He was a prolific composer of madrigals and instrumental music, and was renowned as one of the finest organists in Italy in the late 16th century; he was also the principal teacher of Adriano Banchieri. Life He was born in Lucca, and was the brother of Francesco Guami (born 1543). Little is known about his early life, but he must have received some early training for he came to St. Mark’s in Venice, one of the most prestigious musical institutions in Italy, in 1561; there he studied with Adrian Willaert and Annibale Padovano, and served as a singer. In 1568 he left Venice and went to Bavaria, serving as first organist at the court of Albrecht of Bavaria, the location of the famous Franco-Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus. In the early 1570s he returned to Italy, at least temporarily, and accompanied by Lassus at least once; and he was hired as organist in Lucca in 1579, where he stayed until 1582 or later. In 1585 he was working as maestro di cappella in Genoa. Precise details of his movements are un

Gioseffo Zarlino

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Gioseffo Zarlino (31 January or 22 March 1517 – 4 February 1590) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning. Life and career Zarlino was born in Chioggia, near Venice. His early education was with the Franciscans, and he later joined the order himself. In 1536 he was a singer at Chioggia Cathedral, and by 1539 he not only became a deacon, but also principal organist. In 1540 he was ordained, and in 1541 went to Venice to study with the famous contrapuntist and maestro di cappella of Saint Mark’s, Adrian Willaert. In 1565, on the resignation of Cipriano de Rore, Zarlino took over the post of maestro di cappella of St. Mark’s, one of the most prestigious musical positions in Italy, and held it until his death. While maestro di cappella he taught some of the principal figures of the Venetian school of composers, including Claudio Merulo, Girolamo Diruta, Giovanni Croce, the famous reactionary polemicist Giovanni Artusi, as well as Vincenzo Galilei, the father of the astronomer Galileo Galilei. Works and influence While he was a moderately prolific composer, and his motets are po

Gioseppe Caimo

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Gioseppe Caimo (also Giuseppe) (c. 1545 – between September 6, 1584 and October 31, 1584) was an Italian composer and organist of the Renaissance, mainly active in Milan. He was a prolific composer of madrigals and other secular vocal music, and was one of the most prominent musicians in Milan in the 1570s and early 1580s. Life He was born in Milan. No biographical details about his early life are known, but he was evidently a precocious composer, for his first publication was a book of four voice madrigals in 1564, written when he was probably in his late teens, and one of his compositions was probably performed for Emperor Maximilian when he was in Milan in 1563. This piece, Alli figliuoli del Sereniss. Re Massimigliano d’Austria Eccelsa e generosa prole degna, No. 5 in his 1564 publication, is taken by Alfred Einstein as evidence he was already renowned in his home city at this young age. Einstein called it “a fine, sonorous music to be played in the open.” Caimo was organist at the church of San Ambrogio Maggiore in Milan from 1564, as indicated on the title page of his madrigal book of that year, probably until 1580 when he became the organist at Milan Cathedral. During the 15

Giovanni Animuccia

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Giovanni Animuccia (c. lk=no – c. lk=no March 1571) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance who was involved in the heart of Rome’s liturgical musical life. He was one of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s most important predecessors and possibly his mentor. As of St Philip Neri’s Oratory and the Capella Giulia at St Peter’s, he was composing music at the very center of the Roman Catholic Church, during the turbulent reforms of the Counter-Reformation and as part of the new movements that began to flourish around the middle of the century. His music reflects these changes. Early life: Florence Animuccia was born in Florence around the beginning of the 16th century. The exact date is variously given as the end of the 15th century, c. lk=no, c. lk=no, and c. lk=no. Animuccia’s second book of madrigals was published in 1551 after his arrival in Rome. Rome After his arrival in Rome in 1550, Animuccia was employed by Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza. Early on, through his association with Florentine circles (in particular the exiled Altoviti family), Animuccia met his fellow Florentine St Phillip Neri. In 1558, when Phillip obtained a larger room to hold the meetings in, the practice of

Giovanni Artusi

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Giovanni Maria Artusi (c. 154018 August 1613) was an Italian music theorist, composer, and writer. Artusi fiercely condemned the new musical innovations that defined the early Baroque style developing around 1600 in his treatise L’Artusi, overo Delle imperfettioni della moderna musica Artusi, or On the Imperfections of Modern Music . He was also a scholar and cleric at the Congregation Santissimo Salvatore, Bologna, and remained throughout his life devoted to his teacher Gioseffo Zarlino (the principal music theorist of the late sixteenth century). When Vincenzo Galilei first attacked Zarlino in the Dialogo of 1581, it provoked Artusi to defend his teacher and the style he represented. In 1600 and 1603, Artusi attacked the “crudities” and “license” shown in the works of a composer he initially refused to name (it was Claudio Monteverdi). Monteverdi replied in the introduction to his fifth book of madrigals (1605) with his discussion of the division of musical practice into two streams: what he called prima pratica, and seconda pratica: prima pratica being the previous polyphonic ideal of the sixteenth century, with flowing counterpoint, prepared dissonance, and equality of voices;

Giovanni Bassano

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Giovanni Bassano (c. 1561 – 3 September 1617) was an Italian composer associated with the Venetian School of composers and a cornettist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a key figure in the development of the instrumental ensemble at the basilica of San Marco di Venezia (St. Mark). His detailed book on instrumental ornamentation has survived. It is a rich resource for research in contemporary performance practice. Bassano was most responsible for the performance of the music of Giovanni Gabrieli, who would emerge as one of the most renowned members of the Venetian School. Life Giovanni was likely born in Venice, Republic of Venice, around 1560 or 1561 in the parish of San Maurizio. He was the son of Santo Griti da Sebenico (now Šibenik, Croatia) and Orsetta Bassano. Orsetta’s father Jacomo Bassano was the only brother of the six sons of Jeronimo Bassano who did not move permanently to London from Venice around 1540 as part of a new recorder consort to King Henry VIII. Santo seems to have taken over his father-in-law’s instrument-making business and adopted the surname of Bassano for himself. He was the probable inventor of bassanelli. Giovanni Bassano arrived a

Giovanni Battista Fasolo

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Giovanni Battista Fasolo, O.F.M.Conv (Asti, ca. 1598 Palermo after 1664), was a Franciscan friar, organist and composer. In his middle years Fasolo was primarily known for his 1645 organ annual, which, like L’organo suonarino of Adriano Banchieri, from the generation before him, was intended for use in small parish churches, and are much simpler than those used in Venice. In 1659 Fasolo became maestro di cappella to the Archbishop of Monreale. Until recently many of G.B. Fasolo’s secular works were attributed to other composers, particularly the Venetian Francesco Manelli, the composer of the first commercial operas in music history, or to a third unknown composer known as “Il Fasolo?”. However following the work of Francesco Luisi, Mariangela Donà, and Claudio Bacciagaluppi the attribution of the major works under the heading “Il Fasolo?” to G.B. Fasolo is now reasonably secure, and listed under his own entry, by Eleanor Selfridge-Field, in the current New Grove. Extant works *Op. 3 “Misticanza di Vigna alla Bergamasca; il Canto della Barchetta et altre cantate et ariette per Voce et Chitarra.” Robletti Rome, 1627. Sole surviving copy was in the possession of Dr. Oscar Chilesotti

Giovanni Battista Pinello di Ghirardi

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Giovanni Battista Pinello di Ghirardi (c. 1544 – 15 June 1587 in Prague) was an Italian music composer and Kapellmeister of the Italian Renaissance. Life and career Giovanni Battista Pinello was born in Genoa in c. 1544. He came from a noble Genoese family. The earliest known record of Pinello dates to 1569 when he was serving as a musician in Landshut in the chapel of William V, Duke of Bavaria. Financial woes in the Bavarian court, caused that chapel to close in 1570 and at this point Pinello returned to Italy. He settled in maestro di cappella at the Vicenza Cathedral. He remained in that post for several years during which time his first compositions were published in Venice. These included three “Neapolitan song” anthologies: Il secondo libro delle canzone napolitane (1571), Il terzo libro delle canzone napolitane (1572), and El quarto libro delle canzone napolitane (1575). Compositions *A four-part mass (1583) *Ein deutsches Magnificat in den acht Kirchentönen (1584) – a German Magnificat in the eight church tones *Cantiones Sacrae and madrigals for eight, ten and fifteen voices (Dresden, 1584) *Neue deutsche Lieder zu fünf Stimmen (Dresden, 1585) – New German songs to five v

Giovanni Battista Riccio

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Giovanni Battista Riccio (Giambattista Riccio) (late 16th centuryafter 1621) was a musician and composer of the early Baroque era, resident in Venice, most notable for his development of instrumental forms, particularly utilizing the recorder. Life and music No details are available regarding the early part of his life, but he must have been born in the late sixteenth century. Records show that he was appointed as organist at the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista, Venice, in 1609, when he was the preferred choice over Gabriel Sponga (a nephew of Francesco Usper). He was probably also a violinist. Riccio is known to have published three books of vocal and instrumental music in Venice. These books include his instrumental works for recorderunusual for Venetian music at the time, although Giovanni Picchi also wrote for the instrument. The initial publication date of Riccio’s Primo Libro is unknown, but the reprint dating from 1612 survives. The majority of the first book is allotted to vocal works, but in the revised edition two new instrumental canzonas are appended. One is his first known piece for recordera canzone for two flautini. His Secondo Libro, also published in Venice, app

Giovanni Bernardino Nanino

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Giovanni Bernardino Nanino (ca. 1560 – 1623) was an Italian composer, teacher and singing master of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and a leading member of the Roman School of composers. He was the younger brother of the somewhat more influential composer Giovanni Maria Nanino. Life Born in Vallerano, he was first a boy soprano in the local cathedral, just like his brother. His first post may have been as maestro di cappella at Santa Maria dei Monti in 1588, and he is known to have acquired the post of maestro di cappella at San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome in 1591, after his brother left to join the papal choir. The two brothers, however, were living together at this time in a house owned by the church, and spent a good deal of their time teaching choirboys. Following the appointment at San Luigi dei Francesi, he was associated with Cardinal Montalto, a wealthy and influential patron of art and music, and may have served as teacher, composer, and archivist for the Cardinal at his church, San Lorenzo in Damaso. Works Nanino’s music of the 1580s and 1590s is conservative in idiom, avoiding the experimental tendencies of his brother and Marenzio, preferring instead to inco

Giovanni Croce

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Giovanni Croce (; also Ioanne a Cruce Clodiensis, Zuanne Chiozotto; 1557 – 15 May 1609) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, of the Venetian School. He was particularly prominent as a madrigalist, one of the few among the Venetians other than Monteverdi and Andrea Gabrieli. Life He was born in Chioggia, a fishing town on the Adriatic coast south of Venice, the same town as Gioseffo Zarlino, and he came to Venice early, becoming a member of the boys’ choir at St. Mark’s under Zarlino’s direction by the time he was eight years old. Zarlino evidently found him in a choir in Chioggia Cathedral, and recruited him for St. Mark’s. Croce may have been a parish priest at the church of Santa Maria Formosa, and he took holy orders in 1585; during this period he also served as a singer at St. Mark’s. He evidently maintained some connection with Santa Maria Formosa, probably as a director of music, alongside his duties at St. Mark’s. After the death of Zarlino, he became assistant maestro di cappella; this was during the tenure of Baldassare Donato. When Donato died in 1603, Croce took over the principal job as maestro di cappella but the singing standards of the famous St. Mark’s C

Giovanni de Macque

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Giovanni de Macque (Giovanni de Maque, Jean de Macque) (1548/1550 – September 1614) was a Netherlandish composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was one of the most famous Neapolitan composers of the late 16th century; some of his experimentation with chromaticism was likely influenced by Carlo Gesualdo, who was an associate of his. Life Macque was born in Valenciennes, but moved to Vienna at an early age, where he sang as a choirboy, and where he studied with Philippe de Monte, the renowned composer of madrigals. When his voice broke in late 1563 — the only evidence for his birthdate — he was moved out of the choir and into a Jesuit college, and sometime before 1574 he moved to Rome, where he worked as a composer and as an organist; he published his first book of madrigals in 1576 (in Venice, which had a much more active publishing industry). While in Rome he met Marenzio, and his early book of serious madrigals shows Marenzio’s influence. Macque moved to Naples around 1585, where he became famous as the leader of the Neapolitan school. His first employment there was with the Gesualdo household, a place he remained until May

Giovanni de' Bardi

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Giovanni de’ Bardi (5 February 1534 – September 1612), Count of Vernio, was an Italian literary critic, writer, composer and soldier. Biography Giovanni de’ Bardi was born in Florence. While he received a deep classical education, becoming proficient in Latin and Greek as well as learning the craft of music composition, his early years were largely spent as a soldier. Under Grand Duke Cosimo I of Tuscany he fought against Siena, and later he fought at the Siege of Malta (1565) against the Turks. After Malta, and now a captain, he assisted Maximilian II in defeating the Turks in Hungary. But when he was not away on military campaigns, he was busy in Florence and elsewhere as a patron of music and the arts. Bardi is mainly famous for being host, patron, and inspiration to the group of composers, music theorists and scholars who made up the Florentine Camerata, the group which attempted to restore the aesthetic effect of ancient Greek music to contemporary practice. The group included Vincenzo Galilei (father of the astronomer Galileo), Giulio Caccini, and Pietro Strozzi, and derived its inspiration from a correspondence with Girolamo Mei, the foremost scholar of ancient Greek drama a

Giovanni Domenico da Nola

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Giovanni Domenico da Nola (also Nolla) (c. 1510–1520 – May 1592) was an Italian composer and poet of the Renaissance. He was born in the town of Nola, Italy. He was a founding member of the Accademia dei Sereni in 1546–1547, where he knew Luigi Dentice and Marchese della Terza, who was a patron of Orlando di Lasso. Nola was appointed maestro di cappella at the SS Annunziata in Naples on 1 February 1563, a position he held up to his death 29 years later. He also taught singing to the women of the ospedali at the Annunziata and to seminary deacons. Nola’s first publication consisted of two books of Canzoni villanesche in 1541, which contained 31 villanescas and 11 mascheratas. They were held in high esteem by Nola’s contemporaries; arrangements of these works were made by Lasso, Hubert Waelrant, Adrian Willaert, Baldassare Donato, Perissone Cambio, and Antonio Scandello. Lyrically, the works are often humorous and draw on local dialects and sayings; musically, the works make skillful use of imitation and intentional parallel fifths. Nola published a book of madrigals in 1545; of the 29 works in the book, 22 are settings of Petrarch, including one madrigal, six canzoni and fifteen sonnet

Giovanni Dragoni

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Giovanni Andrea Dragoni (or Draconi, c. 1540 – December 1598) was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the late Renaissance, a student of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and a prominent composer and maestro di cappella in Rome in the late 16th century. He left numerous sacred and secular works, almost all vocal, and was especially noted for his often-reprinted books of madrigals. Life Dragoni was born at Meldola, not far from Forlì, but details of his early life are lacking. He studied with Palestrina, as he indicated in the dedication to his first book of madrigals (1575). The next year he acquired the prestigious position of maestro di cappella at one of Rome’s most prominent churches and musical establishments, St. John Lateran, and he retained this position for the rest of his life. In 1594, towards the end of his life, Cardinal del Monte appointed Dragoni to assess the progress on the revisions to liturgical chant, part of the extensive reforms following from the Council of Trent. Dragoni died in Rome. Music Dragoni’s output was extensive, but much of his sacred music, kept in the St. John Lateran archive, has been lost, including a collection of settings of the Lament

Giovanni Ferretti

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Giovanni Ferretti (c. 1540 – after 1609) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, best known for his secular music. He was important in the development of the lighter kind of madrigal current in the 1570s related to the villanella, and was influential as far away as England. Life His place of origin is uncertain, and both Venice and Ancona have been claimed as cities of his birth. The earliest documents of his career show him already to be employed as the maestro di cappella, the choirmaster, at the cathedral of Ancona in 1575. The next two decades have gaps, but some dates of employment are known. Between 1580 and 1582 he was at Loreto; from 1586 to 1588 at Gemona; in 1589 at Cividale del Friuli; and in 1596 he is recorded as being at Loreto again, this time as maestro di cappella at Santa Casa, a position he held until 1603. A reference to him in 1609 indicates he was still alive then, possibly living in Rome, and various other bits of evidence – such as his music appearing in Roman collections, and his acquaintanceship with Roman musicians – suggests that he may have spent part of his career there. When he died is not known, but it was likely after 1609. Works and influence F

Giovanni Francesco Anerio

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Giovanni Francesco Anerio (7 July 1569 - 11 June 1630) was an Italian composer of the Roman School, of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was the younger brother of Felice Anerio. Giovanni’s principal importance in music history was his contribution to the early development of the oratorio; he represented the progressive trend within the otherwise conservative Roman School, though he also shared some of the stylistic tendencies of his brother, who was much indebted to Palestrina. Life He was born in Rome on 7 July 1569. He was a choirboy at Cappella Giulia in St. Peter’s under Palestrina from 1575 to 1579. He clearly decided to become a priest from an early age, and became associated with the Oratory of Filippo Neri around 1583. In 1595 he was employed as an organist at S Marcello, and likely became maestro di cappella at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, after Francesco Soriano, between 1600 or 1601 and 1603. In 1609 he held a similar post at Verona Cathedral, his first appointment outside of Rome; he stayed there until 1610, when he returned to Rome; remaining there (aside from a few travels) until 1624, holding a variety of roles (he became a priest in

Giovanni Gabrieli

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Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque idioms. Early life and education Gabrieli was born in Venice. He was one of five children, and his father came from the region of Carnia and went to Venice shortly before Giovanni’s birth. While not much is known about Giovanni’s early life, he probably studied with his uncle, the composer Andrea Gabrieli, who was employed at St Mark’s Basilica from the 1560s until his death in 1585. Giovanni may indeed have been brought up by his uncle, as is implied by the dedication to his 1587 book of concerti, in which he described himself as “little less than a son” to his uncle. Giovanni also went to Munich to study with the renowned Orlando de Lassus at the court of Duke Albert V; most likely he stayed there until about 1579. Lassus was to be one of the principal influences on the development of his musical style. although he probably composed even more for San Marco. San Marco had a long tradition of musical excellence and Gabr

Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi

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Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi (c. 1554 – 4 January 1609) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He is known for his 1591 publication of balletti for five voices. Career Gastoldi was born at Caravaggio, Lombardy. In 1592 he succeeded Giaches de Wert as choirmaster at Santa Barbara’s, Mantua, and served until 1605 under the Dukes Guglielmo and Vincenzo Gonzaga. According to Filippo Lomazzo, Gastoldi became choirmaster at the Duomo, Milan, afterwards, but other considerations seem to make this point doubtful. Works Gastoldi composed several books of madrigals, a variety of sacred vocal music, and a few instrumental works. Particularly noteworthy among his secular vocal works is his Quarto libro de’ madrigali a cinque voci (1602), which consists almost entirely of settings of texts from Battista Guarini’s hugely popular “pastoral tragicomedy” Il pastor fido (The Faithful Shepherd). According to Gastoldi himself, at least one of the pieces from this collection was included in a Mantuan court performance of the play in November 1598, which was staged as part of the festivities accompanying a visit of the queen of Spain. Balletti His two sets of balletti, a

Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger

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Johannes Hieronymus von Kapsberger, commonly known by his Italian name: Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, (also: Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger, Giovanni Geronimo Kapsperger; possibly Venice, c. 1580 – Rome, 17 January 1651) was an Austrian-Italian virtuoso performer and composer of the early Baroque period. A prolific and highly original composer, Kapsberger is chiefly remembered today for his lute and theorbo (chitarrone) music, which was seminal in the development of these as solo instruments. He was nicknamed “the noble German” and “the German of the theorbo”, referencing his ethnicity and fame as a virtuoso of the theorbo and of the other instruments belonging to the lute family. Life Nothing is known about Kapsberger’s date and place of birth. His father Colonel Wilhelm (Guglielmo) von Kapsperger was a military official of the Imperial House of Austria, and may have settled in Venice, the city which may have been Kapsberger’s birthplace. After 1605 Kapsberger moved to Rome, where he quickly attained a reputation as a brilliant virtuoso. He cultivated connections with various powerful individuals and organizations and organized “academies” in his house, which were counted among the

Giovanni Luca Conforti

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Giovanni Luca Conforti (1560 – May 11, 1608) was an Italian composer and prominent falsetto singer who wrote an exercise book about Baroque embellishments, Breve et facile maniera d’essercitarsi ad ogni scolaro or Brief and easy manner of exercising for every student, still in use today. Biography Conforti, also spelled Conforto, was born in Mileto, Calabria, around 1560. He sang in the Papal chapel from 1580 to October 31, 1585. He and several of his colleagues were expelled for joining the Congregazione dei Musici di Roma, membership of which was forbidden to papal singers, though he was later allowed to rejoin. That same year, Conforti is known to have sung at the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, a place all well-known musicians of the time performed. In 1595, he performed in a Lenten ceremony at the Arciconfraternita del Santissima Crocefisso under the direction of Luca Marenzio, a prominent Roman composer. Conforti ended up not going to Mantua due to bureaucratic lagtime, but went to serve at S Luigi dei Francesi under Ruggiero Giovanelli in Tivoli. He was there from June 1, 1587 to April 30, 1588. In 1591, he again served the Papal chapel, serving there, in Rome, until his

Giovanni Maria Nanino

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Giovanni Maria Nanino (also Nanini; 1543 or 1544 – 11 March 1607) was an Italian composer and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was a member of the Roman School of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century. He was the older brother of composer Giovanni Bernardino Nanino. Life Nanino was born in Tivoli, and served as a boy soprano in the cathedral at Viterbo. In the 1560s he probably studied with Palestrina at San Luigi de’ Francesi in Rome; at any rate, he became maestro di cappella there after Palestrina left. In 1577 he joined the papal choir as a tenor, and remained in the choir for the rest of his life, occasionally taking the rotating post of maestro di cappella. During the 1590s he was renowned as a teacher; he and his brother established what is thought to be the first Italian-run public music school in Rome and many future composers studied with him and sang in his choirs, including Felice Anerio, Antonio Brunelli, Antonio Cifra and Gregorio Allegri (composer of the famous Miserere). Works Nanino’s output as a composer was not large, but it was distinguished, and his music—especially his madrigals—were extremely popular at the

Giovanni Maria Trabaci

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Giovanni Maria Trabaci (ca. 1575 – 31 December 1647) was an Italian composer and organist. He was a prolific composer, with some 300 surviving works preserved in more than 10 publications; he was especially important for his keyboard music. Biography Trabaci was born in Montepeloso (now Irsina, near Matera). Nothing is known about his early life. On 1 December 1594 he was appointed tenor at Santissima Annunziata Maggiore in Naples, but already in 1597 he must have been known as an organist and organ expert, because he was invited that year to test the organ of Oratorio dei Filippini. He served as organist there for a while, and then became, in 1601, organist to the Spanish viceroys at the Chapel Royal of Naples. The second organist was Ascanio Mayone, and Giovanni de Macque was maestro di cappella. Trabaci succeeded Macque in 1614 after the latter’s death, and held the post for the rest of his life. Between 1625 and 1630 he also worked at the Oratorio dei Filippini. Trabaci was most noted for his keyboard works, which include ricercares, canzonas and toccatas collected in two publications (Libro primo…, 1603, Libro secondo…, 1615). His bold harmonic language, with unexpected mo

Giovanni Paolo Caprioli

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Giovanni Paolo Caprioli (c. 1580c. 1627) was an Italian priest, abbate in Candiana, and composer. Life and career Caprioli was born in Brescia in 1571 ca. and died January 1630 in the convent of St. John the Evangelist during the plague. The noble family from Brescia Caprioli is attested in documents citizens since the eleventh century. Gentlemen from the time of Henry III of the lands of Capriolo (BS), moved into town in the early fourteenth century living in different buildings but particularly in the palace Caprioli Via Elia Capriolo. The family was the birthplace of two important musicians: Alfonso Antonio Caprioli (sec. XV - composer of lies and strambotti) and John Paul that in 1587 he entered the convent of Scandiano (PD) belongs to the Congregation of the Rhenish Lateran Canons of SS. Savior of Bologna. In this religious order the severity and austerity of monastic life married with a keen sensitivity to the artistic decoration of the churches and a special interest in a cultural qualification through the study. Figures of great composers and organists will require a bit ‘anywhere in the various convents of the Congregation, especially in Bologna, Mantua, Venice and Brescia

Giovanni Picchi

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Giovanni Picchi (1571 or 1572 – 17 May 1643) was an Italian composer, organist, lutenist, and harpsichordist of the early Baroque era. He was a late follower of the Venetian School, and was influential in the development and differentiation of instrumental forms which were just beginning to appear, such as the sonata and the ensemble canzona; in addition he was the only Venetian of his time to write dance music for harpsichord. Life Little is known about Picchi’s early life, but his birthdate (1571 or 1572) can be inferred from his death record which states that he was 71 when he died on 17 May 1643. The earliest documentary evidence pertaining to him, unusually enough, is a picture: he appears as a lutenist on the title page of a 1600 dance manual by Fabritio Caroso (Nobilità di dame). Sometime before February 1607 he was hired as organist at the Venetian church of the Frari, and from 1623 to his death he was also organist at the confraternity Scuola di San Rocco, the most prestigious and wealthy of all the Venetian confraternities. In 1624 he applied for the position of second organist at St. Mark’s, but Giovanni Pietro Berti was chosen instead. He was a close contemporary of Mon

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

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Biography#

Palestrina was born in the town of Palestrina, near Rome, then part of the Papal States, to Neapolitan parents, Santo and Palma Pierluigi, in 1525, possibly on 3 February. His mother died on 16 January 1536, when Palestrina was 10. Documents suggest that he first visited Rome in 1537, when he was listed as a chorister at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the papal basilicas of the Diocese of Rome, which allowed him to learn literature and music. From 1544 to 1551, Palestrina was the organist of the Cathedral of St. Agapito, the principal church of his native city. In 1551 Pope Julius III (previously the Bishop of Palestrina) appointed Palestrina maestro di cappella or musical director of the Cappella Giulia, (Julian Chapel, in the sense of choir), the choir of the chapter of canons at St. Peter’s Basilica. Palestrina dedicated to Julius III his first published compositions (1554), a book of Masses. It was the first book of Masses by a native composer, since in the Italian states of Palestrina’s day, most composers of sacred music were from the Low Countries, France, or Spain. In fact the book was modelled on one by Cristóbal de Morales: the woodcut in the front is almost an exact copy of the one from the book by the Spanish composer. In 1555, Pope Paul IV ordered that all papal choristers should be clerical. As Palestrina married early in life and had four children, he was unable to continue in the chapel as a layman. A five-part Libera me Domine psalm for three choirs was sung at the funeral. Palestrina’s funeral was held at St. Peter’s, and he was buried beneath the floor of the basilica. His tomb was later covered by new construction and attempts to locate his grave have been unsuccessful. Italian composers Giovanni Maria Nanino and Gregorio Allegri, both of them disciples of his school, continued his works.

Giovanni Priuli

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Giovanni Priuli (or Prioli, ca. 1575–1626) was a Venetian composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. A late member of the Venetian School, and a contemporary of Claudio Monteverdi, he was a prominent musician in Venice in the first decade of the 17th century, departing after the death of his associate Giovanni Gabrieli and ending his career at the Habsburg court in Austria. His music straddled the dividing-line between Renaissance and Baroque idioms. Life Little is known of Priuli’s early life except that he was born in Venice around 1575. Information about the first twenty-five years of his life is lacking. Beginning in 1600, he was a close associate of Gabrieli, and it is presumed he may have been his student; the two were associated for the duration of Priuli’s Venetian career. When Priuli is first mentioned in the records of St. Mark’s, he was already an experienced musician, being hired as assistant organist to Gabrieli on several occasions between 1600 and 1605. In May 1607 he received a more permanent position as deputy organist; prior to that, the payment records indicated that his hires were for single engagements. Since St. Mark’s had two reg

Giovanni Valentini

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Giovanni Valentini (ca. 1582 – 29/30 April 1649) was an Italian Baroque composer, poet and keyboard virtuoso. Overshadowed by his contemporaries, Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz, Valentini is practically forgotten today, although he occupied one of the most prestigious musical posts of his time. He is best remembered for his innovative usage of asymmetric meters and the fact that he was Johann Kaspar Kerll’s first teacher. Life Little is known about Valentini’s life. He was born around 1582/3, probably in Venice, and almost certainly studied music under Giovanni Gabrieli there. Although the typical graduation Opus 1 of madrigals to be expected from a Gabrieli pupil – such as Opus 1 of Mogens Pedersøn (1608), Johann Grabbe (1609) and Heinrich Schütz (1611) – is not extant, Antimo Liberati (1617–1692) who worked in Venice in the 1640s records him in a letter of the 1680s as “Giovanni Valentini Veneziano, della famosa Schola de’ Gabrielli.” In approximately 1604/5 Valentini was appointed as organist of the Polish court chapel under Sigismund III Vasa; his first published works are dated 1609 and 1611, when he was still in Poland. In 1614 Valentini was employed by Ferdinand II (

Girolamo Belli

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Girolamo Belli (1552 – c. 1620) was an Italian composer and music teacher of the late Renaissance. He was closely associated with the Ferrara School in the 1580s, having previously studied with Luzzasco Luzzaschi, and was noted for his composition of both madrigals and sacred music. Life Belli was born in Argenta, a town southeast of Ferrara, between Ferrara and Ravenna, and received some of his early music instruction from Luzzaschi. In his youth he went to Mantua, to sing in the Duke’s private court establishment, and later he went to Rome. Sometime around 1580 he went to Ferrara, which contained, at the court of the Este family, one of the most progressive musical establishments of the late 16th century, and there he began to write madrigals in the pre-Baroque, monodic style of Luzzaschi. Evidently Belli attempted to secure permanent employment at the Ferrara court, but he seems to have been unsuccessful. During the late 1580s he may have worked again for the Gonzagas in Mantua, but if so, the dates are not known. For most of the remainder of his life he worked in Argenta as maestro di cappella and music teacher, but since Argenta was a relative backwater compared to Ferrara, Ve

Girolamo Cavazzoni

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Girolamo (Hieronimo) Cavazzoni (c. 1525 – after 1577) was an Italian organist and composer, son of Marco Antonio Cavazzoni. Little is known about his life except that he worked at Venice and Mantua, and published two collections of organ music. These collections only contain music written before about 1549, but are of high quality, and established the traditional form of imitative ricercars and canzonas. Life Practically nothing is known about Cavazzoni’s life. The approximate year of his birth can be surmised from his remarks in the preface to Intavolatura libro primo, the first collection of his music to be published. The volume was printed in Venice in 1543, and Cavazzoni informs the reader in the preface that he is “not much more than a boy” (anchor quasi fanciullo), which indicates Cavazzoni was around 17 at the time. Cavazzoni’s reputation must have been considerably high already at that time, since he was able to secure a privilege from the Venetian council to publish this collection. The second collection of Cavazzoni’s music, Intabulatura d’organo, carries no publication date (it appeared somewhere between 1543 and 1549) and contains no biographical details. By 1552 Cavazz

Girolamo Conversi

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Girolamo Conversi (fl. 1572–1575) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. His music, which was popular from the 1570s through the 1590s, was noted for its combination of the light canzone alla napolitana with the literary and musical sophistication of the madrigal. He appears to have written only secular vocal music. Life Little is known of his life but what can be inferred from the dedications to his madrigal books. He was born in Correggio in Reggio Emilia. In 1575 he dedicated a book of madrigals to Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples, and described himself as being in that man’s service. Whether he lived in Naples at the time, or elsewhere in the Spanish Kingdom of Naples, is not known. Since his only publications after 1575 are reprints – in copious quantity – he may have died around that year. Unusually for a popular composer of the time, he seems to have held no positions either in aristocratic courts or religious institutions for which records have been kept. Music and influence Conversi’s music is distinguished by its marriage of the lightness of the Neapolitan villanella, also known as the canzone alla napolitana, with the more serious an

Girolamo Dalla Casa

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Girolamo Dalla Casa, also known as Girolamo da Udine and Hieronymo de Udene, was an Italian composer, instrumentalist, and writer of the late Renaissance. He was a member of the Venetian School, and more influential as a performer than as a composer. NOTOC Nothing is known about his life prior to his arrival at Venice, but he was probably born at Udine sometime before the middle of the 16th century. He was first hired by the musical establishment of St Mark’s Basilica on 29 January 1568, along with his two brothers, Giovanni and Nicolò, where they formed the first permanent instrumental ensemble.. The sonorous acoustical environment of this basilica was the center of activity of the Venetians. Giovanni Gabrieli clearly had Dalla Casa’s group in mind for much of his music, and the Dalla Casas are presumed to have played in many the elaborate polychoral compositions of the time. In 1572, Dalla Casa served as Venetian agent for the purchase of a large number of wind instruments and printed editions of music for the court of John of Austria, half-brother of Philip II of Spain and hero of the Battle of Lepanto in the previous year. The transaction, made though the Spanish resident a

Girolamo Diruta

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Girolamo Diruta (c. 1546 – 1624 or 1625) was an Italian organist, music theorist, and composer. He was famous as a teacher, for his treatise Il Transilvano (Venice, 1st part 1593; 2nd part 1609-10 ) on counterpoint, and for his part in the development of keyboard technique, particularly on the organ. He was born in Deruta, near Perugia. Biography Diruta was born in Deruta in 1546 c. He became a friar minor conventual in the convent Perugia in 1566; later, from 1569 to 1574, he was in the convent of Correggio. Around 1578 he moved to Venice, where he met Claudio Merulo, Gioseffo Zarlino and Costanzo Porta (who was also a friar minor conventual), and he probably studied with each of them. Merulo mentioned Diruta in a prefatory letter to the Transilvano (1593), as one of his finest students. From 1580 until 1585 he was organist at the Gubbio cathedral. He returned in Venice at the Frari convent, where he was organist from 1586 until 1589. By 1593 he was organist at Chioggia cathedral. In these year he dedicated the first part of his treatise Il Transilvano to Sigismund Bathory, prince of Transylvania. Later he returned to live in Umbria. He was again organist at the Gubbio cathedral f

Girolamo Frescobaldi

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Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. A child prodigy, Frescobaldi studied under Luzzasco Luzzaschi in Ferrara, but was influenced by many composers, including Ascanio Mayone, Giovanni Maria Trabaci, and Claudio Merulo. Girolamo Frescobaldi was appointed organist of St. Peter’s Basilica, a focal point of power for the Cappella Giulia (a musical organisation), from 21 July 1608 until 1628 and again from 1634 until his death. Frescobaldi’s printed collections contain some of the most influential music of the 17th century. His work influenced Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell, and other major composers. Pieces from his celebrated collection of liturgical organ music, Fiori musicali (1635), were used as models of strict counterpoint as late as the 19th century. Life Frescobaldi was born in Ferrara. His father Filippo was a man of property, possibly an organist since both Girolamo and his half-

Girolamo Scotto

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Girolamo Scotto (Hieronymus Scotus; also Gerolamo) (c.1505 – 3 September 1572 ) was an Italian printer, composer, businessman and bookseller of the Renaissance, active mainly in Venice. He was the most influential member of the firm of Venetian printers, the House of Scotto, which existed from the late 15th century until 1615. At its peak in the 1560s, the Scotto firm under Girolamo was one of the preeminent publishing firms of Europe, producing volumes on law, scholasticism, philosophy, medicine, theology, and ancient literature in addition to music. Only the firm of Gardano produced more books of music in the 16th century than the House of Scotto under Girolamo; over half of Scotto’s publications, 409 out of approximately 800 in total, were books of music. Life and work Girolamo was one of six children of Bernardino Scotto, of Milan (1447–1537). Born in Milan, his early life is undocumented, and prior to the first appearance of his name on a Scotto-published book in 1539, his name appears only once in the historical record: in a petition to the Venetian Senate dated 1536 requesting a printing privilege for a work of scholastic philosophy by Marcantonio Zimara on Averroes’ comment

Giulio Belli

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Giulio Belli (c. 1560 – 1621 or later) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a prolific composer during the transitional time between the two musical eras, and worked in many cities in northern Italy. Life He was born in Longiano, near Forlì. He studied in Naples as a boy, but most of his career was spent in northern Italy. In 1582 he took a position as maestro di cappella at Imola cathedral. For the rest of his life he worked in a number of Italian cities in a similar capacity: in Carpi (1591), Venice, at Cà Grande (1594 or 1595), Montagnana (1595), Ferrara (1597), Osimo (1599), Ravenna (1600), Reggio (1603), Forlì (later in 1603–1606). In 1606 he briefly returned to his post at Cà Grande in Venice, but almost immediately quit and moved to Padua to become maestro di cappella at the church of S Antonio there. His succession of appointments continued: in 1610 he was maestro di cappella at Assisi; in 1611 he returned to Imola, where he stayed for two years; and he returned to Cà Grande again, in 1615. In 1621 he moved back to Imola to resume his position there yet again; records of his activities end at that point. While his rapid changes of e

Giulio Caccini

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Giulio Romolo Caccini (also Giulio Romano) (8 October 1551 – buried 10 December 1618) was an Italian composer, teacher, singer, instrumentalist and writer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the founders of the genre of opera, and one of the most influential creators of the new Baroque style. He was also the father of the composer Francesca Caccini and the singer Settimia Caccini. Life Little is known about his early life, but he is thought to have been born in Rome, the son of the carpenter Michelangelo Caccini; he was the older brother of the Florentine sculptor Giovanni Caccini. In Rome he studied the lute, the viol and the harp, and began to acquire a reputation as a singer. In the 1560s, Francesco de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was so impressed with his talent that he took the young Caccini to Florence for further study. By 1579, Caccini was singing at the Medici court. He was a tenor, and he was able to accompany himself on the viol or the archlute; he sang at various entertainments, including weddings and affairs of state, and took part in the sumptuous intermedi of the time, the elaborate musical, dramatic, visual spectacles which were one of t

Giulio Cesare Martinengo

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Giulio Cesare Martinengo (; – 10 July 1613) was an Italian composer and teacher of the late Renaissance and early Baroque Venetian School. He was the predecessor to Claudio Monteverdi at San Marco. He probably came from Verona, and was the son of composer Gabriele Martinengo. Accounts giving his birthdate are conflicting: one from his mother claims he was born in 1564, but a document from the “house of the Accoliti” in Verona gives his age in 1583 as 15. He studied with his father in Verona, and in the 1590s he served at Verona Cathedral as a singer as well as a priest. Martinengo is principally famous as the successor to Giovanni Croce, and predecessor to Claudio Monteverdi, to the post of maestro di cappella at San Marco in Venice, which was by far the most prestigious post in northern Italy. He was hired on 22 August 1609, at a pay of 200 ducats, after an audition, and on the recommendation of the Veronese. Martinengo’s tenure was a failure; he was sick most of the time, and the standards of the choir and instrumentalists slipped badly, according to contemporary accounts. In addition, the establishment took on considerable debt and became disorganized and demoralized. Martinengo

Giulio Fiesco

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Giulio Fiesco (possibly born ?1519, fl. 1550–1570) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, active in Ferrara, known for his madrigals. He was the first composer to set the poetry of Giovanni Battista Guarini, the most often-set poet by madrigalists of the late 16th century, and was an important court composer for the rich musical establishment of the Este family in Ferrara. Life Details of Fiesco’s life are sketchy. He was probably born in Ferrara and seems to have spent most of his life there. François-Joseph Fétis, the 19th-century French musicologist, claimed dates of 1519 to 1586 for Fiesco, but as he did not give his sources, it is not known if he had access to some documentation no longer extant. Alfred Einstein also reports these dates in The Italian Madrigal, with the additional detail that Fiesco was likely a lutenist. Fiesco was connected to the Estense court as indicated by the dedications in his madrigal collections, and may have been employed at the church of San Francesco, since he is buried there. It is also possible that he was employed personally by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este. In 1567 the poet Giovanni Battista Guarini entered into the service of Alfonso II d'

Gregor Aichinger

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Gregor Aichinger (1564 or 1565 – night of 20/21 January 1628) was a German composer. Karl Proske, in the preface to vol. 2 of his Musica Divina, calls him a priest of Regensburg, and praises him for the devout and ingenuous mastery of his style. Life His epitaph states he died in 1628 aged 63, making his birth year 1564 or 1565. In 1577 he moved to Munich to study under Orlando di Lasso, moving the following year to the University of Ingolstadt, where he studied alongside Jakob Fugger, later Prince Bishop of Constance. This put him in contact with the wider Fugger family of Augsburg, to whom he later dedicated many of his works. Jakob’s main patron was Jakob III. Fugger (1542–1598), who appointed him his organist in 1584, using an instrument he had paid for in 1580 at the Augsburg basilica of St.s Ulrich and Afra. He also made Aichinger his court composer and director of his chamber-music. Fugger also funded a number of Italian trips for Aichinger – in Venice he became one of Giovanni Gabrieli’s first pupils and probably also converted from Protestantism to Catholicism. Fugger granted him more study leave in 1588 during which he studied theology and philosophy back at the Universit

Gregorio Allegri

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Gregorio Allegri (c. 14 January 158217 February 1652) was an Italian Catholic priest and composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a singer. He was born and died in Rome. He is chiefly known for his Miserere for two choirs. Life He studied music as a puer (boy chorister) at San Luigi dei Francesi, under the maestro di cappella Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, brother of Giovanni Maria Nanino. Being intended for the Church, he obtained a benefice in the cathedral of Fermo. Here he composed a large number of motets and other sacred music, which, being brought to the notice of Pope Urban VIII, obtained for him an appointment in the choir of the Sistine Chapel at Rome as a contralto. He held this from 6 December 1629 until his death. Allegri is said to have been a virtuous man, as well as good-natured and generous to the poor and to prisoners. Among Allegri’s musical compositions were two volumes of concerti for five voices published in 1618 and 1619; two volumes of motets for six voices published in 1621; an edition of a four-part sinfonia; five masses; two settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah; and numerous motets which were not published in his lifetime

Guillaume Costeley

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Guillaume Costeley pronounced Cotelay (1530, possibly 1531 – 28 January 1606) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was the court organist to Charles IX of France and famous for his numerous chansons, which were representative of the late development of the form; his work in this regard was part of the early development of the style known as musique mesurée. He was also one of very few 16th century French composers of music for keyboard. In addition, he was a founding member of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique along with poet Jean-Antoine de Baïf, and he was one of the earliest composers to experiment with microtonal composition. Life Costeley was born in Fontanges-en-Auvergne, coincidentally the same town as contemporary composer Antoine de Bertrand. Nothing is known of him prior to his arrival in Paris in or before 1554, at which time he met, and became acquainted with the music of, such diverse figures as Jean Maillard, Jacques Arcadelt, and Sandrin. It was through Sandrin, who had recently worked in Italy, that Costeley probably became interested in the latest trends in Italian scholarship, particularly the theories of Nicola Vicentino, some of which involved composi

Guillaume Franc

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Guillaume Franc (c. 1505–1571) was a French musician and composer active in Geneva and Lausanne in the mid-16th century. He is regarded as instrumental in the development of both the Genevan Psalter and the . Some of the melodies are still used in hymns in the 21st century. Life Franc was born in Rouen around 1505, the son of Pierre, whose profession is not known. He was for some time in the service of Georges d’Armagnac, the future cardinal, as ‘cantor and servant’. He married the noble Catherine de Solages, a former nun of the Abbey of Millau who had converted to the Reformation. The family, with several children, moved to Geneva, probably to find refuge there, like many French Protestants at the time. Geneva Franc’s life in Geneva is recorded in the registers of the Council of Two Hundred. The first entry, dated 17 June 1541, is about his obtaining permission to teach music (“tenyr eschole de musique”), in the same year that the Council decided to promote congregational singing in worship. Franc began instructing children to sing the psalms. On 2 May 1542, Franc was commissioned by the Council to teach children to sing the Psalmen Davids, with an annual salary of 24 florins. He

Guillaume Legrant

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Guillaume Legrant (Guillaume Lemacherier, Le Grant) (fl. 1405–1449) was a French composer of the early Renaissance, active in Flanders, Italy, and France. He was one of the first composers in writing polyphony to distinguish between passages for solo and multiple voices on each part. Life and music Nothing is known about his early life, but his real name (Lemacherier) suggests a French origin. His first appearance in church records is in 1405, when he was a singer at Bourges. In 1407 he became a chaplain there, and he remained in Bourges until 1410. The next eight years contain no record of his activities, but he was in Rome by October 1418, at which time he entered the papal chapel as a singer, at that time under Pope Martin V; he stayed there until 1421. While no musical activity of his has been documented in France, he had been given benefices there, in the diocese of Rouen. Since he kept at least one until 1449 he is presumed to have still been alive then. Works Virelais (all for three voices) *Pour l’amour de mon bel amy *Ma chiere mestresse et amye *Or avant, gentilz fillettes *La doulce flour (rendered in CMM as an instrumental piece) Mass movements (all for three voices) *G

Hans Folz

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Hans Folz ( 1437 – January 1513) was a German author of the late medieval early Renaissance period. Folz was born in Worms. He was made a citizen of the city of Nuremberg, Germany in 1459 and master barber of the city in 1486. Folz was a reformer of the meistersangs, adding 27 new tones to those that had been allowed by the twelve “Alten Meister” (old masters) up to that point. His Meisterlieder (a type of song), of which he wrote about a thousand, were mostly devoted to religious questions. He also wrote twelve Fastnachtsspiele (short plays that made light of people in medieval society, for instance farmers, priests, and the bourgeoisie) in the same style as Hans Rosenplüt, but with more subtle language. Folz has been labelled as an antisemite by Andrew Gow, who called him “a thorough-going Jew-hater” for his work Ein Spil von dem Herzogen von Burgund (A Story of the Dukes of Burgund). His brutal hostility towards Jews is particularly prominent in the carnival plays The Old and the New Marriage and The Dukes of Burgund, both of which culminate in the public humiliation and mistreatment of Jews, with vulgar references to the Jew’s sow. According to Albert Wimmer’s Anthology of Medi

Hans Kotter

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Hans Kotter, sometimes given as Hans Cotter, Hans Kotterer, or Hans Kotther, (1480–1541) was a German composer and organist of the Renaissance. Although organ music was not popular or enthusiastically supported in Strasbourg in the early Reformation years, the first known organ chorales were composed by Kotter. Life and career Hans Kotter was born in Strasbourg in 1480. In 1514 Kotter was appointed organist at the Fribourg Cathedral. He remained there until 1530 when he lost his position due to his authorship of a poem he wrote before 1522 in which he displayed support for Protestantism. From 1534 he taught as a schoolmaster in Bern. He died there in 1541. Kotter’s three keyboard tablatures, contains the first German organ dances and pieces by Paul Hofhaimer, Josquin des Prez, Heinrich Isaac, and others. Also preserved are ten preludes, which are kept in a somewhat impersonal style, and are close to his teacher Hofhaimer. References * Brockhaus Riemann Musiklexikon, vol. 2, . 2004, digibib. External links *

Hans Leo Hassler

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Hans Leo Hassler (in German, Hans Leo Haßler) (baptised 26 October 1564 – 8 June 1612) was a German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, elder brother of lesser known composer Jakob Hassler. He was born in Nuremberg and died in Frankfurt. Biography Hassler was born in Nuremberg and baptised on 26 October 1564, receiving his first instruction in music from his father, the organist Isaak Hassler. In 1584, Hassler became the first of many German composers of the time who went to Italy to continue their studies; he arrived in Venice during the peak of activity of the Venetian school, the composers who wrote in the resplendent polychoral style, which was soon to become popular outside its native city. Hassler was already familiar with some of this music, as numerous prints had circulated in Germany due to the interest of Leonhard Lechner, who was associated with Orlandus Lassus in Munich. While in Venice, Hassler became friends with Giovanni Gabrieli, with whom he composed a wedding motet for Georg Gruber, a Nuremberg merchant living in Venice, in 1600. Together they studied with Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni’s uncle. Under Andrea, Hassler received instructi

Hans Neusidler

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Hans Neusidler (also Neusiedler, Newsidler) (c.1508 – 2 February 1563), was a German composer and lutenist of the Renaissance. Life Neusidler was born in Pressburg (today Bratislava, Slovakia) and first enters the historical record in 1530, when he settled in Nuremberg, Germany. He was issued a residence permit by the city council in February and married there in September. In April 1531, he became a citizen and soon after bought a house on the Zotenberg. He taught lute there in the 1530s, publishing eight books of lute music between 1536 and 1549, and also went into business as a luthier by 1550. He fathered thirteen children with his first wife, which resulted in his having enormous financial troubles; he eventually sold his house to pay his debts. In January 1556, his wife died, and he remarried five months later; his second wife bore him four more children before her death in August 1562. Neusidler died in Nuremberg. Hans’s sons, Melchior Neusidler (1531–1590) and Konrad Neusidler (1541-after 1604) were also well-known lutenists and composers. Works Neusidler, along with Hans Judenkünig and Hans Gerle, was one of the most important early German lutenists. His eight publications

Hans Sachs

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Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German Meistersinger (“mastersinger”), poet, playwright, and shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that was held in the church of Nuremberg. This helped to awaken in him a taste for poetry and music. His father was a tailor. He attended Latin school () in Nuremberg. When he was 14 he took up an apprenticeship as a shoemaker. After the apprenticeship, at age 17, he set out on his Wanderjahre or Walz as a Wandering journeyman, travelling about with companions and students. In 1513 he reached the small town of Wels, where he remained for a time, devoting himself to the cultivation of the fine arts. He married again on 2 September 1561, this time to the young widow Barbara Harscher. The great event of his intellectual life was the coming of the Reformation; he became an ardent adherent of Luther, and in 1523 wrote in Luther’s honor the poem beginning “The nightingale of Wittenberg, which is heard everywhere” (), and four remarkable dialogues in prose, in which his warm sympathy with the reformer was tempered by counsels of moderation. In spite of this, his advocacy of the ne

Hayne van Ghizeghem

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Hayne van Ghizeghem ( 1445 – from 1472 to 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life. He was probably born in Gijzegem (near Aalst, in modern Belgium). His musical talent must have been noticed early by Charles, Count of Charolais (later to become Charles the Bold) because there is a record of his being personally assigned to a teacher by him; in 1467 he is shown in the Burgundian employment records as being a singer. In addition, he was named along with Adrien Basin and Antoine Busnois as “chantre et valet de chambre” to Charles, indicating the special regard in which he was held. Additionally, Hayne’s composing style was constantly evolving. While some of his earlier works were written in a monophonic style, he gradually developed a more polyphonic manner of writing, serving as a key transitional figure in the development of more complex Renaissance music. There, he broke the usual mold in all parts – one that took liberties with text and used longer melodic lines that were not chopped with cadential formulas. His cadence included two independent and simultaneously sounding

Heinrich Finck

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Heinrich Finck (1444 or 1445 – 9 June 1527) was a German composer. He served as Kapellmeister first for Prince Alexander of Lithuania, later King of Poland, before leaving Poland in 1510. He worked in Stuttgart before becoming a member (and months before his death, the Kapellmeister) of the Hofkapell. He was the great-uncle of the music theorist and composer Hermann Finck (1527–1558). Biography He was probably born at Bamberg, but nothing is certainly known either of the place or date of his birth. Between 1492 and 1506 he was a musician in, and later possibly conductor of the court orchestra of successive kings of Poland at Warsaw. He held the post of conductor at Stuttgart from 1510 until about 1514, then was a composer at the Hofkapelle of Emperor Maximilian I, from 1519(?) at the chapter in Salzburg, and in 1527 Hofkapellmeister of Emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna, where he died. Works His works, mostly part songs and other vocal compositions, show great musical knowledge, and amongst the early masters of the German school he holds a high position. They are found scattered amongst ancient and modern collections of songs and other musical pieces. The library of Zwickau possesses a

Heinrich Grimm

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Heinrich Grimm (1592/1593-1637) was a late-Renaissance/early-Baroque German composer, cantor, music theorist, and organist. Career Grimm was born in Holzminden in the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Little is known of his life before 1607, when he went to Wolfenbüttel to study with Michael Praetorius, who was the Hofkapellmeister to Duke Heinrich Julius. While some scholars have suggested that Grimm was a choirboy at the ducal court, this cannot be verified with extant sources. Grimm studied under Praetorius until 1609, when he matriculated at the University of Helmstedt, where he studied philosophy and theology. In approximately 1617, Grimm became a cantor in Magdeburg, where his title was Musicus Magdeburgiensis Ordinarius. In this position, he taught at the Gymnasium, was music director at the churches of St. Johannes and St. Jacobi, and led a choir of his students once per month at the Magdeburg Cathedral. Grimm is credited with being one of the first to bring the new Italian style of music to northern Germany, and he was the first to introduce figured bass practice to Magdeburg. In May 1631, Grimm and his family were forced to flee Magdeburg, which was attacked by Count Tilly

Heinrich Isaac

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Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450 – 26 March 1517) was a Netherlandish composer of south Netherlandish origin during the Renaissance era. He wrote masses, motets, songs (in French, German and Italian), and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany. Several variants exist of his name: Ysaac, Ysaak, Henricus, Arrigo d’Ugo, and Arrigo il Tedesco among them. (Tedesco means “Flemish” or “German” in Italian.) Early life Little is known about Isaac’s early life (or indeed what he called himself), but it is probable that he was born in the Brabant. During the late 15th century, standards of music education in the region were excellent, and he was probably educated in his homeland, although the location is not known. Sixteenth-century Swiss music theorist and writer Heinrich Glarean claimed Isaac for Germany by dubbing him “Henricus Isaac Germanus”, but in his will Isaac called himself by the patronymic “Ugonis de Flandria”, ‘Hugo’s son from Flanders’. A writer in the Milanese Revista critica della letteratura italiana, June 1886, speculated that this patronymic might be connected to ‘Huygens’ and discovered the name “Isa

Heinrich Scheidemann

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Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Bach. Life He was born in Wöhrden in Holstein. His father was an organist in both Wöhrden and Hamburg, and probably Scheidemann received some early instruction from him. Scheidemann studied with Sweelinck in Amsterdam from 1611 to 1614, and evidently was one of his favorite pupils, since Sweelinck dedicated a canon to him, prior to Scheidemann’s return to Germany. By 1629, and possibly earlier, Scheidemann was in Hamburg as organist at the Catharinenkirche, a position which he held for more than thirty years, until his death in Hamburg in early 1663 during an outbreak of the plague. Music and influence Scheidemann was renowned as an organist and composer, as evidenced by the wide distribution of his works; more organ music by Scheidemann survives than by any other composer of the time. Unlike the other early Baroque German composers, such as Praetorius, Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein, each of whom wrote in most of the current genres and styles, Scheidema

Heinrich Schütz

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Early life and education#

Schütz was born in Köstritz, the eldest son of Christoph Schütz and Euphrosyne Bieger. In 1590 the family moved to Weißenfels, where his father managed the inn “Zum güldenen Ring”. His father eventually served as burgomaster in Weißenfels, and in 1615 purchased another inn known as both “Zur güldenen Sackpfeife” and “Zum güldenen Esel”, which he renamed “Zum Schützen”. While Schütz was living with his parents, his musical talents were discovered by Landgrave Moritz von Hessen-Kassel in 1598 during an overnight stay in Christoph Schütz’s inn. Upon hearing young Heinrich sing, the landgrave requested that his parents allow the boy to be sent to his noble court for further education and instruction. His parents initially resisted the offer, but after much correspondence they took Heinrich to the landgrave’s seat at Kassel in August 1599. After being a choirboy, Schütz studied law at Marburg before going to Venice from 1609 to 1612 to study music with Giovanni Gabrieli. Gabrieli is the only person Schütz ever called his teacher. He inherited a ring from Gabrieli shortly before the latter’s death. He was subsequently organist at Kassel from 1613 to 1615.

Heliodoro de Paiva

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Dom Heliodoro de Paiva (fl. Coimbra, 1552) was a Portuguese composer, philosopher, and theologian. Life Heliodoro de Paiva was born in Lisbon (date unknown). He studied at the Monastery of Santa Cruz de Coimbra, where he took the holy orders as an Augustinian regular capitulary. He was remarkable for the qualities he revealed in a wide variety of subjects: apart from musician and composer, he was well versed in the Greek, Latin, and Hebraic languages, and he was a good philosopher and theologian. As a musician, he played several instruments with skill and he was an esteemed singer. Work Paiva’s work can be found in the music manuscripts of the Monastery of Santa Cruz de Coimbra (now kept at the library of the University of Coimbra). He composed masses, motets, and Magnificats but, as he was excessively humble, he did not sign his works, which makes it more difficult to identify them. Bibliography *Bernardes, J. M. R. e Bernardes, I. R. S. (2003), Uma Discografia de Cds da Composição Musical em Portugal: Do Século XIII aos Nossos Dias, INCM. pp. 197–198 . *Cruz, António e Pimentel, Carlos F. (1937), Inventário dos Inéditos e Impressos Musicais: Subsídios para um Catálogo, prefácio d

Henry Bredemers

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Henry (Henri, Hendrik) Bredemers (Bredeniers) (c. 1472 – May 20, 1522) was a South Netherlandish organist and music teacher. No compositions by him survive, and his historical importance lies chiefly in his activities as a teacher. The first recorded reference to Bredemers is in a 1488 document which lists him as one of the singers of Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal), Antwerp. In 1491–1492 he served as organist of Saint James’ Church (Sint-Jacobskerk) of the same city, and in 1493 he occupied a similar position at the Confraternity of Our Lady at Our Lady’s church. Bredemers must have attained a considerable reputation in the following years: by 1501 he was distinguished enough to enter the chapel of Philip the Handsome as organist. The chapel, known then as Grande chapelle, was the main musical establishment of the Burgundian-Habsburg court, and one of the most important court chapels of the Renaissance: it had a long and illustrious history associated with composers of the Burgundian School, particularly Guillaume Dufay. And at the time Bredemers joined it, members of the chapel included important composers such as Pierre de la Rue and Alexander Agricola. He wa

Henry Lawes

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Henry Lawes (baptised 5 January 1596 – 21 October 1662) was the leading English songwriter of the mid-17th century. He was elder brother of fellow composer William Lawes. Life Lawes was the elder son of Thomas Lawes (died 1640) and Lucris Lawes (born Shephard) was born at Dinton, near Wilton, Wiltshire, just before 5 January 1596. Around 1602 Thomas, a church musician, moved to Salisbury as lay vicar and the family took up residence in the Close. Henry’s three brothers, born in Salisbury, were also able musicians: William, Thomas (1608 – 1666) and John (d 1655). It is presumed that Henry, and subsequently William, sang in the Cathedral choir but there is no direct evidence. Nor is there information about his upbringing or musical training before he appeared in London, probably about 1615. At an early stage in London he was employed by John Egerton, earl of Bridgewater to teach music to his daughters. Unlike his songs (see below), little of his music for the masques survives. The portrait now in the Faculty of Music, Oxford University, is dated around this time, approximately 1642. The English Civil War altered this way of life and affected Henry especially when William was killed i

Hernando Franco

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Hernando Franco (1532 – November 28, 1585) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance, who was mainly active in Guatemala and Mexico. Life Franco was born in Galizuela (now part of Esparragosa de Lares, Badajoz Province) in Extremadura, a source region for many people who came to the New World in the 16th century. He was trained in music as a choir boy, and later apprentice and journeyman, at Segovia Cathedral by Gerónimo de Espinar, who may also have been a teacher of Tomás Luis de Victoria. While a youth he met and befriended Lázaro del Álamo, who was to precede him as maestro de capilla in Mexico City. Most likely Franco went to Nueva España in the 1550s, though there is no record of his activities until 1571 when he appears in the records as maestro de capilla of the cathedral of Santiago de Guatemala, the capital city of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. That magnificent building, since destroyed by an earthquake, had been newly constructed in the valley of Panchoy, present-day Antigua Guatemala, after the city had to be moved from the previous site in the Almolonga valley. Franco left that position in 1574 after a series of budget cuts that affected his salary, and undertook

Hieronymus Praetorius

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Hieronymus Praetorius the Elder (10 August 1560 – 27 January 1629) was a Northern German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque whose polychoral motets in 8 to 20 voices are intricate and vividly expressive. Some of his organ music survives in the Visby Orgel-Tabulatur, which dates from 1611. (He was not related to the prolific Michael Praetorius, known as a theorist and for Terpsichore, but the large Praetorius family tree produced many distinguished musicians during the 16th and 17th centuries.) Life He was born in Hamburg and spent most of his life there. He studied organ with his father (Jacob Praetorius the Elder (1520-1586), also a composer), before moving to Cologne for further study. In 1580 he became organist in Erfurt but remained there only two years. After returning to Hamburg in 1582 he worked with his father as assistant organist at Sankt Jacobi, becoming principal organist in 1586 when his father died, a post he retained until his own death 43 years later. His son, Jacob, was born that same year, and was also destined to become a composer. His younger son Johann was also a composer and organist. His other son Hieronymus became a theologian. I

Hoste da Reggio

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Hoste da Reggio (also L’Hoste, L’Osto, Oste, and Bartolomeo Torresano In 1555 he acquired a prebend at S. Calimero, also in Milan, and three years later he attained the prestigious position of maestro di cappella (choir director, the highest musical post) at Milan Cathedral. In 1563 he resumed his previous duties at S. Calimero, staying there until 1567, when he left Milan for Bergamo, where he served as maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore. He died there after only two years. This may be due to confusion with another composer, Gasparo Pratoneri, “Spirito da Reggio.” Music and influence Hoste da Reggio’s style showed many of the characteristics of the mid-century madrigal, which was at that time evolving along several different paths. He published his madrigals in five volumes in Venice between 1547 and 1554. Some of the methods of madrigal composition common around 1550 which can be found in Hoste’s music include chromaticism, unusual chord progressions, especially around cadences, and note nere (black-note) writing. In the note nere style, quick passages (written in filled-in notes, i.e., “black” notes) alternate with slower-moving sections, often in extreme contrast. Anot

Hubert Naich

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Hubert Naich (Huberti, Huberto; Naixh, Naxhe) (c. 1513 – c. 1546) was a composer of the Renaissance, probably of Flemish origin, principally active in Rome. He was mainly a composer of madrigals, some in the note nere style. Life He was probably from Liège, although the details of his early life are uncertain, since several musicians bearing the name “Naich” were active at the church of St. Martin during the time he would have been growing up. Music All of Naich’s known music is for voices, and almost all of it is secular. His entire surviving output has been published in volume 94 of Corpus mensurabilis musicae. Forty-five compositions are known, including 30 in a volume of madrigals he published in Rome in 1540 (Exercitium seraficum, all for from four to six voices). He also published 12 madrigals in other collections, such as the one with Arcadelt. The other three compositions are a chanson in French, and two motets, evidently his only sacred compositions to survive. Some of his madrigals are in the note nere (black note) style. This style of composition, which began with the work of Costanzo Festa around 1540, used shorter note values than were previously used in madrigal compo

Hubert Waelrant

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Hubert Waelrant or Hubertus Waelrant (last name also spelled Waelrand and Latinised name: Hubertus Waelrandus) (c. 1517 – 19 November 1595) was a Flemish composer, singer, teacher, music editor, bookseller, printer and publisher active in 16th century Antwerp. He was a member of the generation of the Franco-Flemish School of composers who were contemporaries of Palestrina. Unlike famous composers of his time he mostly worked in northern Europe. His style is a transition between that of Nicolas Gombert and the mature Orlande de Lassus. His compositions were modern in the use of chromaticism and dissonance. Life Details of Waelrant’s roots are uncertain, but he may have been one of a family of lawyers from Antwerp, the city in which he spent most of his life. Since some of his children were also lawyers it is seen as likely that he was related to this family. As a young man he may have studied in Italy, a common destination for a talented singer and composer from the Netherlands in the 16th century. While there is no documentary evidence for a trip to Italy, Waelrant maintained contact with a wealthy patron there, and his madrigals the influence of some of the more progressive Italia

Hugh Aston

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Hugh Aston (also spelled Asseton, Assheton, Ashton, Haston; 1485 – buried 17 November 1558) was an English composer of the early Tudor period. While little of his music survives, he is notable for his innovative keyboard and church music writing. He was also politically active, a mayor, Member of Parliament, and Alderman. Biography Hugh Aston was born in Leicester in or around 1485. His father was Alderman Robert Aston, a Senior Burgess of Leicester’s South Ward. Hugh’s subsequent musical education points to the likelihood that his early years were spent as a boy chorister, probably in the Choral College and Hospital of the Annunciation of St Mary in the Newarke, (The Newarke College). This was near the ‘South Ward’ represented by his father, beside the south gates of medieval Leicester. At the time it was one of the most prestigious of England’s provincial choral institutions. A musically gifted boy such as Hugh would begin in the choir aged around 8, and would be one of six boys singing plainsong and newer polyphonic pieces at the daily services, alongside the choir of male professional singers. Hugh could have joined the choir school in 1493 and remained there as an additional l

Ignazio Donati

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Ignazio Donati (c. 1570 – 21 January 1638) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era. He was one of the pioneers of the style of the concertato motet. Biography Ignazio Donati was born possibly in Pesaro, though many thought in Casalmaggiore (now in the Province of Cremona). Little is known about his earliest years, but he must have had a thorough early musical training, and his succession of posts at various cathedrals in Italian towns is well documented: he served successively at Urbino, Pesaro, Fano, Ferrara, Casalmaggiore, Novara, and Lodi, eventually acquiring the prestigious post at Milan Cathedral in 1629, which he kept with one short break until his death. Donati wrote “sacred concertos”, motets, masses and psalm settings. Most of Donati’s music is sacred, and his style tends towards the cheerful, the light, and the practical. He wrote motets using the new stile concertato pioneered by the composers of the Venetian School, though he was not associated with Venice himself. Most of his music is for two to five voices with instrumental accompaniment including basso continuo, and some of his works—for example a book of psalm settings—exist in several settings for differe

Ippolito Baccusi

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Ippolito Baccusi (also Baccusii, Hippolyti) (c. 1550 – 2 September 1609) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, active in northern Italy, including Venice, Mantua, and Verona. A member of the Venetian School of composers, he had a strong reputation as a master of counterpoint, and wrote both sacred and secular vocal music. Little is known of his life other than the details of a few appointments, and what can be inferred from the dedications he wrote for his publications. He was born in Mantua. Sometime in the late 1560s he was appointed assistant director of the choir at San Marco in Venice, but he did not hold the position for long, going to Ravenna to study. In 1572 he was maestro di cappella at the church of Sant’Eufemia in Verona, where he may have been associated with the Veronese Accademia Filarmonica. In 1592 Baccusi accepted the position of maestro di cappella at Verona Cathedral, where he remained for the rest of his life. Baccusi’s music is in the Venetian style, influenced by Adrian Willaert, Giaches de Wert, Cipriano de Rore and Andrea Gabrieli. He was a prolific composer, but to date no significant study has been undertaken of his music. His works, mostly pub

Ippolito Chamaterò

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Ippolito Chamaterò (also Chamatterò di Negri, Camaterò; first name also Hippolito; late 1530s – after 1592) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, originally from Rome but active in northern Italy. He wrote both sacred and secular music, particularly madrigals; all of his surviving music is vocal. His sacred musical style was in conformance with the Counter-Reformation musical ideals following the Council of Trent, and his madrigals were related stylistically to those of Adrian Willaert and Cipriano de Rore. Life Chamaterò was born in Rome. Details of his early life are lacking, including where he received his musical training. By 1560 he had come to northern Italy, where he held a succession of mostly short posts; there are gaps in the record for some portions of his career. In 1560 and 1561 he was in Padua, since he signed some of his published books of madrigals there. On January 1, 1562, he became maestro di cappella, music director, of the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica of Verona, succeeding Francesco Portinaro, who had held the post the preceding year. Chamaterò held this post for exactly two years, leaving at the end of 1563. In 1565 he was in Vicenza; 1566, Tre

Ivan Lukačić

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Marko Ivan Lukačić (Lucacich or Lucacih, Fr. Joannes de Sibinico) (Šibenik, baptized 7 April 1587 – Split, September 20, 1648) was a Croatian-born musician and composer of the Renaissance and early Baroque. Biography Lukačić’s exact date of birth is unknown; in 1587 he was baptised in Šibenik where it is believed he was born. Ten years later he entered the Franciscan order when he accepted his monastic name Ivan. In 1600 he was sent to Italy where he studied theology and music. In 1612 he has signed himself as baccalaureus, while on 23 March 1615 he was awarded in Rome the degree of Magister Musices (master of music). In 1614 he participated as maestro di cappella at the feast of St Jerome in the Saint Jerome of the Slavs church in Rome. He returned to Šibenik in 1618 and two years later he moved to Split, where he became prior of the Franciscan monastery in addition to being director of music at the cathedral, where he lived until his death. While Lukačić’s sojourn in Italy is insufficiently documented, his engagement in Split, both as a prior and musician, left quite a record of first-class importance for the musical life of that time in Dalmatia. Works Sacrae cantiones singulis

Ivo de Vento

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Ivo de Vento (c. 1544, in Antwerp – 3 September 1575, in Munich) was a Franco-Flemish composer, organist and Kapellmeister of the High Renaissance. Life From numerous receipts sent to his father in Antwerp it is known that Ivo de Vento was present at the ducal court of Albert V in Munich around September 1556 or a little later, one of a number of boy singers recruited from the Spanish Netherlands, possibly chosen by Orlando di Lasso. He was employed under Hofkapellmeister Ludwig Daser until September 1559, when his voice broke and he was given a stipend to study in Venice. Presumably his teachers would have included Claudio Merulo, the organist at San Marco, and Annibale Padovano. Italian influence is evident in a 6-part Battaglia printed in a Venetian anthology of 1564. In 1563 he returned to Munich as organist, a post shared with two Italian colleagues in the newly expanded Hofkapelle now led by Orlando di Lasso. Vento was fostered by the famous composer, as shown by inclusion of his work in a collection of 6-part masses (1564/65) as well as the 1569 Madrigals and its 1575 sequel. In summer of 1568 the crown prince Wilhelm V, having married Renata of Lorraine, moved part of the c

Jacob Obrecht

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Jacob Obrecht (also Hobrecht; 1457/8 – late July 1505) was a Flemish composer of masses, motets and songs. Life What little is known of Obrecht’s origins and early childhood comes mostly from his motet Mille quingentis. He was the only son of Ghent city trumpeter Willem Obrecht and Lijsbette Gheeraerts. His mother died in 1460 at the age of 20, and his father in 1488 in Ghent. Details of his early education are sparse, but he probably learned to play the trumpet, like his father, and in so doing learned counterpoint and how to improvise over a cantus firmus. He is likely to have known Antoine Busnois at the Burgundian court, and certainly knew his music, since Obrecht’s earliest mass shows close stylistic parallels with the elder composer. Scholar, composer and clergyman, Obrecht seems to have had a succession of short appointments, two of which ended in less than ideal circumstances. There is a record of his compensating for a shortfall in his accounts by donating choirbooks he had copied. Throughout the period he was held in the highest esteem both by his patrons and by his fellow composers. Tinctoris, writing in Naples, singles him out in a shortlist of contemporary master compo

Jacob Regnart

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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

Jacob van Eyck

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Jacob van Eyck ( , ; c. 159026 March 1657) was a Dutch nobleman, composer and blind musician. He was one of the best-known musicians of the Dutch Golden Age, working as a carillon player and technician, a recorder virtuoso, and a composer. He was an expert in bell casting and tuning, and taught Pieter and François Hemony how to tune a carillon. Van Eyck is credited with developing the modern carillon together with the brothers in 1644, when they cast the first tuned carillon in Zutphen. He is also known for his collection of 143 compositions for recorder, , the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history. Biography Early life Jacob van Eyck was born in 1589 or 1590 into a noble family probably in The Hague and raised in the nearby town Bergen op Zoom. Born blind, he lived with his mother and father well into adulthood. Van Eyck moved to the town of Heusden and became involved as a player and technician of the town’s carillon by 1618. He met with several craftsmen and the city organist to discuss changes and improvements to the carillon, which he carried out in 1620 and 1621. Carillon career Van Eyck quickly established himself as a renowned carillon player and techn

Jacobus Barbireau

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Jacobus Barbireau (also Jacques or Jacob; also Barbirianus) (1455 – 7 August 1491) was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer from Antwerp. He was considered to be a superlative composer both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars; however, his surviving output is small, and he died young. Life Until the 1960s, he was confused with another somewhat older composer named Barbingant. Barbireau was probably born in Antwerp, and both of his parents were citizens there. By 1482, he had attained the title of Master of Arts, so he likely went to university in the 1470s. He wanted to study with the humanist and musician Rodolphus Agricola, who was active at Ferrara in the 1470s and later Heidelberg, and several letters written by Agricola to Barbireau have survived; one of them gives useful clues about Barbireau’s life. According to it, Barbireau was already active as a composer by 1484, and implies that his fame had not yet spread outside of his native Antwerp. Barbireau may have been attached to the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp since childhood. Since 1482, the church was the center of his life. It is also probably the reason why it was impossible for him to study with Agricola. In 1

Jacobus Clemens non Papa

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Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) (c. 1510 to 1515 – 1555 or 1556) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance based for most of his life in Flanders. He was a prolific composer in many of the current styles, and was especially famous for his polyphonic settings of the psalms in Dutch known as the Souterliedekens. Life Nothing is known of Clemens’s early life, and even the details of the years of his artistic maturity are sketchy. He may have been born in Middelburg, Zeeland, though the evidence is contradictory; certainly he was from somewhere in modern Belgium or the Netherlands. The first unambiguous reference to him is from the late 1530s, when Pierre Attaingnant published a collection of his chansons in Paris. Between March 1544 and June 1545 he worked as succentor at the cathedral of Bruges, and shortly thereafter he began a business relationship with Tielman Susato, the publisher in Antwerp, which was to last for the rest of his life. From 1545 until 1549 he was probably choirmaster to Philippe de Croÿ, Duke of Aerschot, one of Charles V’s greatest generals, where he preceded Nicolas Gombert. In 1550 he was employed as sanger ende

Jacobus de Kerle

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Jacobus de Kerle (Ypres 1531/1532 - Prague 7 January 1591) was a Flemish composer and organist of the late Renaissance. Life De Kerle was trained at the monastery of St. Martin in Ypres, and held positions as a singer in Cambrai and choirmaster in Orvieto, where he also became organist and carillonneur. After entering the priesthood, he began having his music printed, including a 1561 collection of psalms and Magnificat settings in Venice. He was commissioned to write Preces Speciales set to texts by the Dominican Pedro de Soto for the Council of Trent, which he completed by 1562, and visited the city during the time of the Council in his travels with Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, cardinal of Augsburg. Although he did not take part in their discussions, the performance of the Preces Speciales reportedly influenced the deliberations of the Council Fathers on sacred music. In 1565, he was appointed director of music at Ypres Cathedral, though he would lose this position after being excommunicated on March 30, 1567, due to a dispute with another priest and thus lost his office. After performing the imposed penances in Rome, he was received again in the church. From there he moved to Ro

Jacobus Gallus

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Jacobus Gallus (a.k.a. Jacob(us) Handl, Jacob(us) Händl; between 15 April and 31 July 155018 July 1591) was a late-Renaissance composer of presumed Slovene ethnicity. Born in Carniola, which at the time was one of the Habsburg lands in the Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life. Life Gallus’s name has been Slovenianized as Jakob Petelin (petelin means ‘rooster’; Handl and gallus mean the same in German and Latin, respectively). However, Gallus never used the name Petelin. He was probably born in Reifnitz (now Ribnica, southern Slovenia), although Slovene folk tradition also claims his birthplace to be at Šentviška Gora in the Slovenian Littoral. He used the Latin form of his name, to which he often added the adjective Carniolus, thus giving credit to his homeland Carniola. Gallus most likely was educated at the Cistercian Stična Abbey in Carniola. He left Carniola sometime between 1564 and 1566, traveling first to Austria, and later to Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. For some time he lived at the Benedictine Melk Abbey in Lower Austria. He was a member of the Viennese court chapel in 1574, and was choirmaster (Kapellmeister) t

Jacobus Vaet

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Jacobus Vaet (c. 1529 – 8 January 1567) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, writing smooth polyphony with pervasive imitation, and he was a friend both of Clemens non Papa and Lassus. Life He was born in either Kortrijk or Harelbeke, but about when and where he was born is for now not yet fully determined. From his “Modulationes” (1562) he calls himself “Flemish” but later he says that he is “Belgian”, so at least we can say he is from the low countries. His first appearance in the historical record is from Kortrijk, where he was admitted in 1543, at age 13, as a singer to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). In 1547 he was enrolled at the University of Leuven, and by 1550 he was in the court of Charles V, where he was listed as tenor in the chapel choir. He may have been recruited for the choir by Pieter Maessens who had been magister cantus at Notre Dame in Courtrai when Vaet was a boy. He became Kapellmeister to Maximilian II in 1554, and held that post for the rest of his life. Evidently Maximilian was fond of his Kapellmeister, and mourned him both in his diary, and by having elegies wr

Jacobus Vide

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Jacobus Vide (French: Jacques Vide; fl. 1405–1433) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the transitional period between the medieval period and early Renaissance. He was an early member of the Burgundian School, during the reigns of John the Fearless and Philip the Good. The earliest mention of him is from the archives of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, in 1405, where he was probably a choirboy (some uncertainty exists with regard to the name). In 1410 he held a position at the church of St Donatian in Bruges, and around the same time he may have been a singer in the chapel of Antipope John XXIII. His service to the Burgundian court began sometime between then and 1423, when he was listed as a valet de chambre for Philip the Good, and in 1426 he was given charge of instructing and caring for two choirboys. In 1428 he was promoted to the position of secretary to Philip the Good. No records of his activity after 1433 have yet been discovered. All eight of his surviving works are rondeaux, secular French songs which were a favorite of the Burgundians. They are somewhat unusual, in comparison to other music of the period, in their free use of dissonance, and in addition are marked by

Jacopo Corsi

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Jacopo Corsi (17 July 1561 – 29 December 1602) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque and one of Florence’s leading patrons of the arts, after only the Medicis. His best-known work is Dafne (1597/98), whose score he wrote in collaboration with Jacopo Peri. Six fragments of the score have survived, two by Corsi and four by Peri. The libretto, by Ottavio Rinuccini, has survived intact. Despite priority quibbles at the time, Dafne is generally accepted as the first opera. TOC Life Born into a Florentine noble family on 17 July 1561, he was the son of Giovanni Corsi (1519–1571) and Alessandra Della Gherardesca (d. 1615). His father was an important merchant who expanded the family activities in Palermo and was also in charge of Cardinal Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1569, Giovanni provided important services to the Cardinal but died early in 1571, leaving Jacopo, who was only 10 years old, to be raised by his uncle Antonio with a great inheritance of 90,000 ducats. Jacopo and his brothers Bardo and Giulio had good investments in mercantile education, which allowed them to continue managing the legacy left by their father. The private

Jacopo Peri

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Jacopo Peri (; 20 August 156112 August 1633) was an Italian composer, singer, and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost Dafne (c. 1597), and also the earliest extant opera, Euridice (1600). He is sometimes known by the byname ll Zazzerino (). Life and career Jacopo di Antoni di Franceso Peri was born in either Rome or Florence to a middle-class family. Peri himself claimed to be from Rome, but considering the pro-Roman sentiments of the reigning Fernando de’Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, it was considered a disadvantage to be known as a Florentine. This may have motivated Peri to lie about his true birthplace. Nonetheless, he was employed to sing at the Servite monastery of Santissima Annunziata in the city of Florence. He likely received an education from the monastery school as well. Due to its size and favour with the Medici court, which attended mass there each week, Santissima Annunziata was seen as pipeline for musical students to develop their careers and acquire patronage. Because of his talent and education, Peri was able to study in Florence with Cristofano Malvezzi, and went on to w

Jacques Arcadelt

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Jacques Arcadelt (also Jacob Arcadelt; 10 August 150714 October 1568 In addition to his work as a madrigalist, and distinguishing him from the other prominent early composers of madrigals – Philippe Verdelot and Costanzo Festa – he was equally prolific and adept at composing chansons, particularly late in his career when he lived in Paris. Arcadelt was the most influential member of the early phase of madrigal composition, the “classic” phase; it was through Arcadelt’s publications, more than those of any other composer, that the madrigal became known outside of Italy. Later composers considered Arcadelt’s style to represent an ideal; later reprints of his first madrigal book were often used for teaching, with reprints appearing more than a century after its original publication. Life Arcadelt was born in Namur in the Habsburg Netherlands on 10 August 1507. He moved to Italy as a young man, and was present in Florence by the late 1520s, thereby gaining an opportunity to meet or work with Philippe Verdelot, who wrote the earliest named madrigals. Still in Rome, in January 1539, he was probably made a member of the Julian Chapel (the records give his name as “Jacobus flandrus”, sugge

Jacques Brunel

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Jacques Brunel (Brumel, Brumello, Brunello, Giaches Brumel, etc.) (died 1564) was a French organist and composer, active mostly in Italy. Life He may have been organist at the Rouen Cathedral until December 1524, when a certain Jacques Brunel left the post. From 1532 until 1564 a Brunel, probably the same person, worked as organist at the Este chapel in Ferrara, France, where in 1547–1558 he served under the famous composer Cipriano de Rore. Between 1543 and 1559, Brunel received money for the keep of a horse, which he needed to travel to oversee the Este chapels at Modena and Reggio nell’Emilia. At the request of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Brunel also stayed in Pesaro and Urbino in the summer of 1534, and later in 1561–63. The last references to him in the archives are from early 1564: he was last paid in March, and had died by May that year. He was succeeded by his son Virginio Brunel, who later became organist at the Basilica of San Vitale and served there from August 1572 until some time after 1580. Works Brunel enjoyed an exceptionally high reputation during his lifetime. Numerous writers, including Cosimo Bartoli, Cinciarino, Jacopo Corfini and Luigi Dentice,

Jacques Buus

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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

Jacques Mauduit

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Jacques Mauduit (16 September 1557 – 21 August 1627) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most innovative French composers of the late 16th century, combining voices and instruments in new ways, and importing some of the grand polychoral style of the Venetian School from Italy; he also composed a famous Requiem for the funeral of Pierre de Ronsard. Life Much of the biographical information about Mauduit comes from the writings of Marin Mersenne. Mauduit was born in Paris, and being an aristocrat, received an excellent education in humanities, languages and philosophy, but was evidently self-taught in music. Mauduit was a member of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, the secretive group founded by Jean Antoine de Baïf to promote musique mesurée à l’antique, an attempt to recreate the rhetorical and ethical effect of ancient Greek music using modern French poetry and music. After the death of Joachim Thibault de Courville in 1581, Mauduit became the principal musician of the Académie. Evidently Mauduit was a man of some personal courage, for during the siege of Paris in 1589–1590, in the closing phase of the bloody French Wars of Religion, he assisted Cl

Jacquet de Berchem

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Jacquet de Berchem (also known as Giachet(to) Berchem or Jakob van Berchem; c. 1505 – before 2 March 1567) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. He was famous in mid-16th-century Italy for his madrigals, approximately 200 of which were printed in Venice, some in multiple printings due to their considerable popularity. As evidence of his widespread fame, he is listed by Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel as one of the most famous musicians of the time, and the printed music for one of his madrigals appears in a painting by Caravaggio (The Lute Player). Life Berchem was born around 1505 in Berchem (now part of Antwerp), in the southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). No archival records have yet been found covering his early life; the first mention of him dates from 1539, by which time he had come to Venice, as did many of his musical compatriots from the Low Countries. By 1538 his madrigals were being published in Venice, largely by Antonio Gardano. Between then and 1546, he lived in Venice, steadily increasing in reputation, and in 1546 he published his first book of madrigals. Previously, his works had been in collections consisting mostly of music

Jacquet of Mantua

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Jacquet of Mantua (Jacques Colebault, dit Jachet de Mantoue) (1483 – October 2, 1559) was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was an influential member of the composers between Josquin and Palestrina, and represents well the developments in polyphonic style between those two composers. Life Jacquet was born in Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine) and probably went to Italy at an early age. He was in Modena in 1519, working for the Rangoni family, and in 1525 was in Ferrara at the Este court, where he formed a close friendship with Adrian Willaert, the founder of the Venetian School. The next year he moved to Mantua, where he spent the rest of his life. He became maestro di cappella at the cathedral of Saint Peter, where his employer was Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, the Bishop of Mantua. Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga was fond of Jacquet, and the relationship was mutually beneficial; when Gonzaga became the president of the Council of Trent, and the most enthusiastic supporter of the Counter-Reformation, he was a forceful advocate for the music of his favorite composer. In addition to being recognized by his employer, the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII al

Jakob Hassler

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Jakob Hassler (18 December 1569 – 1 January 1622) was a German Renaissance composer. Life He was born in Nuremberg, Germany, the youngest son of Isaak Hassler, and brother of Hans Leo Hassler and Kasper Hassler. The Hasslers were an important Franco-Flemish musical family in Middle Europe during the late Renaissance. Baptized in Nuremberg, Jakob was initially instructed in music, like his brothers, by his father Isaak. Hassler is first identified on the rolls of musicians in Augsburg in 1585, and he was ennobled, along with his two brothers, by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in 1595. In between, Hassler is believed to have traveled to Italy to study at the behest of the aristocratic Fugger family, possibly with Andrea Gabrieli. Hassler’s term in the Fugger household was interrupted when he was thrown in jail for impregnating an Augsburg girl named Leonora Ostermair; Hassler was released on bail to marry her on 17 February 1597. In May, Hassler accepted a post in the prestigious court of Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In 1600, Hassler published his book of madrigals, which spread his popularity; certain madrigals from this publication appeared in collections print

Jan Belle

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Jan Belle (fl. 1545 – 1566) was a Flemish composer from the Franco-Flemish School and a music theorist. Live Between 1546 and 1547, Belle was a magister duodenorum (master of the choirboys) at the Holy Cross Church in Liège. He was referred to as “de Lovanium”, which indicates that he was originally from Leuven. He may also have been a Kapellmeister (succentor) at the Church of Our Lady in Sint-Truiden. No copies of the book have been preserved. References

Jan Blahoslav

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Jan Blahoslav (20 February 1523 – 24 November 1571) was a Czech humanistic writer, poet, translator, etymologist, hymnographer, grammarian, music theorist and composer. He was a Unity of the Brethren bishop, and translated the New Testament into Czech in 1564. This was incorporated into the Bible of Kralice. Life Blahoslav was born in Přerov, Moravia. He studied theory under Listenius and Hermann Finck at University of Wittenberg from 1544. At Wittenberg he became acquainted with Martin Luther, and he was also acquainted with Philipp Melanchthon. After a short period at Mladá Boleslav (1548–9) he continued his education at Königsberg and Basle. He was a linguist who strove to preserve the purity of his native tongue and succeeded in bridging the gulf between Christianity and humanism. He was ordained at Mladá Boleslav in 1553, and became a bishop of the Fraternity of Czech (or Moravian) Brethren in 1557 during the imprisonment of Jan Augusta. In the following year he established himself at Ivančice, where before long he installed a printing press. Towards the end of his life he moved to Moravský Krumlov, where he died, aged 48. Blahoslav was the editor of the 1561 Czech-language hy

Jan Nasco

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Jan Nasco (also Giovanni, Jhan) (c. 1510 – 1561) was a Franco-Flemish composer and writer on music, mainly active in Italy. He was the first director of the Veronese Accademia Filarmonica, and his writings, particularly a group of letters he wrote to the academy in the 1550s, are important sources of information on performance practice regarding the use of instruments in madrigals as well as motets. Life No documentation has yet turned up covering Nasco’s early life, but he is presumed to have come from the Netherlands or adjacent areas, the home of most of the Franco-Flemish composers. Only the portion of his life he spent in Italy has been documented. He was in the service of Paolo Naldi, a nobleman in Vicenza, in the 1540s, and in 1547 he became the music director of the newly formed Accademia Filarmonica in Verona. While this may have been a prestigious and intellectually engaging post, it paid little, and in 1551 he took a job as maestro di cappella at the cathedral of San Pietro in Treviso, with some reluctance. He retained ties with the Accademia, as well as his post at Treviso, until his death. Music and influence Nasco was a progressive composer in most of the current genr

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ tradition. Life Sweelinck was born in Deventer, Netherlands, in April or May 1562. He was the eldest son of organist Peter (or Pieter ) Swybbertszoon and Elske Jansdochter Sweeling, daughter of a surgeon. Soon after Sweelinck’s birth, the family moved to Amsterdam, where from about 1564, Pieter Swybbertszoon served as organist of the Oude Kerk (Sweelinck’s paternal grandfather and uncle also were organists). Jan Pieterszoon must have received first lessons in music from his father. Unfortunately, his father died in 1573. He subsequently received general education under Jacob Buyck, Catholic pastor of the Oude Kerk (these lessons stopped in 1578 after the Reformation of Amsterdam and the subsequent conversion to Calvinism; in the event that he married, which happened in 1590 when he married Claesgen Dircxdochter Puyner from Medemblik. (for reasons that are not certain

Jan Trojan Turnovský

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jan Trojan Turnovský (before 1550 – 1606) was a Czech Renaissance composer. He became known in the second half of the 1570s. His compositions are included in the most important sources of Utraquist polyphony. Biography In the oldest sources, his name was Latinized to Traianus Turnovinus or Traianus Gregorides Turnovinus. Later he began to use the name Jan. The sources from Benešov call him “kněz Jan Traian” (priest Jan Traian). Very little is known about his early life. He was born in Turnov, and his father was a baker. The oldest known mention of his life dates from 1564 when he was matriculated at the Charles University in Prague. He was matriculated together with several other composers, Jiří Rychnovský and Pavel Spongopaeus Jistebnický among others. However, it is not entirely clear whether they really studied there. As an Utraquist priest he served in Davle (1579), and the same year he was possibly active also in Mladá Boleslav. Later he moved to Netvořice (1581), Benešov (1587), and Sepekov (1595, probably before 1590). Turnovský was married two times. He married his first wife Kateřina on 11 November 1579 in Mladá Boleslav. In 1604, he — together with his second wife Zuzana

Jean Boyer (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Boyer (born before 1600 – died 1648) was a French viol player and composer, active in Paris during the first half of the 17th century. He must not be confused with Noël Boyer, who was master of the music of the Duchess of Savoy and who in 1631 attempted to succeed as superintendent of the music of the king’s chamber. Biography The first mention of Jean Boyer is when he intervened regarding his cousin Jehan Bernard (c. 1631 – after 1711), who resigned his duties as cantor of the King’s Chamber and Chapel in Jean’s favor. The act specifies that Jean Boyer was son of the late Philibert Boyer, prosecutor in the court of Parliament, and that he was “experienced in the art of music, even on the lute and on the viols”. It was not until February 1617 that he appeared in ballet de cour, composing that year an aria for an unidentified ballet and another for the Ballet des Forgerons. He contributed to other ballets: in 1618 an air for the “Ballet de la Folie” and another for the “Ballet de M. de Nemours”, in 1621 an air for an unidentified ballet and another for the “Ballet des Indiens”, finally in 1626 for the Ballet du Grand bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut. The dedication of his bo

Jean Braconnier

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Braconnier (“Braconnier dit Lourdault”) (died just before January 22, 1512) was a French singer and composer of the Renaissance. Little of his music has survived, but he had a considerable reputation as a singer, and Guillaume Crétin wrote an elegy on his death. Life The first record mentioning him is from the court of Duke René II of Lorraine in 1478, and he was still in the area in 1485, since payment records survive showing that he was employed as a singer in Nancy at the chapel of St. Georges between that year and 1506. However he occasionally left for travels. In 1496 he joined the chapel of Philip the Fair of Burgundy, and traveled to Spain in both 1501 and 1506 with Philip. In January 1506 he became a priest. While in Spain, he was involved in a street brawl, which resulted in the death of one of his attackers. Along with another of the entourage of Philip, he was assaulted by twenty or more armed Spaniards, who had previously harassed him during dinner. According to the account published in the 19th century by Louis Prosper Gachard from anonymous chronicles written during Philip’s voyages, the attacking Spaniards were armed with shields, rapiers, and spears, but Bracon

Jean de Bournonville

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean de Bournonville was a French composer active in the first third of the 17th century, born in Noyon around 1585 and died in Paris on 27 May 1632. He should not be confused with his son Valentin de Bournonville, who published masses in the middle of the 17th century. Biography Noyon The 1612 Octo Cantica state that he was born in Noyon, but his year of birth is unknown. Saint-Quentin The same collection indicates him at that time as master of the children of the collegiate church of Saint-Quentin. In 1613 Bournonville offered to the chapter of the Cambrai Cathedral a bound collection of his masses (probably the Parisian editions of Pierre I Ballard). He remained in Saint-Quentin until about 1618. In the 1610s, he won first prizes at the puys de musique of Rouen, Évreux and Abbeville. Amiens Bournonville was in Amiens before 1619: he was appointed maître de chapelle (symphoniarca) of the Amiens Cathedral with respect to his 1619 Missae tredecim. We know an expertise of reception of the organ of the cathedral signed by his hand on 23 June 1623, also signed by Henri Frémart and Jehan Titelouze, which suggests that he was an organist. Paris He ended his career at the Sainte-Chapelle

Jean de Latre

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Petit Jean De Latre (c. 1505 or 1510 – 31 August 1569) or Joannes de Latre (his surname is also recorded as Delattre, Delatre, De Lattre and Laetrius) was a Flemish Renaissance composer and choirmaster who worked in Liège and Utrecht. He is no longer believed to be the same person as Claude Petit Jehan who died in 1589. Life The earliest record of his employment is for 1538 to 1539 when he was maître de chant at church of St John the Evangelist in Liège. Subsequently, De Latre was employed at St Martin, Liège. From about 1550 he was also chapel master to George of Austria, Prince-Bishop of Liège (1544–1557), to whom De Latre dedicated his first volume of secular songs or chansons of 1552. During his time in Liège notable pupils included Gerard de Villers and Johannes Mangon. After George of Austria’s death in 1557 De Latre continued to work at St Martin, but in 1563 took up a post for a short period in Amersfoort (within the province of Utrecht). Around this time the former rector of the Latin school in Amersfoort, Johannes Oridryus, together with Albertus Buysius, undertook the publication of a collection De Latre’s chansons, Cantionum musicarum, in Düsseldorf. De Latre returned t

Jean Japart

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Japart (fl. c. 1474 – 1481) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. He was a popular composer of chansons, and may have been a friend of Josquin des Prez. Life and work Nothing is known about his life except for a brief period during the late 1470s, although it is probable he was born in Picardy. He was one of the members of the famous Sforza chapel choir in Milan between 1474 and 1476, which included Alexander Agricola, Loyset Compère and Johannes Martini, the time when this institution had one of the most famous groups of singers and composers in Europe. After the assassination of Galeazzo Sforza in 1476, he left Milan, as did most of the musicians; Japart went to Ferrara where he was quickly employed by Ercole I d’Este; not only did he become one of the most highly paid singers at the Ferrarese court, but the Duke gave him a house in Ferrara. By 1481 he was gone, and there is no further record of him. Japart was the composer of 23 chansons which are extant. A lost composition by Josquin, Revenu d’oultrements, Japart is often cited as evidence of a friendship between the two composers; if so, they probably met in Milan after 1481, since Josquin did

Jean l'Héritier

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean L’Héritier (Lhéritier, Lirithier, Heritier and other spellings also exist) (c. 1480 – after 1551) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was mainly famous as a composer of motets, and is representative of the generation of composers active in the early to middle 16th century who anticipated the style of Palestrina. Life Jean l’Héritier was a native of the diocese of Thérouanne, in the Pas-de-Calais, but little is known about his early years. According to a note by an Italian contemporary, L’Héritier was a pupil of Josquin des Prez, a relationship which most likely occurred while Josquin was at the French royal court in the years after 1500 (exact years for Josquin’s stay there have not been established). In 1506 he went to Ferrara, his first trip to Italy. This was shortly after the death of the renowned Obrecht, who died in Ferrara’s plague of 1505. Antoine Brumel, another older and more established French composer, went to Ferrara in late 1505 to take Obrecht’s place as choirmaster to Alfonso I d’Este, and it is possible that the young L’Héritier was known to Brumel and was recommended to the Este family by him. All the remaining records of L’Héritier’s life come from

Jean Maillard

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Maillard (c. 1515 – after 1570) was a French composer of the Renaissance. While little is known with certainty about his life, he may have been associated with the French royal court, since he wrote at least one motet for them. Most likely he lived and worked in Paris, based on evidence of his print editions, which were prepared there. Since later in his career he set verse by Huguenot poet Guillaume Guéroult, as well as Clément Marot, he may have either become a Protestant or had Protestant sympathies; this could explain his disappearance from Paris around 1570. If he did leave the city then, his destination is unknown. No record of him after that year has been found. Maillard is mentioned by Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel, and also by Ronsard in his Livre des Mélanges (1560 and 1572). He was evidently famous during his time, and many of his motets were used as source material for parody masses by composers as distinguished as Palestrina; in addition Lassus reworked some of his music. Claude Goudimel also used a secular chanson of Maillard’s as source material for a mass. Six of Maillard’s masses have survived, and two others are known to have been lost. Considerable ot

Jean Molinet

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Molinet (1435 – 23 August 1507) was a French poet, chronicler, and composer. He is best remembered for his prose translation of Roman de la rose. Born in Desvres, which is now part of France, he studied in Paris. He entered the service of Charles, Duke of Burgundy from 1463, becoming secretary to Georges Chastellain; in 1464 he wrote La Complainte de Grèce, a political work presenting the Burgundian side in current affairs. He replaced Chastellain as historiographer in 1475, and he was also the librarian of Margaret of Austria. His chronicle covered the years 1474 to 1504, and was only published in 1828 after being edited by J. A. Buchon. It is considered inferior to Chastellain’s chronicle, possessing less historical value. He is considered to belong to the network of poets called the Grands Rhétoriqueurs, characterised by their excessive use of puns and technical virtuosity. His nephew Jean Lemaire de Belges spent some time with him at Valenciennes, and Lemaire considered himself a disciple of the elder writer. In 1501, he became canon of the church of Notre-Dame in Valenciennes, and he died there on 23 August 1507. Molinet was also a composer, although only one work, the ro

Jean Mouton

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean Mouton (c. 1459 – 30 October 1522) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School. Life He was born Jean de Hollingue either in 1459 or earlier, but records of his early life, as is so often the case with Renaissance composers, are scant. Most likely he was from the village of Haut-Wignes (now Wirwignes), near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in Samer. He probably began his first job, singer and teacher at the collegiate church in Saint Omer, then moved to Nesle (southeast of Amiens) in 1477, where he served as a chorister for the next six years. In 1483, he was made maître de chapelle there. Sometime around this time he became a priest, and he is believed to have studied with Josquin des Prez. In 1500 he was in charge of choirboys at the cathedral in Amiens. In 1501 he was in Grenoble, again teaching choirboys, but he left the next year, most likely entering the service of Queen Anne of Brittany, and in 1509 he was granted a position again in Grenoble which he could hold in absentia. Mouton was now the principal composer for the

Jean Titelouze

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean (Jehan) Titelouze (c. 1562/63 – 24 October 1633) was a French Catholic priest, composer, poet and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He was a canon and organist at Rouen Cathedral. His style was firmly rooted in the Renaissance vocal tradition and as such, was far removed from the distinctly French style of organ music that developed during the mid-17th century. However, his hymns and Magnificat settings are the earliest known published French organ collections, and he is regarded as the first composer of the French organ school. Life In a 1930 study, Amédée Gastoué suggested that the surname Titelouze may be of English or Irish origin (more specifically, derived from “Title-House”), but recently this supposition has been disproven, and “Titelouze” is now linked to “de Toulouse”. Titelouze was born in Saint-Omer in 1562/3 (his exact date of birth is unknown) and educated there; by 1585, he entered the priesthood and served as organist of the Saint-Omer Cathedral. He moved to Rouen later that year and in 1588, succeeded François Josseline as organist of the Rouen Cathedral. His work was not limited to Rouen: he also acted as organ consultant and helped

Jhan Gero

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jhan Gero (also Ghero, Giero; first name rendered occasionally as Jehan, Jan) (fl. 1540–1555) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, apparently active mainly in Italy, particularly Venice. He was a practitioner of the note nere madrigal style during its period of popularity in the 1540s, and also wrote didactic music, probably intended for teaching beginning singers. Life Nothing is known about his early life, but it is inferred that he was from northern Europe, perhaps Flanders, as were many musicians of the time who were working in Italy. He seems to have risen to prominence through the efforts of the Venetian publishing company run by Antonio Gardano and Girolamo Scotto; they may have paid him to make arrangements of works by others, as indicated by his first publication, in 1541, which contained Italian madrigals and French chansons, originally for three or four voices, however in this case arranged for only two singers each. This particular publication went through numerous reprints, all the way until the end of the 17th century. Gero was employed at some unknown time as maestro di cappella for Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, the Prince of Bisignano, according to the de

Jheronimus de Clibano

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jheronimus de Clibano (Jherome Du Four) (c. 1459 – between March 26 and May 16, 1503) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the Habsburg Grande chapelle, the distinguished choir of Philip I of Castile, at the same time as Pierre de La Rue. Life Clibano was part of a musical family: his father, Nycasius de Clibano and brother Jan de Clibano were also singers; while his father was known to be a composer, Jan was not. Jheronimus was born in ’s-Hertogenbosch. His exact early training is not known, but it is reasonable to assume he learned music from his father, and he likely received the training in a local choir school common to composers and singers of the time. Between November 1484 and early 1488, he was a singer at the Illustrious Confraternity of Our Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap) in ’s-Hertogenbosch. He moved to Bruges, where he was appointed succentor at St. Donatian’s Cathedral. Records there indicate he was in trouble for negligence, and he was removed from his post in 1497. In 1499 he likely worked at the Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) in Antwerp, replacing another notoriously unreliable employee, the renowned composer Ja

Jiří Třanovský

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jiří Třanovský (, , ; 9 April 1592 – 29 May 1637), was a Lutheran priest and hymnwriter from the Cieszyn Silesia. Sometimes called the father of Slovak hymnody and the “Luther of the Slavs,” Třanovský’s name is sometimes anglicized to George Tranoscius. Both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada remember his life and work annually, on the anniversary of his death. Life Třanovský was born in Cieszyn, and studied at Guben and Kolberg. In 1607, he was admitted to the University of Wittenberg where Martin Luther had taught less than a century earlier. Upon graduation, he traveled in Bohemia proper and Silesia and in 1612 and became a teacher at St. Nicholas Gymnasium in Prague. Later, he became rector of a school in Holešov, Moravia. In 1616 Třanovský was ordained a priest in Meziříčí and served as a pastor for four years. Persecution of Lutherans in Bohemia (after the Battle of White Mountain) under Ferdinand II forced him into exile. After imprisonment in 1623 and the deaths of two of his children from plague the following year, Třanovský accepted a call to be pastor to a church in Bielitz, Teschen Silesia. In 1627, he also became pe

Joachim Burmeister

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Joachim Burmeister (1564 in Lüneburg – 5 May 1629 in Rostock) was a German composer, cantor, and music theorist active in northern Germany during the late Renaissance. He is noted for his writings on music as rhetorical-poetic composition (). Life Burmeister was the eldest of five children born to a beadworker and townsman of Lüneburg. His brother Anton (d. 1634) became the cantor of St. Michaelis, Lüneburg, succeeding Christian Praetorius. He attended the University of Rostock, where he earned a master’s degree, and became cantor at the and St. Mary’s Church, Rostock. He then taught grammar, Latin, rhetoric, and poetry at the Rostock Gymnasium (Scholae Rostochiensis Collega Classicus), where he was acquainted with humanists including , , , and . Writings In his writings, Burmeister argued for the dignity of music as an art of eloquence. In his treatments of , including Musica autoschédiastikè (“Extemporaneous music”) and Musica poetica (“Poetic composition in music”), he describes musical solecisms, ornaments, and figures, as well as formal and stylistic categories. He also addresses musical phrasing and rhetorical propriety. His works draw on Greek and Latin sources and cite auth

Joachim Thibault de Courville

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Joachim Thibault de Courville (died 1581) was a French composer, singer, lutenist, and player of the lyre, of the late Renaissance. He was a close associate of poet Jean Antoine de Baïf, and with Baïf was the co-founder of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, which attempted to re-create the storied ethical and moral effect of ancient Greek music through a type of vocal musical composition known as musique mesurée. Very little is known of Courville’s life prior to his association with Baïf. Sometime in the mid-1560s Courville made the acquaintance of the famous poet, who was so impressed with his playing and singing that he called him “the master of the art of singing well.” During this period Courville was employed as official lyre-player to King Charles IX. In 1567 Courville began to collaborate with Baïf on the composition of vers mesurés, verses written mostly by Baïf in which the French words were given long-short syllabic treatment in imitation of the supposed method used in Ancient Greek dramatic poetry; Courville set them to music. In 1570 the two, with the backing of the king, founded the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, inviting a few other professional musicians and ar

Joachim van den Hove

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Joachim van den Hove (1567? – 1620) was a Flemish/Dutch composer and a lutenist. He composed works for lute solo and for lute and voice. Moreover, he wrote many arrangements for lute of Italian, French, and English vocal and instrumental music, and of Flemish/Dutch folk music. Van den Hove disputes with Adriaensen and Vallet the distinction of being the most important representative of 17th century Dutch lute music. Van den Hove was born in Antwerp, where his father, Peeter van den Hove, was a respected musician. After the Fall of Antwerp in 1584–5 the family fled north. From at least 1593 to 1616 Joachim lived in Leiden, where in 1594 he married Anna Rodius (originally “de Roy”) from Utrecht. There he was a lutenist and also lute teacher. His most famous pupils were the young Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange. Van den Hove’s financial fortunes declined and in 1616 his properties were confiscated. Before his Leiden home was sold by public auction in 1618, he had fled to The Hague, where he died in poverty in 1620. Published collections of his works are: *Florida, sive cantiones (Utrecht, 1601) *Delitiae Musicae (Utrecht, 1612) *Praeludia test

Joan Ambrosio Dalza

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Joan Ambrosio Dalza (fl. 1508) was a Milanese lutenist and composer. His surviving works comprise the fourth volume of Ottaviano Petrucci’s influential series of lute music publications, Intabolatura de lauto libro quarto (Venice, 1508). Dalza is referred to as “milanese” in the preface, so it must be assumed he was either born in Milan, or worked there, or both. Together with the oeuvres of Francesco Spinacino and Vincenzo Capirola, Dalza’s work constitutes an important part of early Renaissance lute music. The surviving pieces comprise 42 dances, nine ricercares, five tastar de corde, four intabulations and a piece called Caldibi castigliano. The dances are arranged in miniature suites. Each of the five pavanes (five alla venetiana, four alla ferrarese) is followed by a saltarello and a piva that are thematically and harmonically related to it. Other groupings include pairs of tastar de corde with a recercar dietro. Some pieces, such as Caldibi castigliano and those titled Calate ala spagnola, show Spanish influence, possibly because of vihuela cultivation in 16th century Italy. (described as padoane diverse on the title page), which are also the earliest known variations: all pa

Joan Brudieu

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Joan Brudieu (; 1520–1591) was a French-Catalan composer. Brudieu was born around 1520 in the diocese of Limoges and died in la Seu d’Urgell in 1591, after spending most of his life in the Aragonese region of Catalonia. From 1539 he was cantor at the Cathedral of Santa Maria d’Urgell, where he was ordained in 1546. In 1548 he was appointed choir master for life. In 1550 he traveled to his home country to acquire instruments for the chapel. In 1577 he retired to Balaguer, but after a year moved to become maestro di cappella at Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, which he left shortly afterwards, apparently due to health problems. Then in 1579 he returned to la Seu d’Urgell, where he remained until his death, having previously been replaced by Rafael Coma. Works Requiem - in edition by Felipe Pedrell. In his madrigals Brudieu was influenced by ensaladas of Mateo Flecha (1481–1553). Madrigals - in edition by Tomeu Quetgles. Madrigal V - in edition by Maricarmen Gómez, Las ensaladas (Praga, 1581) con un suplemento de obras del género. Valencia, Generalitat, 2008. Vol. 1 Joan Brudieu’s five madrigals in Catalan: # Los goigs de Nostra Dona (The seven joys of our Lady) # Madrigal XIII (1st pa

Joan Pau Pujol

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Joan Pau Pujol (; baptized 18 June 1570 – 17 May 1626) was a Catalan and Spanish composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. While best known for his sacred music, he also wrote popular secular music. Life Pujol was born in Mataró. In 1593 he became the assistant maestro de capilla at the cathedral in Barcelona, but he only held this post for a few months, taking the post of maestro de capilla (master of the chapel) at the cathedral in Tarragona, and then in 1595 at Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza, a post which he kept for 17 years. While in Zaragoza, in 1600, he became a priest. In 1612 he returned to Barcelona, becoming maestro de capilla at the cathedral, a distinguished post which he held until his death. Most of his music dates from the time he was in Barcelona. Evidently a condition of his employment was to produce a fixed quantity of new liturgical music each year. Unusually for many composers of the time, most of it has survived. Also while in Barcelona he served as an organ consultant, and helped in various organ building projects in Catalonia. He died in Barcelona. Music Pujol wrote much of his music for the patron saint of Catalonia, St. George,

Johann Andreas Herbst

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Johann Andreas Herbst (baptized June 9, 1588 – January 24, 1666) was a German composer and music theorist of the early Baroque era. He was a contemporary of Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz, and like them, assisted in importing the grand Venetian style and the other features of the early Baroque into Protestant Germany. Life He was born at Nuremberg, and most likely had his early education there. Possibly he studied with Hans Leo Hassler, one of the most prominent German composers at the turn of the century, since Hassler was teaching in Nuremberg while Herbst was a student, and there is a close stylistic relationship between the music of the two composers. Herbst became Kapellmeister at Butzbach in 1614, at Darmstadt in 1618, and at Frankfurt am Main in 1623. In 1636 he accepted a position in Nuremberg, and returned to the city of his birth; it was evidently a frustrating appointment for him, for he wrote of his time there bitterly, and in 1644 he went back to Frankfurt, where he remained for the rest of his life. His most productive time was the period in Nuremberg and the second Frankfurt employment, during which he wrote his theoretical treatises and composed the bulk of

Johann Crüger

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Johann Crüger (9 April 1598 – 23 February 1662) was a German composer of well-known hymns. He was also the editor of the most widely used Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century, Praxis pietatis melica. Early life and education Crüger was born in Groß Breesen (now part of Guben) as the son of an innkeeper, Georg Crüger. He was an ethnic Sorb, baptized as Jan Krygar. He studied at the nearby Lateinschule (then located in Guben) until 1613, and that school’s teaching program included music and singing. He fell ill with plague, and almost died of that disease, losing five children and his wife in 1636. In 1637, having recovered from the disease, he got married a second time, to the 17-year-old daughter of an innkeeper, with whom he had fourteen children, most of whom died at a young age. One of his daughters married the court painter Michael Conrad Hirt, who made a portrait of Crüger in 1663. Crüger died in Berlin. References External links * * *Free scores at the Mutopia Project

Johann Daniel Mylius

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Johann Daniel Mylius (c. 15831642) was a composer for the lute, and writer on alchemy. Born at Wetter in present-day Hesse, Germany, he went on to study theology and medicine at the University of Marburg. He was the brother-in-law and pupil of Johann Hartmann (1568–1613). In 1616, while still a medical student, Mylius published Duncan Burnet’s Iatrochymicus. The , Mylius’ own alchemical work, was published two years later. He is known for the collection (1622) of pieces for the lute. In the same year his was published. Mylius was the personal physician of Moritz of Hessen and his patrons included Maurice and Frederick Henry of Nassau. Works *Opus medico-chymicum. 1618. *Antidotarium. 1620. *Philosophia reformata. 1622. *Anatomia auri. 1628. *Danielis Milii Pharmacopoeae spagyricae, sive Practicae universalis Galeno-chymicae libri duo. - Francofurti : Schönwetter, 1628. digital edition References External links *Recolored emblems from Philosophia reformata

Johann Hermann Schein

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Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German music, and was one of the most polished composers of the period. Biography Schein was born in Grünhain. On the death of his father, Schein moved to Dresden where he joined the choir of the Elector of Saxony as a boy soprano. In addition to singing in the choir, he received a thorough musical training with Rogier Michael, the Kapellmeister, who recognized his extraordinary talent. From 1603 to 1607 he studied at Pforta, and from 1608 to 1612 attended the University of Leipzig, where he studied law in addition to liberal arts. Upon graduating, he was employed briefly by Gottfried von Wolffersdorff as the house music director and tutor to his children; later he became Kapellmeister at Weimar, and shortly thereafter became Thomaskantor, music director in Leipzig, especially cantor at the Thomasschule zu Leipzig and conducting the Thomanerchor, a post which he held for the rest of his life. Unlike his friend Heinrich Schütz, he was afflicted with p

Johann Staden

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Johann Staden (baptized 2 July 1581 – 15 November 1634) was a German composer and organist of the early Baroque period. He is best known for establishing the so-called Nuremberg School. He was father to the composer Sigmund Theophil Staden. Life He was the son of Hans Staden and Elisabeth Löbelle. The exact date of his birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in Nuremberg in 1581 (the date on the only surviving portrait) and records show that a certain Johannes Starnn was baptised in July 1581. At 18 Staden was already quite famous and serving as organist of one of the city churches; by 1604 he was employed as court organist in Bayreuth; he got married the same year. In 1605 the court moved to Kulmbach, where Staden remained until 1610, publishing two collections of secular songs, Neue teutsche Lieder (1606) and Neue teutsche geistliche Gesäng (1609). He may have visited Bayreuth again in 1610 and returned to Nuremberg by 1611, the year his daughter was baptised there. In June 1612 he left Nuremberg again to succeed Hans Leo Hassler as court organist in Dresden. He stayed until around 1614/15, becoming organist at Nuremberg’s Spitalkirche on 20 June 1616. Later that year h

Johann Stobäus

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Johann Stobäus (6 July 158011 September 1646) was a composer and lutenist. Life Stobäus was born at Graudenz (now Grudziądz, Poland) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1599 to 1608 he was a pupil of Johannes Eccard, the Kapellmeister of Königsberg (in the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal duchy of Poland). In 1601 he joined the princely Kapelle as a bass singer, and in 1602 he became Kantor at Königsberg Cathedral. In 1626 he succeeded Eccard as Kapellmeister, remaining in the post until his death. He died at Königsberg. Stobäus, known as Stobaeus Grudentinus Borussus for his birthplace, wrote music for liturgical use, as well as songs and compositions for lute. Much of his manuscript music was lost in World War II; what remains is largely held at the Berlin State Library. Stobäus’s Commonplace Book, containing songs, instrumental music and drawings of instruments, is preserved at the British Library (Sloane MS 1021). Works * Cantiones Sacrae 5–10. v. item Magnificat, Frankfurt/Oder 1624 * Geistliche Lieder auf gewöhnliche Preußische Kirchenmelodien, Danzig 1634 * Erster und Ander Theil der Preußischen Fest-Lieder, 5-8 voices (incomplete), Elbing 1642 and Königsberg 1644, includi

Johann Ulrich Steigleder

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Johann Ulrich Steigleder (22 March 1593 – 10 October 1635) was a German Baroque composer and organist. He was the most celebrated member of the Steigleder family, which also included Adam Steigleder (1561–1633), his father, and Utz Steigleder (died 1581), his grandfather. Steigleder was born in Schwäbisch Hall on 22 March 1593. He was instructed in music by his father Adam, whose teacher was the then-famous Simon Lohet. In 1613 he became organist of Stephanskirche in Lindau, on Lake Constance; then in 1617 he left Lindau for Stuttgart, where he became organist of the Stiftskirche the same year. In 1627 Steigleder was appointed ducal organist at the Württemberg court. While in Stuttgart, he may have taught, among others, Johann Jakob Froberger. He died of plague in 1635 in the midst of the Thirty Years’ War. Steigleder’s most important works are his two published collections of organ pieces. The first, Ricercar tabulatura of 1624 (published at Stuttgart), introduced a number of important innovations. It was the first German music collection to be published using engraved copper plates (the title page indicates that the composer did the engraving himself). It was also, together with

Johann Walter

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Johann Walter, also known as Johann Walther or Johannes Walter (original name: Johann Blankenmüller; 1496 – 25 March 1570), was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present-day Thuringia, in 1496. According to a document filed with his will, he was born with the surname of Blanckenmüller, but adopted out of poverty by a citizen of Kahla, and given an education at Kahla and Rochlitz under his new name: Johann Walter. He began his career as a composer and bass cantor in the chapel of Frederick the Wise at the age of 21. It was a position he would hold until Frederick’s death in 1525. By this time, he was the director of the chapel and had become an outspoken musical spokesman for Lutherans. Walter edited the first Protestant hymnal for choir, , in Wittenberg in 1524, with a foreword by Martin Luther himself; and for the German-language Deutsche Messe produced in 1527. Following the conclusion of his appointment to Frederick’s chapel, Walter became cantor for the Torgau town choir in 1525, a post he would hold until 1548, when he was named court composer for Moritz, Duke of Saxony in Dresden, on whose orders he founded the orche

Johann Wanning

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Johann Wanning (also known as Johannes Wanningus, Wannigk, Wannicke or Wangnick) (1537 – 23 October 1603) was a Dutch composer, kapellmeister and singer who worked for most of his career in the Polish city of Danzig (Gdańsk). He wrote a number of cycles of motets to be performed through the church year, as well as being the composer of the first known musical epithalamium. Life Little is known about his early years or education. He was born in Kampen in the then Habsburg Netherlands and went to the university at Königsberg in the Duchy of Prussia in 1560. He sang as an alto in the ducal choir and gained a reputation as a composer. A few years later he moved to the port city of Danzig, where he was appointed to the role of kapellmeister at St. Mary’s Church. He held the position until his death in 1603, though his health had progressively deteriorated since 1593; in 1599 the composer Nikolaus Zangius took over Wanning’s duties, while Wanning himself was given what amounted to a pension of 50 marks paid quarterly. Musical works Wanning is today most noted for being “the first Protestant composer to write cycles of de tempore motets for the whole church year,” and his work inspired a

Johannes Brassart

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Johannes Brassart (also known as Jehan Brassart or Jean Brassart) (c. 1400 – before 22 October 1455) was a Flemish composer of the early-Renaissance Burgundian school. Of his output, only sacred vocal music has survived, and it typifies early-15th-century practice. Life He was most likely born in the village of Lauw near Tongeren in the prince-bishopric of Liège (now in the province of Limburg, Belgium), though the date is only known approximately. From 1422 to 1431 he worked at the collegiate church of St John the Evangelist in Liège, where he was a succentor. In the mid-1420s he visited Rome, moving there in 1431, where he was employed in the papal chapel as a singer and probably as a composer as well; he was in the choir at the same time as composers Arnold de Lantins and Guillaume Dufay. During this period Brassart most likely composed the motet O flos fragrans, which was popular enough to appear in several manuscripts of the time, as well as Te dignitas presularis. In 1432 Brassart went to Basel, where he was a singer at the council chapel, and two years later Emperor Sigismund employed him as rector of the chapel, a post which he retained until 1443. In 1445 he moved to Liège

Johannes de Quadris

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Johannes de Quadris (Quatris) (before 1410 – 1457?) was an Italian composer of the early Renaissance. He was one of the first composers of polyphony associated with the basilica of St. Mark’s in Venice, and the earliest known composer to write a polyphonic setting of the Magnificat for four voices. Life He was a priest, and originally from the diocese of Valva-Sulmona, in the vicinity of L’Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Sometime before 1436 he began to work as a singer at San Marco in Venice, which was then at the very beginning of its rise to fame; the first mention of a choir there is found in a document of 1403 (by the end of the 16th century, it was one of the most renowned musical institutions in Europe). Quadris worked at San Marco from at least 1436, the date given on his Magnificat, to the time that a Vatican document listed him as “deceased”, in 1457. He made repeated requests (1450, 1452, 1454) to Pope Nicholas V to obtain a prebend in Aquileia. Quadris’s music remained popular for more than half a century, as shown by the many copies made of his hymn Iste confessor, as well as the printing of his music for the Passion by Ottaviano Petrucci in 1506 (the o

Johannes Eccard

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Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a German composer and kapellmeister. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel. Biography Eccard was born at Mühlhausen, in present-day Thuringia, Germany. At the age of eighteen he went to Munich, where he became the pupil of Orlando Lasso. In his company, Eccard is said to have visited Paris, but in 1574, he was again at Mühlhausen, where he resided for four years. There he, together with Joachim a Burck, edited some works of his first master, a collection of sacred songs, called Crepundia sacra Helmboldi (1577). Soon afterwards he obtained an appointment as musician in the house of Jacob Fugger, the Augsburg banker. In 1583 he became assistant conductor, and in 1599 conductor at Königsberg to Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach, the administrator of the Duchy of Prussia. In 1608 he was called by Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg as principal conductor in Berlin, but this post he held only for three years, owing to his death at Königsberg in 1611. Eccard’s works consist exclusively of vocal compositions, such as songs, sacred cantatas and chorales for four or five, and sometimes for seven, eight, or even ni

Johannes Fedé

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Johannes Fedé (also Jean Sohier) (c. 1415 – 1477?) was a French composer of the early Renaissance. While he was mentioned by Eloy d’Amerval as one of the greatest composers of the age, and resident in Paradise, relatively few of his works have survived. He was a contemporary of Johannes Ockeghem, and spent his life in the Burgundian Netherlands, France and Italy. Life Fedé was probably from the region of Artois, most likely from Douai, based on the presence of several possible relatives of his at Cambrai Cathedral, several of whom had “of Douai” appended to their names. From 1439 to 1440 he was vicar at St. Amé in Douai. By 1443 he had gone to Italy, a region which was to become a common destination for composers from northern Europe for the next one hundred fifty years: Fedé sang in the papal chapel in Rome. From July 1445 to March 1446 he worked in Ferrara, at the court chapel of Leonello d’Este. Fedé thus was one of the earliest composers from northern Europe to work in Ferrara, a rich center of artistic patronage, which was to become a center of musical innovation for the remainder of the Renaissance. Later in 1446 he was back in Cambrai, working as “petit vicar” at the cathedr

Johannes Ghiselin

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Johannes Ghiselin (Verbonnet) (fl. 1455–1511) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in France, Italy and in the Low Countries. He was a contemporary of Josquin des Prez, and a significant composer of masses, motets, and secular music. His reputation was considerable, as shown by music printer Ottaviano Petrucci’s decision to print a complete book of his masses immediately after his similar publication of masses by Josquin – only the second such publication in music history. Life Little is known about his early life, but it can be inferred that he was from the south Netherlands, from archival mentions of him as being “da Piccardia” and “fiamengo”. He may have been associated with the Burgundian chapel in the 1470s during the time of Charles the Bold, since he composed Je lay empris for him; however, no documentary record of his having been there has yet been found. The first direct record of Ghiselin is in 1491, when he was in Ferrara. Isabella d’Este sent him to France to get some singers for the Este chapel that same year. In 1492 and 1493 he was a singer in Florence, and it is possible that he went to France and/or the Low Countries immediately after that. Since he is

Johannes Jeep

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Johannes Jeep (pronounced “Yape”; also Johann or Jepp; 1581/1582 – 19 November 1644) was a German organist, choirmaster and composer. Biography Jeep, who was born in Dransfeld, Germany, is remembered for his choral writing. He collected his student songs in Studentengartlein, the first volume published in 1607, the second volume in 1609, and both published as a single volume in 1614. He also published more than one hundred hymns in the Hohenlohe Hymnbook in 1629. He was one of the first German musicians to travel to Italy. In 1613, he was appointed director of music for the court of the Count of Hohenlohe, serving until 1625. Around 1635, he served as organist at Frankfurt Cathedral. In 1642, he was appointed conductor for the court of the Count of Hanau. He died in Hanau, Germany. His best-known song is the 4-part madrigal “Musica, die ganz lieblich Kunst” (“Music, the most lovely art”). Influence The novelist James Joyce was an accomplished tenor. In Ulysses (Episode 16, “Eumaeus”, 663:14-22), Joyce’s autobiographical character, Stephen Dedalus, performs Jeep’s spirited song “Von der Sirenen Listigkeit” (“Of the Siren’s Cunning”) for Leopold Bloom, and the two men bond over its m

Johannes Lippius

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Johannes Lippius (24 June 1585 – 24 September 1612) was an Alsatian theologian and music theorist. He coined the term “harmonic triad” in his Synopsis musicae novae (Synopsis of New Music; 1612). Life Lippius was born in Strasbourg, the son of the pastor of St. Peter, Johann Lippius (1554–1622), and his wife Susanna Klehmann. In early childhood, he had already received education in languages and the seven liberal arts, which allowed him to be appointed at the University of Strasbourg to the Master of Philosophy at a young age. By his twenty-first birthday he had given private and university lectures, after which he entered the University of Leipzig, 1606, the University of Wittenberg, the University of Frankfurt (Oder), the University of Jena, where he became adjunct of the faculty of philosophy, and the University of Erfurt. He died in Speyer, aged 27. References Further reading * * * *

Johannes Lupi

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Jean Leleu, most commonly known by the latinized version of his name, Johannes Lupi (c. 1506 – December 20, 1539), was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A representative of the generation after Josquin, he was a minor but skilled composer of polyphony who was mainly active in Cambrai. Life His birthplace is unknown, but he served in Cambrai as a choirboy. He lived in Cambrai most of his life, only leaving to attend the university in Leuven, where he was present from 1522 until 1526. In 1527 he became master of the choirboys at the Cambrai Cathedral, a position which typically included housing and boarding them in addition to teaching them music. Several times he was fired from his job, but always re-hired again, usually for failing to discipline his charges but also for poor bookkeeping. Lupi had an unnamed chronic illness which plagued him increasingly in the 1530s—he had to leave his position because of it in 1535—and which caused his early death. Style and influence All of his surviving music is a cappella vocal. Only two masses survive, but he wrote numerous motets and chansons; the motets were collected and printed in 1542 by Pierre Attaingnant. One noteworthy work

Johannes Magirus the elder

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Johannes Magirus (26 March 1537 – 4 July 1614) was a German Lutheran Theologian. Name change His name at birth, like that of his father, was Johannes Koch. The English language equivalent would be “John Cook”. At some point he renamed himself “Johannes Magirus”, reflecting an enthusiasm for classical culture that was common among many intellectuals of his time and place. Magirus (“Μάγειρας”) is the Greek word for “cook.” Life Johannes Koch was born in Backnang in Württemberg. and underwent an impoverished upbringing, supporting his mother Magdalena (born Magdalena Kurtz). As a boy he excelled at scholarship, especially in his study of Latin, raising concern on the part of a step father that he might be taken to Spain by Spanish soldiers of the Imperial army who were in Backnang in connection with the Schmalkaldic War between December 1546 and December 1549. He was removed from school and apprenticed in a craft trade for more than a year in order to divert attention from his academic prowess, but by 1553, at the unusually youthful age of just 16, he was studying Theology with a scholarship to the University of Tübingen. Continuing in his scholarly precocity, he became a Bachelor of

Johannes Martini

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Johannes Martini (c. 1440 – late 1497 or early 1498) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Life He was born in Brabant around 1440, but information about his early life is scanty. He probably received his early training in Flanders, as did most of the composers of his generation. Sometime before 1473, he became associated with the ducal chapel in Ferrara, Italy, where Ercole I d’Este was attempting to build a musical establishment on the part of some of the other aristocratic centres in Italy. He was a member of the famous Milan chapel of the Sforza family in July 1474, along with Loyset Compère, Gaspar van Weerbeke, and some of the other composers from northern Europe who were part of the first wave of Franco-Flemish influence in Italy. In November, he returned to Ferrara. What prompted him to leave and return is not known, but since the Milanese chapel was then the most renowned in Europe, it is possible he went to investigate the competition for his employer as much as to improve his own singing and compositional skill. However, he must have returned to Milan, since he is listed along with Jean Japart, Colinet de Lannoy, and Compère, to be given a safe pass for exit

Johannes Nucius

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Johannes Nucius (also Nux, Nucis) (c. 1556 – March 25, 1620) was a German composer and music theorist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Although isolated from most of the major centers of musical activity, he was a polished composer in the style of Lassus and penned an extremely influential treatise on the rhetorical application of compositional devices. Life Nucius was born in Görlitz, in Lower Silesia. He studied at the Gymnasium in Görlitz with Johannes Winckler, who was so influential in his development that he referred to him reverentially in his later writings. In 1586 he became a monk in the monastery in Rauden, in Upper Silesia; there he received a humanistic education to supplement the considerable musical training he had received under Winckler. He rose in the hierarchy at the monastery, becoming a deacon, and later an abbot at Himmelwitz; however in 1598 he turned over most of his duties to his assistants in order to compose and write his musical treatise. He died at Himmelwitz (now Jemielnica, Poland), near the town of Strehlitz, in Upper Silesia (now Strzelce Opolskie, Poland). Works and influence Nucius’s music shows the influence of Lassus above all. He

Johannes Ockeghem

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Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410 – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was a significant European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colleague Antoine Busnois—a prominent European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School. Ockeghem was well associated with other prominent composers of the time, and spent most of his career serving the French royal court under Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. Numerous poets and musicians lamented his death, including Erasmus, Guillaume Crétin, Jean Molinet and Josquin, who composed the well-known Nymphes des bois for him. It is thought that Ockeghem’s extant works represent only a small part of his entire oeuvre, including around 14 masses, 20 chansons and fewer than 10 motets—though the exact numbers vary due to attribution uncertainties. His better-known works include the canon-based Missa prolationum; the Missa cuiusvis toni, which can be sung in any mode; the chanson Fors seulement; and the earliest surviving polyphonic Requiem. Life Background and early life Th

Johannes Prioris

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Johannes Prioris (c. 1460 – c. 1514) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the first composers to write a polyphonic setting of the Requiem Mass. On the basis of documents surrounding Saint-Sauveur in Blois, Theodor Dumitrescu has argued that Prioris is to be identified with the composer “Denis Prieur,” making his Latin name “Dionysius Prioris.” The name “Johannes” is attested in a single source. He may have been born in Brabant. Very little is known about his life, except what can be inferred by the distribution of his manuscripts, and from his musical style. There is some evidence that he spent time in Rome as a singer at St. Peter’s, since a similar name to his appears in the account ledgers, and his music appears in seven separate manuscript sources in the Vatican archives. Some time after 1500 he probably moved to France, since he is twice called the maître de chapelle to King Louis XII; once in a letter from Ferrara, and once by Jean d’Auton. He probably died before King Louis XII (1515) since there was a new maître de chapelle for the king’s funeral ceremonies. Prioris wrote six masses, of which five are still extant, including a famous Requiem, whic

Johannes Pullois

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Johannes Pullois (numerous variant spellings of his name include Pillays, Pilloys, Pylois, Pyloys, Pyllois, Puilloys, Puylloys, Puyllois) (died 23 August 1478) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in both the Low Countries and Italy. He was one of the early generation of composers to carry the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style from its home region in the Netherlands to Italy. He was probably born in Pulle, near Antwerp, but nothing is known about his life until he became zangmeester (singing master) at the church of Our Lady in Antwerp in 1443. He unsuccessfully auditioned with Philip the Good for the Burgundian court chapel, but was not accepted for a position. He then went to Rome in 1447 where he sang in the papal chapel until 1468. He returned to Antwerp, becoming residential canon at the same church at which he had worked in the 1440s, and he died there in 1478. During his career he was a colleague of both Johannes Philibert and Johannes Ockeghem. Music and influence One complete cyclic mass has survived, a Missa sine nomine, for three voices; most likely dating from the 1450s, it is one of the earliest cyclic masses to be written on the continent. It shows s

Johannes Regis

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Johannes Regis (French: Jehan Leroy; c. 1425 – c. 1496) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay. Life Nothing is known about his life until 1451, when he became choirmaster at the church of St Vincent, Soignies, near Mons in Hainaut. This was an important musical establishment at the time, and several famous composers either worked there or trained there, including Gilles Binchois, who was probably an associate of Regis. The earliest datable music by Regis is preserved in the choirbooks of Cambrai Cathedral, between 1462 and 1465, indicating that he may have begun working there then. Between 1464 and 1474 he served as secretary to Guillaume Dufay, and possibly lived in Cambrai for much of this time. Also in the early 1470s he was mentioned as one of the major composers of the time by the theorist Johannes Tinctoris, indicating the spread of his reputation. He probably died in early summer 1496, since his post was declared vacant then, and eliminated. Music Although Regis was associated professionally with Guillaume Du Fay, his

Johannes Tinctoris

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Jehan le Taintenier or Jean Teinturier (Latinised as Johannes Tinctoris; also Jean de Vaerwere; c. 1435 – 1511) was a Renaissance music theorist and composer from the Low Countries. Up to his time, he is perhaps the most significant European writer on music since Guido of Arezzo. Life and career He is known to have studied in Orléans, and to have been master of the choir there; he also may have been director of choirboys at Chartres. Because he was paid through the office of petites vicars at Cambrai Cathedral for four months in 1460, it has been speculated that he studied with Du Fay, who spent the last part of his life there; certainly Tinctoris must at least have known the elder Burgundian there. Tinctoris went to Naples about 1472 and spent most of the rest of his life in Italy. Tinctoris was also known as a cleric, a poet, a mathematician, and a lawyer; there is even one reference to him as an accomplished painter. Works Tinctoris published many volumes of writings on music. While they are not particularly original, borrowing heavily from ancient writers (including Boethius, Isidore of Seville, and others) they give an impressively detailed record of the technical practices an

Johannes Vodnianus Campanus

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Johannes Vodnianus Campanus (also Ionnes Campanus Vodnianus; , Jan z Vodňan or Jan Kampánus Vodňanský; 27 December 1572 – 13 December 1622) was a Czech humanist, composer, pedagogue, poet and dramatist. Life He was born in Vodňany (hence his surname), in southern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). He studied at the University of Prague and in 1596 and was made Master of Liberal Arts there. He became a teacher in Prague and Kutná Hora. From 1603 he taught Greek and Latin at the University of Prague. He also taught history and Latin poetry. He was repeatedly appointed as dean, prorector, and rector of this university. Campanus was a Hussite before renouncing this faith and becoming a Catholic in 1622. He died in Prague. A historical novel was published about him in 1909 by Zikmund Winter, called Mistr Kampanus: historický obraz. Works Campanus usually wrote his works in Latin, but also wrote occasionally in Czech, Greek, and German. Some of his works, like the play Břetislav und Jitka (Bretislaus) (1614), were forbidden, because they were critical of the dukes of Bohemia. His works were recognised in Europe for their metrical perfection. Campanus’ first collection of musical works, Sa

Johannes von Soest

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Johannes Steinwert von Soest (Johannes de Susato) (1448 – 2 May 1506) was a German composer, theorist and poet. Most biographical details about his life survive in Johannes’ verse autobiography, which was printed in 1811 (although the manuscript no longer survives) and has been partially translated into modern English. He was born in Unna and brought up in the nearby town of Soest. As a boy, he sang at the church of St. Patrokli. At one point a juggler almost succeeded in kidnapping him for his beautiful voice, but the plan did not succeed. The boy eventually left Soest when John I, Duke of Cleves hired him as a singer. At Cleves, Johannes von Soest studied composition with an unknown teacher, quickly distinguishing himself as the best student and becoming, in his own words, a better composer than his master. Johannes’ attitude towards music changed completely when he heard two English singers who were travelling through Cleves; he persuaded them to teach him their distinctive English style. They agreed to do so on the condition that he go to Bruges with them; accordingly, Johannes managed to get a permission to leave the Duke. He subsequently worked at Overijssel, Maastricht, and

John Amner

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John Amner (1579–1641) was an English composer. A composer of sacred works, Amner was born in Ely and had a close association with Ely Cathedral, even before his employment there as Informator choristarum (1610–1641), through his relatives Michael and Ralph Amner, who were both lay clerks there. He received his Bachelor of Music from Oxford with the support of the Earl of Bath in 1613, and also from Cambridge in 1640. He was employed as both an organist and clergyman at the Cathedral after he obtained his first degree. He was subsequently ordained to the diaconate, later becoming vicarius (minor canon). In 1615, he published a collection entitled Sacred Hymnes of 3, 4, 5 and 6 parts for the Voyces and Vyols, which represents most of his known works. His other works include Preces (both for five voices), four settings of the daily canticles, several simple four-part anthems, slightly more complex five-part anthems, and verse anthems. Roughly a dozen of these works were recorded in the 1990s, and many were performed by the choir of Ely Cathedral, including Blessed be the Lord God; Hear, O Lord; Have mercy; I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; My Lord is hence removed and laid

John Bennet (composer)

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John Bennet (c. 1575 – after 1614) was a composer of the English Madrigal School. Little is known for certain of Bennet’s life, but his first collection of madrigals was published in 1599. Life Bennet’s madrigals include “All creatures now” as well as “Weep, o mine eyes”. The latter is an homage to John Dowland, using part of Dowland’s most famous piece, “Flow, my tears”, also known in its pavane form as . Bennet’s life is mostly undocumented. Bennet did however leave behind evidence that his impact is great. Bennet dedicated his madrigal volume, These First Fruits of My Simple Skill the Endeavors of a Young Wit to Ralph Assheton in 1599. Assheton held civic office in both Lancashire and Cheshire, he was dedicated as a token for favours received. It seems probable, therefore, that Bennet came from the north-west of England, and was born about 1575 to 1580. ** I wander up and down ** Weep silly soul disdained AKA: Mourn silly soul disdained ** So gracious is thy sweet self AKA: So lovely is thy dear self ** Let go, why do you stay me AKA: My dear, why do you stay ** Come, shepherds, follow me ** I languish to complain me ** Sing out, ye nymphs AKA: Sing loud, ye nymphs; Shout loud,

John Bull (composer)

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John Bull (1562/63 – 12/13 March 1628) was an English composer, organist, virginalist and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium. Life and career Bull’s place of birth is uncertain. In an article published in 1952, Thurston Dart presumed that Bull’s family originated in Somerset, where it is possible the composer was born. It was the 17th-century antiquarian Anthony Wood who first proposed that he was related to the Bull family of Peglich, Somerset, but in 1959 Dart wrote that Bull was probably the son of a London goldsmith…. Then, in the second edition of his Calendar of the Life of John Bull, Dart proposed Hereford as a third possibility. More recent research by Susi Jeans suggests that Bull was born in the Radnorshire parish of Old Radnor within the Diocese of Hereford, although no birth records have yet been discovered. Bull’s appointment as organist of Hereford Cathedral in 1582 lends credence to this diocese being his place of birth: it was customary at this time for organists to return to their home cathedrals after training in London (cf: Thomas Morley). In 1573 he joined the ch

John Coprario

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John Coprario (c. 1570–80 – c. June 1626), also known as Giovanni Coprario or Coperario, was an English composer, viol player and teacher. Life and career According to later commentators, such as John Playford and Roger North, he changed his name from either Cowper or Cooper to Coperario in the early 17th century (at least as early as February 1601), although he himself spelled his name “John Coprario”. Anthony Wood said he changed his name after an extended visit to Italy, and though he is documented as having visited the Low Countries in 1603, evidence confirming his presence in Italy has not been found. Among Coprario’s works are fantasias, suites, and other works for viols and violins, and two collections of songs, Funeral Teares (1606) and Songs of Mourning: Bewailing the Untimely Death of Prince Henry (1613). Coprario wrote songs for The Somerset Masque performed on 26 December 1613. He also penned a treatise on composition, Rules how to Compose (c. 1610–1616). Ninety-six fantasias for three up to six voices, most of them in two Oxford and Royal College of Music collections, were known to exist by Coprario (as of 1946). Meyer also notes that most of Coprario’s five- and six-p

John Dowland

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John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as “Come, heavy sleep”, “Come again”, “Flow my tears”, “I saw my Lady weepe”, “Now o now I needs must part”, and “In darkness let me dwell”. His instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and with the 20th century’s early music revival, has been a continuing source of repertoire for lutenists and classical guitarists. Life and career Very little is known of Dowland’s early life, but it is generally thought he was born in London. Sources put his birth year as 1563, based on his own written statements about his age. Irish historian W. H. Grattan Flood claimed that he was born in Dalkey, near Dublin, but no corroborating evidence has been found either for that or for Thomas Fuller’s claim that he was born in Westminster. One piece of evidence points to Dublin as his place of origin: he dedicated the song “From Silent Night” to ‘my loving countryman Mr. John Forster the younger, merchant of Dublin in Ireland’. The Forsters were a prominent Dublin family at the time, providing several Lord Mayors to the city. In 1580 Dowl

John Farmer (composer)

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John Farmer (c. 1570c. 1601) was an important composer of the English Madrigal School. He was born in England during the Elizabethan period, and was also known by his skillful settings for four voices of the old church psalm tunes. His exact date of birth is not known – a 1926 article by Grattan Flood posits a date around 1564 to 1565 based on matriculation records. Farmer was under the patronage of the Earl of Oxford and dedicated his collection of canons and his late madrigal volume to his patron. In 1595, Farmer was appointed organist and master of children at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, and also, at the same time, organist of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. In 1599, he moved to London and published his only collection of four-part madrigals, which he dedicated to Edward de Vere. His Lord’s Prayer is performed widely throughout many churches and cathedrals, mostly in Britain. It is included in Volume 2 of Oxford Choral Classics, published by Oxford University Press. Giles Farnaby dedicated a pavan to him, included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book as Farmer’s Paven (no. CCLXXXVII). Farmer’s Divers & Sundry Waies was the source of the fugues in Michael Maier’s book, Atalanta

John Hilton the younger

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John Hilton (ca. 15991657) was an English early Baroque composer. He is best known for his books Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices and Catch That Catch Can. Life Hilton was born about 1599 in Cambridge. His father was probably the church musician and composer John Hilton the elder, who died in Cambridge in 1609. Ayres or Fa-Las for Three Voices This book of music is largely overlooked by scholars. Many think the pieces are of low quality, while others are surprised that they do not get more attention. It is not known who composed the texts to the Ayres or Fa-Las. Most of the songs are about love. Published in 1627, it represented one of the last publications of English song until John Playford’s Musical Banquet of 1651 (the one exception being Walter Porter’s Madrigales and Ayres of 1632). Notes References *HOASM: John Hilton (2) *Journal of Seventeenth Century Music *Catch That Catch Can (Pepys’ Diary)

John Jenkins (composer)

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John Jenkins (c. 1592–c. 1678), was an English composer of the early Baroque period. He was born in Maidstone, Kent and died in Kimberley, Norfolk. Biography Little is known of his early life. The son of Henry Jenkins, a carpenter who occasionally made musical instruments, he may have been the “Jack Jenkins” employed in the household of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick in 1603. The first positive historical record of Jenkins is amongst the musicians who performed the masque The Triumph of Peace in 1634 at the court of King Charles I. Jenkins was considered a virtuoso on the lyra viol. Charles commented that Jenkins did “wonders on an inconsiderable instrument.” When the English Civil War broke out in 1642 it forced Jenkins, like many others, to migrate to the rural countryside. During the 1640s he was employed as music-master to two Royalist families, the Derham family at West Dereham and Hamon le Strange of Hunstanton. He was also a friend of the composer William Lawes (1602–1645), who was shot and died in battle at the siege of Chester. Around 1640 Jenkins revived the In Nomine, an archaic form for a consort of viols, based upon a traditional plainsong theme. He wrote a notable

John Juvenal Ancina

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Giovanni Giovenale Ancina (19 October 1545 – 30 August 1604) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Saluzzo and was a professed member from the Oratorians. The bishop was also a scholar and music composer and was also known for being a noted orator. He served in the Oratorians as a simple priest for around two decades prior to his episcopal appointment which he attempted to elude for five months before submitting to Pope Clement VIII and accepting the papal appointment. He entered his diocese several months later where he became noted for his charitable work with the poor and his efforts to better implement the reforms of the Council of Trent. His cause for sainthood commenced soon after his death though complications arose due to a lack of concrete evidence suggesting that he was killed in hatred of the faith due to his being poisoned so that framework for the cause was abandoned well into the cause’s advanced stages. His beatification was celebrated under Pope Leo XIII in 1890 in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Life Giovanni Giovenale Ancina was born at dawn on 19 October 1545 in Fossano as the first of four children to the successful businessman Durando Ancina

John Lugge

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John Lugge (c.1580 – 1647–55) was an English organist and composer, who spent most of his musical career at Exeter Cathedral.

John Merbecke

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John Marbeck, Merbeck or Merbecke (c. 1510) was an English choral composer and theological writer whose musical setting of the early Anglican liturgy standardised the sung Anglican service until the late 20th century. He is also known today for his setting of the Mass, Missa Per arma justitiae. Life Probably a native of Beverley in Yorkshire, Merbecke appears to have been a boy chorister at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and was employed as an organist there from about 1541. Two years later he was convicted with four others of heresy and sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but received a pardon owing to the intervention of Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, who said he was “but a musitian”. An English Concordance of the Bible which Merbecke had been preparing at the suggestion of Richard Turner, was however confiscated and destroyed. A later version of this work, the first of its kind in English, was published in 1550 with a dedication to Edward VI. In the same year, Merbecke published his Booke of Common Praier Noted, intended to provide for musical uniformity in the use of the First Prayer Book of Edward VI. This set the liturgy to semi-rhythmical melodies partly adapted from

John Milton (composer)

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John Milton (1562–1647) was an English composer and father of poet John Milton. His compositions were mostly religious in theme. A financial worker by trade, he also wrote poetry. He lived in London for most of his life. Biography Early in his life he converted to Protestantism and his own Roman Catholic father, Richard Milton, subsequently disowned him. He moved to London around 1583 to work as an apprentice scrivener. His work largely pertained to business matters; often working as a moneylender or a financial broker. He registered with the Company of Scriveners on 27 February 1599. Soon after this he started a family, marrying Sara Jeffrey (c. 1572–1637) and living in Bread Street, London, with her parents. Records show the couple had six children, three of whom reached adulthood. The three surviving children were Anne, John Milton (the poet) and Christopher Milton (a judge who was later awarded a knighthood). Milton’s work made the family so prosperous that they could afford to employ private tutors of classical languages for their sons and later send them to school and university. This affluence also meant that his eldest son, John Milton, never had to work and thus spent his

John Mundy (composer)

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John Mundy (or Munday) (before 1555 – 29 June 1630) was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the Renaissance period. Life and works The son and pupil of the eminent composer William Mundy, he was organist at Eton, and succeeded John Marbeck after his death in 1585 as organist at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. He received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Oxford in 1586, and his doctorate in 1624. In 1585 he was appointed joint organist of Westminster Abbey with Nathaniel Giles, a post he maintained until his death in 1630. Mundy was one of the earliest English madrigalists. He published a volume of Songs and Psalms in 1594, and contributed a madrigal, Lightly she whipped o’er the dales, to The Triumphs of Oriana (1601), a compilation of madrigals by Thomas Morley in honour of Queen Elizabeth I. He composed sacred music in English and Latin, including music for the Book of Common Prayer, and is represented in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book by five pieces, including a magnificent set of variations on the popular song Goe from my window and a whimsical but fine miniature, Munday’s Joy. He also wrote a setting of the recusant Chidiock Tichborne’s poem My prime

John Redford

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John Redford (c. 1500 - died October or November 1547) was a major English composer, organist, and dramatist of the Tudor period. From about 1525 he was organist at St Paul’s Cathedral (succeeding Thomas Hickman). He was choirmaster there from 1531 until his death in 1547. Many of his works are represented in the Mulliner Book. Redford is notable as one of the earliest composers, rather than improvisers, of organ music, having notated a significant quantity of keyboard music, all of it liturgical in function, based on plainchant melodies; a few vocal works by him also survive. As he held the post of Almoner and Master of the Choristers, Redford was responsible for the arrangement of the choristers performances, including writing and directing plays and interludes. The most celebrated of these entertainments is the morality play, The Play of Wyt and Science (written ca 1530-1550), which exists in one manuscript in the British Library (MS 15233). However, the first five pages of the manuscript are missing; there is no way to know how much is lost. Redford also wrote a number of poems, including the 23 verse Nolo mortem peccatoris, which was set to music by Thomas Morley, who was a la

John Sheppard (composer)

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John Sheppard (also Shepherd, c. 1515 – December 1558) was an English composer of the Renaissance. Biography Sheppard was probably born around 1515, judging from his statement in 1554 that he had been composing music for twenty years. Nothing certain is known about his early life. The first sighting of him occurs at Thaxted in Essex, in June 1541 when he married the recently widowed Jane Ewen or Evan. He was then probably in his mid-twenties. It is not known whether he held a musical position in the church of St John the Baptist, Thaxted. He then served as informator choristarum at Magdalen College, Oxford continuously from Michaelmas 1543 to sometime between March and Michaelmas 1548. Sheppard next appears in a list of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal who sang at the funeral of King Edward VI in August 1553; he may have joined the chapel directly after his departure from Oxford, but, because of a gap in Chapel Royal records from 1547, this cannot be proved. He appears to have remained active at the chapel up to the year of his death since he was awarded liveries for both the funeral of Queen Mary and the coronation of Elizabeth I. In 1554 he supplicated, apparently unsuccessfully

John Taverner

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John Taverner (c. 1490 – 18 October 1545) was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas and The Western Wynde Mass, and Missa Corona Spinea is also often viewed as a masterwork. Career Nothing is known of Taverner’s activities before 1524. He appears to have come from the East Midlands, possibly being born in Tattershall, Lincolnshire, but there is no indication of his parentage. According to one of his own letters, he was related to the Yerburghs, a well-to-do Lincolnshire family. The earliest information is that in 1524, Taverner travelled from Tattershall to the Church of St Botolph in nearby Boston, as a guest singer. Two years later, in 1526, Taverner became the first Organist and Master of the Choristers at Christ Church, Oxford, appointed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The college had been founded in 1525, by Cardinal Wolsey, and was then known as Cardinal College. Immediately before this, Taverner had been a clerk fellow at the Collegiate Church of Tattershall. In 1528, he was reprimanded for his (probably minor) involvement with Lutherans, but escaped punishment for bein

John Tomkins (composer)

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John Tomkins (1586 – 27 September 1638) was a Welsh-born organist and composer, a half-brother of the composer Thomas Tomkins. He was organist at St Paul’s Cathedral in London from 1619. Life Tomkins was born in St David’s in Pembrokeshire in 1586. His father Thomas Tomkins, a vicar choral at St David’s Cathedral, became a minor canon at Gloucester Cathedral by 1594, and it is thought that John was a chorister there. In 1606 John Tomkins succeeded Orlando Gibbons as organist of King’s College, Cambridge. After studying music there for ten years, he received the degree of Mus. Bac. in June 1608, on condition of composing a piece for performance at the graduation ceremony. Phineas Fletcher, a friend of Tomkins at King’s College, made him an interlocutor (named Thomalin) in three of his eclogues. Tomkins left Cambridge and in 1619 became organist of St Paul’s Cathedral. Fletcher, then in Norfolk, addressed a poem to him on the occasion. In 1625 Tomkins became gentleman-extraordinary of the Chapel Royal, and gentlemen-in-ordinary in 1627. References External links * * John Tomkins at Hymnary.org

John Ward (composer)

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John Ward (1590–1638) was an English composer. He trained as a singer in Canterbury, where he was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral. He then moved to London where he produced religious and secular works, and he also appears to have maintained a residence in Essex. Ward’s compositions, some of which were published in his lifetime, consist of madrigals, works for viol consort and Anglican church music (services, and anthems). His madrigals are remarkable for their fine texts, broad melodic lines and originality. Biography Ward was born in Canterbury and baptised 15 February 1590 at St Mary Bredman. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral and likely King’s scholar at Canterbury Grammar School 1604–7. He appears to have stayed in Canterbury until at least 1607 and then went to London where he served Sir Henry Fanshawe (1569–1616) as a musician. It is not known how the two men came into contact, although it has been noted that Lady Fanshawe was from Kent. Sir Henry was an amateur musician, and Ward’s compositions suggest that he enjoyed hearing religious and secular music at home. Between 1610 and 1612 the music also reflects the connection of Sir Henry to Henry Frederick, Prince o

John Wilbye

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John Wilbye (baptized 7 March 1574 – September 1638) was an English madrigal composer. Early life and education The son of a tanner, he was born at Brome, Suffolk, England. (Brome is near Diss, Norfolk.) Career Wilbye received the patronage of the Cornwallis family of Brome Hall. Wilbye was employed for decades at Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmunds, where he seems to have been recruited in the 1590s by Elizabeth Kitson who was married to the property’s owner, Sir Thomas Kitson (or Kytson). The Kitsons also had a long association with the composer Edward Johnson, who was more than twenty years older than Wilbye, and began working at Hengrave in the 1570s. As well as working in Suffolk, Wilbye was involved with the music scene in London, where the Kitsons kept a town house (first in Austin Friars and from about 1601 in Clerkenwell). His first book of madrigals was published in London in 1598. The 30 madrigals are described as “newly composed”. The publication was dedicated to Sir Charles Cavendish, whose first wife had been a Kitson. Wilbye remained in contact with his printer Thomas East. In 1600 Wilbye and Edward Johnson took on a proofreading job for East, the first edition of Dowla

Josquin Des Prez

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Name#

Josquin’s full name, Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez, became known in the late 20th century. A pair of 1483 documents found in Condé-sur-l’Escaut identify the composer as the nephew of Gille Lebloitte dit des Prez and the son of Gossard Lebloitte dit des Prez. His first name Josquin is a diminutive form of Josse, the French form of the name of Judoc, a Breton saint of the 7th century. Josquin was a common name in Flanders and Northern France in the 15th and 16th centuries. Other documents indicate that the surname des Prez had been used by the family for at least two generations, perhaps to distinguish them from other branches of the Lebloitte family. At the time, the name Lebloitte was rare and the reason that Josquin’s family took up the more common surname des Prez as their dit name remains uncertain. His name has many spellings in contemporary records: his first name is spelled as Gosse, Gossequin, Jodocus, Joskin, Josquinus, Josse, Jossequin, Judocus and Juschino; and his surname is given as a Prato, de Prato, Pratensis, de Prés, Desprez, des Prés and des Près. In his motet Illibata Dei virgo nutrix, he includes an acrostic of his name, where it is spelled IOSQVIN Des PREZ. Documents from Condé, where he lived for the last years of his life, refer to him as “Maistre Josse Desprez”. These include a letter written by the chapter of Notre-Dame of Condé to Margaret of Austria where he is named as “Josquin Desprez”. Scholarly opinion differs on whether his surname should be written as one word (Desprez) or two (des Prez), with publications from continental Europe preferring the former and English-language publications the latter. Modern scholarship typically refers to him as Josquin.

Juan Arañés

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Juan Arañés (died c. 1649) was a Spanish baroque composer. His tonos and villancicos follow the style of those preserved in the Cancionero of Kraków. Biography Arañés was born in Aragon, at an unknown date. After studies in Alcalá de Henares, he was maestro di cappella at the Spanish embassy in Rome, where in 1624 he published his Libro Segundo de tonos y villancicos. The first book is lost. The Libro Segundo collection contains 12 pieces of 1, 2, and 3 voices, tonos humanos and villancicos, the final being a vocal chaconne for 4 voices, A la vida bona which features in the works of Miguel de Cervantes. The collection is notable for its guitar accompaniment in Italian notation. He died in or after 1649. Works, editions and recordings *A la vida bona for 4 voices - on (i) Musica en el Quijote y otras obras de Miguel de Cervantes, Orphénica Lyra (Glossa, 2005) and (ii) Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha: Romances y Músicas dir. Jordi Savall, Hesperion XXI, (Alia Vox, 2006). Nuevo Sarao performed his works at the Festival de Música Antiga dels Pirineus in 2011 and recorded his complete works. Notes References

Juan Bautista Comes

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Juan Bautista Comes (ca. 1582 – 5 January 1643), per Valencian spelling Joan Baptista Comes, was a Spanish Baroque composer who was born and died in Valencia. It is known that before 1613 he held posts as Maestro de Capilla in Lleida at its cathedral and in Valencia at the Colegio del Patriarca. Also in Valencia, at its cathedral, from 1613 to 1619, he held a post as Maestro de Capilla. From 1619 to 1629 he was Second Maestro in Madrid at the Habsburg court, during the period when Felipe III and Felipe IV governed. Nevertheless, he returned to his old post at Valencia Cathedral in 1632, which he held until his death. He studied under Juan Ginés Pérez. In the field of composition he is best known for his villancicos such as Terremoto, que ruido and for his Christian sacred polychoral works. His villancicos make use of Spanish, Portuguese and Galician texts. Recordings *Missa de Batalla. Victoria Musicae Josep R. Gil-Tàrrega: La Mà de Guido 2006 *In nativitate Domini. Victoria Musicae Josep R. Gil-Tàrrega: La Mà de Guido 2005 *Danzas del Corpus Christi. Juan Bautista Comes (ca. 1582-1643) Capella Saetabis. Rodrigo Madrid: SEdeM CD 17. 2006 *In festis Corporis Christi. Victoria Musica

Juan Bermudo

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Juan Bermudo (c. 1510) was a Spanish Friar Minor who is best known as a composer, music theorist and mathematician. Life Bermudo entered the Franciscan Order in 1525, belonging to the Province of Andalusia. He was subsequently sent to study at the University of Alcalá, where he resided at the College of Saint Peter and Paul, for friars studying at the University. He then dedicated his energies to preaching to the people of that region. The esteem he gained from the other friars of the province can be seen in his election on 24 June 1560 as a Definitor of the province. A subsequent long period of illness led Bermudo to retire from his service as a preacher. During his recovery, he began to read various manuscripts of musical theory and began to develop his untrained, native talents in this art. Musician Bermudo’s first published work resulting from his studies was his Libro primero de la Declaración de instrumentos (1549), dedicated to King John III of Portugal. It was followed the subsequent year by Comiença el Arte Tripharia. In his Perfecting the perfect instrument of 1555, a treatise on playing the vihuela, Bermudo lists the maestro de capilla of the Royal Chapel of Granada, Ber

Juan Cornago

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Juan Cornago (Johannes Cornago) ( 1400 – after 1475) was a Spanish composer of the early Renaissance. He is the earliest Spanish composer with a large number of surviving works. After the death of Alfonso in 1466 he continued to serve as chief almoner in the chapel under Alfonso’s son, Fernando I of Naples. Cornago was the leading songwriter at the Aragonese court in Naples. Later in 1475 he transferred to the chapel of Fernando the Catholic in Spain, where he is last recorded singing in the court. His Spanish songs are some of the earliest polyphonic canciones written in Castilian. He sourced the poetry from famed Castilian poets, such as Marqués de Santillana, Juan de Mena, and Pedro de Torellas. Five of his nine surviving Spanish songs feature text written by known poets. Morte o merce, one of his Italian songs from his time in Fernando I’s court, is through-composed and representative of the humanist movement which emphasized words over music. This can be seen in its simple musical style and treatment of the text. Much of Cornago’s music was arranged and altered by other composers of the time. For instance, Johannes Ockeghem added two voices to his Qu’es mi vida preguntays. The

Juan de Anchieta

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Juan de Anchieta (1462 – 1523) was a leading Spanish Basque composer of the Renaissance, he served as a singer and chapel master in the royal court of the Catholic Monarchs and their successors. Anchieta was closely associated with Queen Isabella I of Castile, Prince John, Queen Joanna of Castile, and the future Emperor Charles V, for whom he acted as a music teacher. Biography Juan de Anchieta was born in Azpeitia, in 1462 to a leading Basque family, his mother was a great-aunt of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. He may have studied at Salamenca University with music professor Diego de Fermoselle, older brother of Juan del Encina. He officially joined the royal chapel of Queen Isabella as a chaplain and singer on 6 February 1489. At the time of his appointment, he was approximately twenty-seven years old. His initial annual salary was 20,000 maravedís, which was calculated from the standard 8,000 maravedís for chaplains alongside an additional 12,000 maravedís allocated for lay singers. Returning to the Queen’s service after the Prince’s death in 1497, and in 1504, to that of the new Queen, Joanna the Mad. In her service he travelled to Flanders with Pierre de

Juan de Triana

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Juan de Triana (fl. 1460 – 1490, died 28 January 1494) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance period, active in the second half of the 15th century during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. Pope Sixtus IV issued a bull on 9 February 1478 that listed De Triana as Prebendary of the Cathedral of Sevilla for at least a year before. He later moved to the Cathedral of Toledo, where it was recorded that in 1483 he was a teacher of six children in the Cathedral, with a salary of 18,000 maravedíes, a significant quantity at the time. Possibly Triana held this position until 1490, when he was replaced by Pedro de Lagarto. He died in Seville on 28 January 1494, and was buried near the gate of the chapel of the Virgen de la Antigua. In his will, he left a bequest to endow a chaplaincy to sing twenty-five masses a month for his soul at the altar of San Juan Bautista, near his place of burial. Works Twenty works by Triana have been preserved, all in the Cancionero de la Colombina. Four of the works are religious and the remaining are secular. Three of them also have replicas in the Cancionero de Palacio. One of the religious pieces is a fragment of the Song of the Sibyl in Castilian, and the

Juan Esquivel Barahona

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Juan de Esquivel Barahona (c. 1560 – after 1623) was the most prominent of the last generation of Spanish church composers of the Renaissance era. Although he never served in one of the major Spanish cathedrals, his music was known throughout Spain during the early seventeenth century. Life Juan de Esquivel was born in or near Ciudad Rodrigo, an ancient cathedral city southwest of Salamanca. He began service as a choirboy in the cathedral in 1568 and, according to choir chaplain Antonio Sánchez Cabañas, he was a student of Juan Navarro, the cathedral’s choirmaster during Esquivel’s youth. Esquivel’s first appointment as maestro de capilla came in 1581, when he was named to the post in Oviedo, the capital of the province of Asturias in Northern Spain. He left that position in 1585 and took a similar position at Calahorra Cathedral in La Rioja. In 1591 he returned to Ciudad Rodrigo as choirmaster, where he remained until his death. Music Esquivel composed only sacred music. His output survives in three publications, printed in Salamanca during the early seventeenth century; a fourth book (Salamanca, 1623) of motets and instrumental music was reported by Sanchez-Cabañas in his manuscr

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla

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Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (ca. 15901664) was a Renaissance-style Spanish composer and cantor, most of whose career took place in Mexico. Life and career Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla was born in Málaga, Spain. He received his musical education from Francisco Vásquez, who was the maestro de capilla of Málaga Cathedral. Padilla took up the position of maestro at the collegiate church in Jerez de la Frontera in 1612. While at Jerez, he unsuccessfully contended for the office of maestro at Málaga Cathedral in 1613, losing out to Estêvão de Brito. Padilla remained at Jerez until 1616, when he was appointed Maestro at Cádiz Cathedral. After Fernandes’ death, he was appointed maestro of the cathedral in 1629. By 1645, Padilla was overseeing 14 choir boys and 28 cantors. Some of the musicians under Padilla would themselves go on to become important figures in the music of New Spain, such as Francisco López Capillas. Works The majority of his vast output (over 700 pieces survive) include sacred motets, often for double choir, in the Renaissance style or stile antico as well as sacred villancicos. It often includes accompaniments for organ or various stringed instruments. Bibliography Padilla’s

Juan Navarro Hispalensis

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Juan Navarro of Seville, hence the epithet Hispalensis, (Marchena c. 1530 – Palencia 25 September 1580) was a Spanish composer. He is not related to the Mexican composer Juan Navarro Gaditanus, (i.e. Juan Navarro of Cadiz, c. 1550 – c. 1610). Biography Navarro gave his place of birth as Marchena when inducted as chapel-master at Ciudad Rodrigo. Marchena is some 30 miles (50km) from Seville, but in its province and geographically near enough to justify the epithet Hispalensis, which appears on the title page of his 1590 Roman publication (below). Navarro sang as a tenor in the choir of the Duke of Arcos in Marchena (by 1549, when Cristóbal de Morales was chapel-master), then in the cathedrals of Jaén and Málaga. In 1553 he competed for the position of maestro de capilla in Málaga left vacant by the death of Morales, a competition won by Francisco Guerrero. In 1563 he was appointed maestro de capilla of the Cathedral of Avila, then in 1566 of Salamanca where he was appointed without being required to compete for the post. Avila offered to double his salary to keep him, but the position at Salamanca was more attractive. At Salamanca he taught composer Gutierre Fernández. He left Salam

Juan Vásquez (composer)

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Juan Vásquez (or Vázquez, c. 1500 in Badajoz – c. 1560 in Seville) was a Spanish priest and composer of the Renaissance. He can be considered part of the School of Andalusia group of composers along with Francisco Guerrero, Cristóbal de Morales, Juan Navarro Hispalensis and others. Biography Even relative to the standards of early music composers, the life of Juan Vásquez is largely unknown, despite the best efforts of leading musicologists. As a result, all mentions of his age are educated guesses by professionals rather than hard facts. A chapel singer from boyhood, his engagement in 1511 as a “contralto” at the cathedral of Plasencia, Cáceres indicates that he was still a boy at that time. He does not appear in any other records for nearly 20 years. In late 1530 he turns up at Badajoz Cathedral, teaching plainchant to the choirboys. The year 1539 finds him singing in Palencia Cathedral, where he became known as a composer. The music employs both plainchant and polyphony, with his best and most extensive use of polyphony to be found in the Missa pro defunctis from that collection. The Office of the Dead is very highly regarded for its contemplative qualities, standing well alongs

Julien Belin

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Julien Belin was a French composer and lutenist active in the second half of the 16th century; he died after 1584. Biography The only information about his life comes from the Bibliothèque de La Croix Du Maine, in which he is said to be a Manceau, therefore a native of Le Mans or surroundings in 1584 in the Maine. His collection, published in 1556, gives René de Saint-François, archdeacon of Le Mans, as a probable protector, and shows him as a capable lutenist, developing his own style, notwithstanding the influence of lutenists Francesco Canova da Milano and Albert de Rippe. Works In 1556, he published his Premier livre contenant plusieurs motetz, chansons & fantasies reduictz en tabulature de leut by Nicolas Du Chemin in Paris with a dedication to René de Saint-François. (read online here). Modern edition by Michel Renault: Éditions du CNRS, 1976 (series Le Chœur des Muses : Corpus des luthistes français). The collection contains: *Six very ornamented songs transcribed for the lute, by Jacques Arcadelt, Pierre Certon, Roger Pathie called Rogier (2) and Pierre Sandrin (2). *A transcript of the motet Cantate Domino (Anonymous, not ornamented and probably attributable to Belin himse

Kryštof Harant

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Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice (, 1564 – 21 June 1621) was a Czech nobleman, traveller, humanist, soldier, writer and composer. He joined the Protestant Bohemian Revolt in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown against the House of Habsburg that led to Thirty Years’ War. Following the victory of Catholic forces in the Battle of White Mountain, Harant was executed in the mass Old Town Square execution by the Habsburgs. As a composer he represented the school of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Bohemia. Harant is also noted for his expedition to the Middle East summarised in a travel book Journey from Bohemia to the Holy Land, by way of Venice and the Sea (1608). Life Harant was born at Klenová Castle, near Klatovy, western Bohemia. From 1576 he studied singing and counterpoint as a member of a local court band at Innsbruck, at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II, learning 7 languages, discovering his talent for music and the other arts and his interest in history, geography and political science. He returned to Bohemia in 1584 in a vain attempt to get a post at the court of Rudolf II, and so enlisted as a soldier, participating in the 1593 and 1597 campaign against the Turks. In 1589 h

Leonhard Lechner

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Leonhard Lechner (also Leonard, 15539 September 1606) was a German composer, kapellmeister, tenor and music editor who was taught by Orlando de Lassus. He added Athesinus to his signature, referring to his origin in today’s South Tyrol. His last positions were at the court of court of Stuttgart. He is regarded as a “leading German composer of choral music in the later 16th century”. While many of his works are lost, a Passion, many expressive songs, and a song cycle are extant. The complete works were published by Bärenreiter in 14 volumes. Life Lechner was born in South Tyrol in 1553. He died on 9 September 1606 in Stuttgart. In 1593, he composed a Passion, Historia der Passion and Leidens unsers einigin Erlösers und Seligmachers Jesu Christi, in Württemberg. The 1593 work has five movements and is for a four-part mixed choir with a German text based on the four Gospels. Barely any of his compositions were printed during his lifetime. Some manuscripts are extant while many of his works are lost. His swan song was Deutsche Sprüche von Leben und Tod (German sentences of life and death). Reception The Larousse Encyclopedia Of Music stated, “His music is remarkable for its dramatic po

Leonhardt Schröter

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Leonhardt Schröter (c. 1532 – c. 1601) was a German Renaissance choirmaster, teacher, and composer at Magdeburg. Biography Leonhardt (alternatively spelled “Leonhard” or “Leonhart”) Schröter (or Schroeter) was born in Torgau. His education began in Torgau where one of his teachers was Johann Walter. His subsequent education included schools at Annaberg-Buchholz and following at the Meissen ducal school. He is thought to have died sometime around the year 1601, based on an inscription in Friedrich Weissensee’s “Opus Melicum” from 1602, which describes Schröter’s recent death. Works Schröter composed carols, hymns, motets, a passion, psalms, and a Te Deum which date from 1571 to 1587. He also composed several part-songs dating from 1562, which have been noted for their contrapuntal ability. His style has been described as having the “greatest simplicity”, but also the “highest grandeur,” simultaneously simple and sublime. He employed Reformation polyphony in his chorale settings, and also homophony, most notably in his eight-voice double-choir settings. His choral settings of psalms, while not numerous, are considered an “important contribution” to the Protestant motet tradition. Ref

Lodovico Agostini

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Lodovico Agostini (1534 – 20 September 1590) was an Italian composer, singer, priest, and scholar of the late Renaissance. He was a close associate of the Ferrara Estense court, and one of the most skilled representatives of the progressive secular style which developed there at the end of the 16th century. Life He was born in Ferrara, and spent most of his life there. He was the illegitimate son of Agostino Agostini, a singer and priest of Ferrara mostly active in the 1540s. Lodovico may have studied for a time in Rome, based on the evidence of a madrigal published there, and he became a priest. By 1572, he was singing in the chapel of Ferrara Cathedral, and by 1578 he was on the payroll of Duke Alfonso II d’Este, one of the most famous patrons of music of the late 16th century. Clearly Lodovico was a favorite of the Duke, and he remained in his service for the rest of his life. In the 1580s, he was a composition teacher to the Duke of Mantua, Guglielmo Gonzaga; Agostini dedicated a book of madrigals to him. Gonzaga went on to become a composer of madrigals himself, and in addition was a close associate of Palestrina. Agostini was on good terms with many members of the aristocracy

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana

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Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (usually Lodovico Viadana, though his family name was Grossi; c. 1560 – 2 May 1627) was an Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar of the Order of Friars Minor Observants. He was the first significant figure to make use of the newly developed technique of figured bass, one of the musical devices which was to define the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras in music. Life He was born in Viadana, a town in the province of Mantua, Italy. According to a document dating from about 150 years after his death, he was a member of the Grossi family but took the name of his birth city, Viadana, when he entered the order of the Minor Observants prior to 1588. Though there is no contemporary evidence, it has been claimed that he studied with Costanzo Porta, becoming choirmaster at the cathedral in Mantua by 1594. In 1597 he went to Rome, and in 1602 he became choirmaster at the cathedral of San Luca in Mantua. He held a succession of posts at various cathedrals in Italy, including Concordia (near Venice), and Fano, on the east coast of Italy, where he was maestro di cappella from 1610 to 1612. For three years, from 1614 to 1617, he held a po

Lodovico Zacconi

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Lodovico (or Ludovico) Zacconi (11 June 1555 – 23 March 1627) was an Italian composer and musical theorist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He worked as a singer, theologian, and writer on music in northern Italy and Austria; for a time he was in the employ of Archduke Karl of Graz, and worked in Graz and Vienna. Biography Born in Pesaro, in the Marche, Zacconi became an Augustinian friar at Venice, where he was ordained priest. In 1577 he was in Venice studying at the church of San Stefano, and at some point in the following six years he was accepted by Andrea Gabrieli as a student of counterpoint. In 1584 he auditioned at San Marco as a singer, and was accepted; however he seems to have declined the position. Also at this time he met Zarlino, the prominent Venetian School theorist; he was to mention the meeting in the second part of his Prattica di musica (1622). On 20 July 1585, he joined the musical establishment of Archduke Karl of Graz, a position he retained until Karl’s death in 1590. Subsequently, he joined the chapel of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, which was directed by Orlande de Lassus. In 1596 he left the employ of Wilhelm, returning to Italy; in the foll

Lorenzo Ratti

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Lorenzo Ratti (c. 1589–1630) was an Italian baroque composer originating from Perugia. His parents were Girolamo and Isapaola Ugolini. His uncle and teacher was Vincenzo Ugolini. He was the predecessor of Carissimi at the Collegium Germanicum and furthermore he was a teacher of Orazio Benevoli. Biography Ratti was born in Perugia in 1589 or 1590; however, the dates and places of his birth and death are not quite clear. Some sources, like François-Joseph Fétis, mention a village called Loreto in the surrounding of Naples as his place of birth, but Robert Eitner does not agree and claims Perugia to be Ratti’s place of birth. Also, an originally signed sheet of music from 1632 casts doubt on his date of death. He was first mentioned in 1598–1599 as a boy soprano of the Cappella Giulia of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and later was its third organist. For a short time he was the first organist of the Perugia Cathedral (1613–1616). Returning to Rome, he became the music director of several ensembles. and as music director at the Collegium Germanicum at S. Loreto. Later, he succeeded Antonio Cifra as the director of music at Santa Casa in Loreto. He is claimed to have composed 157 motets.

Louis Bourgeois (composer)

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Loys “Louis” Bourgeois (; c. 1510 – 1559) was a French composer and music theorist of the Renaissance. He is most famous as one of the main compilers of Calvinist hymn tunes in the middle of the 16th century. One of the most famous melodies in all of Christendom, the tune known as the Old 100th, to which the Protestant doxology is often sung, is commonly attributed to him. Life Knowledge of his early life is sparse. His first publication, some secular chansons, dates from 1539 in Lyon. By 1545 he had gone to Geneva (according to civic records) and become a music teacher there. In 1547 he was granted citizenship in Geneva, and in that same year he also published his first four-voice psalms. In 1549 and 1550 he worked on a collections of psalm-tunes, most of which were translated by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze. The extent to which he was composer, arranger or compiler was not certain, until a long-lost copy of the Genevan Psalter of 1551 came to the library of the Rutgers University. In an Avertissement (note) to the reader Bourgeois specifies exactly what his predecessors had done, what he had changed and which were his own contributions. He is one of the three main composers

Loyset Compère

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Loyset Compère (c. 1445 – 16 August 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France. Life His exact place of birth is not known, but documents of the time assign him to a family from the province of Artois (in modern France), and suggest he may have been born in Hainaut (in modern Belgium). At least one source from Milan indicates he described himself as coming from Arras, also in Artois. Both the date and probable place of birth are extremely close to those of Josquin des Prez; indeed the area around the current French-Belgian border produced an astonishing number of excellent composers in the 15th and 16th centuries, composers whose fame spread throughout Europe. Often these composers are known as the Franco-Flemish or Netherlandish School). In the 1470s Compère worked as a singer in Milan at the chapel of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza, during the time that composers such as Johannes Martini and Gaspar van Weerbeke were also singing there. The chapel choir in the e

Luca Marenzio

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Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the form in its late stage of development, prior to its early Baroque transformation by Monteverdi. In all, Marenzio wrote around 500 madrigals, ranging from the lightest to the most serious styles, packed with word-painting, chromaticism, and other characteristics of the late madrigal style. Marenzio was influential as far away as England, where his earlier, lighter work appeared in 1588 in the Musica Transalpina, the collection that initiated the madrigal craze in that country. Marenzio worked in the service of several aristocratic Italian families, including the Gonzaga, Este, and Medici, and spent most of his career in Rome. Early years According to biographer Leonardo Cozzando, writing in the late 17th century, Marenzio was born at Coccaglio, a small town near Brescia, as one of seven children to a poor family. His father was a notary clerk in Brescia. A birthdate of October 18, 1553 has been proposed, based his father’s stating in 1588 that his

Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana

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Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana (also “Lucretia”) (3 July 1590 – 7 May 1662) was an Italian singer, organist, and composer. She entered the Camaldolese convent of Santa Christina in Bologna in 1598. She was taught by her aunt, Camilla Bombacci, who was the convent organist, and by Ottavio Vernizzi, who was the unofficial music master. Vizzana’s works are influenced by stile moderno (seconda prattica) music, especially the works of Claudio Monteverdi. Biography and works Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana was born on July 3, 1590 in Bologna, Italy to Ludovico Vizzana and Isabetta Bombacci. She entered the Camaldolese convent of Santa Christina in 1598 following her mother’s death and adopted the religious name Donna Lucrezia Orsina (or Ursula), where it is believed she learned music from her aunt, Camilla Bombacci, the convent organist, and Ottavio Vernizzi, unofficial music director of the convent. Vizzana’s motets were published in Componimenti musicali de motetti concertati a l e più voci in 1623, the only collection of music ever published by a Bolognese nun. There are ten solo motets, eight duets, one trio, and one quartet all with continuo. The works feature other characteristics of the stile mo

Ludovicus Episcopius

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Lodewijk de Bisschop, Latinised as Ludovicus Episcopius (c. 1520 in Mechelen – 29 April 1595 in Straubing) was a Flemish Roman Catholic priest and composer of the late Renaissance and one of the first to compose secular songs in the Dutch language. Life Episcopius was born in Mechelen around 1520 as the son of Antonius de Bisschop. His father was the sexton and singer of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-over-de-Dijle church in Mechelen. His received his musical training at the St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen. The choirmaster of the cathedral was Theo Verelst, who was also the teacher of Philippus de Monte and Cypriano de Rore. Episcopius studied from 1538 to 1541 at the University of Leuven and became a priest. From 1545 to 1565 and from 1577 to 1585, he was choirmaster at the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht. He was replaced by Jean de Chaynée. When his successor de Chaynée was assassinated, Episcopius was reinstated in his former position. # (Susanna bathed in a fountain, after Susanne un jour from composer Didier Lupi Second) # (my heart enjoys in pleasure and virtue) References Further reading *The New Grove dictionary of music and musicians, London, 2001 *Fünf weltliche flämis

Ludwig Daser

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Ludwig Daser (c. 1526 – 27 March 1589) was a German renaissance composer and choirmaster. His career is marked by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation struggles of his time. A noted composer in his day, Daser has been largely overshadowed by Orlande de Lassus, who replaced him in Munich. Biography Daser was born in Munich near the year 1526, the son of fisherman Achacius Daser. At an early age he joined the Bavarian Hofkapelle in Munich. An ordained priest, He became the Munich court choirmaster in 1552, replacing Andreas Zauner. In addition to conducting and composing, Daser was responsible for training boys for the choir, and for hiring vocal and instrumental musicians for the chapel. There is some controversy surrounding Daser’s activities between 1563 and 1572. Daser was subject to an Inquisition, His son-in-law Balduin Hoyoul succeeded him as Kapellmeister in Stuttgart. Daser was significantly influenced by the Franco-Flemish School, demonstrated by his methodology for tying the cantus firmus to the Ordinary. The sources of his melodies often originate from the Netherlands. Daser was highly respected by his contemporaries, receiving high commendation from Bavarian court chr

Ludwig Senfl

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Ludwig Senfl (born around 1486, died between December 2, 1542 and August 10, 1543) was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and was an influential figure in the development of the Franco-Flemish polyphonic style in Germany. He and his teacher Isaac played an important role in the development of the German folksongs and their adoption as models for polyphonic compositions as well. Life Senfl was probably born in Basel around 1486, and lived in Zürich from 1488 until 1496, when he joined the choir of the Hofkapelle of Emperor Maximilian I in Augsburg. Apart from one brief visit in 1504 he appears never again to have lived in Switzerland. In 1497 he followed the Hofkapelle to Vienna, and between 1500 and 1504 he probably studied in Vienna for three years, the standard practice for choirboys whose voices had broken, as part of the normal training for the priesthood. During this period he studied with Heinrich Isaac, serving as his copyist by 1509; he is known to have copied much of the older composer’s Choralis Constantinus, an enormous work which he w

Luis de Milán

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Luis de Milán (also known as Lluís del Milà or Luys Milán) (c. 1500 – c. 1561) was a Spanish Renaissance composer, vihuelist, and writer on music. He was the first composer in history to publish music for the vihuela de mano, an instrument employed primarily in the Iberian peninsula and some of the Italian states during the 15th and 16th centuries, and he was also one of the first musicians to specify verbal tempo indications in his music. Life Luis de Milán probably lived all his life in Valencia, though details are sketchy at best. He seems to have been employed by the Valencian court of Germaine de Foix until around 1538. In 1535 he published his first book, a parlor game with music called El juego de mandar. The next year he issued what would be his most important book, El maestro. This was the first printed collection of vihuela music, and both books were composed during his ducal court residence. It is likely that Milán was a Valencian nobleman who entered minor religious orders before later becoming the rector of a parish church. He would have eventually been married sometime before 1555, and died in 1559. Milán’s final work titled El cortesano provides insight into court li

Luis de Narváez

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Luis de Narváez (fl. Approx: 1490 - 1550) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist. Highly regarded and infleuntial his works are still performed to this day including his very famous “Guárdame Las Vacas” which is popular with classical guitarists. Narváez is also known for Los seys libros del Delphín, a collection of polyphonic music for the vihuela which includes the earliest known variation sets and other works. Life The exact date or even year of Narváez’s birth is unknown. He was born in Granada and the earliest surviving references to him indicate that as early as 1526 he was a member of the household of Francisco de los Cobos y Molina, a well-known and very successful patron of the arts who was the Secretary of State and commentator for the kingdom of Castile under Charles V. Narváez lived in Valladolid with his patron until the latter’s death in 1547, although he was working for the Duke of Medina Sidonia between 1539 and 1540. It was during this period that the composer published Los seys libros del delphín (Valladolid, 1538), a large collection of music. By 1548 Narváez was employed as musician of the royal chapel, where he also taught music to choristers. His colleagues ther

Lupus Hellinck

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Lupus Hellinck (also Wulfaert) (1493 or 1494 – c. 14 January 1541) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a prominent composer of masses, as well as German chorales and motets. Although he was a Roman Catholic all of his life, his music shows evidence of sympathy for the Protestant Reformation, and three of his motets—including a famous setting of In te domine speravi—were probably inspired by the prison writings of the martyred reformer Girolamo Savonarola. Life Hellinck was probably born in Axel. Little else is known about him until he appears as a choirboy in Bruges at St. Donatian on 24 March 1506. He left in 1511 to go to school, returning to St. Donatian in 1513 as a cleric, where he stayed until 1515. Until recently, nothing was known of his activities for the next four years, but in 1989 some records from the Vatican archives were published that showed that he spent this time in Rome. One of these documents, dated April 1518, gave his age as 24, which gives a birth date of 1493 or 1494. During this time he was a member of the household of Pope Leo X, and around 1518 he was ordained as a priest. A further confusion, not definitively solved, is that music theorist

Luzzasco Luzzaschi

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Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. 1545 – 10 September 1607) was an Italian composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was born and died in Ferrara, and despite evidence of travels to Rome it is assumed that Luzzaschi spent the majority of his life in his native city. He was a skilled representative of the late Italian madrigal style, along with Palestrina, Wert, Monte, Lassus, Marenzio, Gesualdo and others. Biography As a pupil of Cipriano de Rore, Luzzaschi developed his craft and eventually came to be an influential pedagogue himself. Anthony Newcomb writes: In 1564, Luzzaschi was appointed as principal organist to the d’Este court. His facility as a keyboard player must have been paramount, for his competence on Nicola Vicentino’s microtonal archicembalo was actively documented throughout his career. Luzzaschi was highly respected by his peers, both as a keyboard player and as a composer. Vincenzo Galilei called him one of the best musicians in Italy, and Banchieri named him one of the top two organists (along with Merulo). Luzzaschi is widely remembered due to his association with the famous Concerto delle donne, a private female vocal ensemble founded by Alfonso II, Duke

Maddalena Casulana

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Maddalena Casulana (c. 1544 – c. 1590) was an Italian composer, lutenist and singer of the late Renaissance. She is the first female composer to have had a whole book of her music printed and published in the history of western music, dedicated to her female patron Isabella de’ Medici. Life and work Extremely little is known about her life, other than what can be inferred from the dedications and writings on her collections of madrigals. Most likely she was born at Casole d’Elsa, near Siena, from the evidence of her name. She received her musical education and early experiences in Florence. Her first work dates from 1566: four madrigals in a collection, Il Desiderio, which she produced in Florence. Two years later she published in Venice her first actual book of madrigals for four voices, Il primo libro di madrigali, which is the first printed, published work by a woman in western music history. Also that year Orlando di Lasso conducted Nil mage iucundum at the court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria in Munich; however the music has not survived. She evidently was close to Isabella de’ Medici, and dedicated some of her music to her. In 1570, 1583 and 1586 she published other books of ma

Maistre Jhan

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Maistre Jhan (also Jehan, Jan, Ihan) (c. 1485 – October 1538) was a French composer of the Renaissance, active for most of his career in Ferrara, Italy. An enigmatic figure, of whom little biographical information has yet emerged, he was one of the earliest composers of madrigals as well as a prominent musician at the Este court in the early 16th century. Biography Nothing is known of his early life, other than that he was French, for the earliest reference to him in the records of the Este court in Ferrara are as a “singer from France.” He received his first payment from them in 1512, and remained employed there until his death 26 years later. During that time, as evident from the number of dedications made to him and favorable commentary in the records, he must have been honored; and he was maestro di cappella, choirmaster, for an unknown amount of the time. Several contemporary writers, including influential music theorist Adrianus Coclico, mention him as an expert composer. Several composers with similar names have been confused with Maistre Jhan. Pioneering 19th-century French musicologist François-Joseph Fétis mistook him for Jhan Gero; records at Ferrara seem to identify him

Manuel Cardoso (composer)

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Manuel Cardoso (baptized 11 December 1566 – 24 November 1650) was a Portuguese composer and organist. With Duarte Lobo and John IV of Portugal, he represented the “golden age” of Portuguese polyphony. Cardoso is not known to be related to an older contemporary composer of the same name; the precentor Manuel Cardoso, who published a book of Latin passions in Leiria in 1575. Cardoso was born in Fronteira, near Portalegre, most likely in 1566. He attended the Colégio dos Moços do Coro, a choir school associated with the Évora cathedral, studying with Manuel Mendes and Cosme Delgado. In 1588 he joined the Carmelite order, taking his vows in 1589. In the early 1620s he was resident at the ducal household of Vila Viçosa, where he was befriended by the Duke of Barcelos—later to become King John IV. For most of his career he was the resident composer and organist at the Carmelite Convento do Carmo in Lisbon. Cardoso’s works are models of Palestrinian polyphony, and are written in a refined, precise style which completely ignores the development of the Baroque idiom elsewhere in Europe. His style has much in common with Tomás Luis de Victoria, in its careful treatment of dissonance, occasio

Manuel Machado (composer)

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Manuel Machado (c. 1590–1646) was a Portuguese composer and harpist. He was mostly active in Spain, as he was born when the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain were in a dynastic union. Life Manuel Machado was born in Lisbon and studied at the Claustra college of the Lisbon Cathedral with the renowned composer Duarte Lobo. He moved to Spain and in 1610 he became a musician of the royal chapel in Madrid, where his father, Lope Machado, was already a harpist. In 1639, he became a musician in the palace of Philip IV of Spain, and in 1642, he was rewarded “for his long years of service”. Work Machado composed several sacred works, but he is better known for his secular 3- and 4-voice cantigas and romances in Mannerist style. Unfortunately, very few of his works have survived (most of them were destroyed during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake). His secular music is characterised by great skill in the flexible use of the meter and harmony to reflect the content of the poems. Machado’s highly expressive word-painting, with rich chromatism, unexpected modulation and dissonant chords (such as augmented chords or inverted seventh chords, which would have caused considerable impact in his own time), as

Manuel Rodrigues Coelho

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Manuel Rodrigues Coelho (ca. 15551635) was a Portuguese organist and composer. He is the first important Iberian keyboard composer since Cabezón. Coelho was born in Elvas around 1555 and probably received early education at the Elvas Cathedral. He may also have studied at the Badajoz Cathedral, where he worked as organist from 1573 to 1577. At some point during the 1580s, Coelho returned to Elvas and worked at the cathedral there. He left the post in 1602 after becoming court organist at Lisbon. He died in 1635, probably in Lisbon. The composer’s surviving works are preserved in a 1620 print Flores de musica pera o instrumento de tecla & harpa, published in Lisbon. The collection, dedicated to Philip II of Portugal, is the earliest surviving Portuguese keyboard print. It contains 24 tientos, 101 liturgical organ versets (kyries and hymn settings), four settings of the Spanish/Mozarabic version of Pange lingua, and four intabulations of Lassus’ Susanne ung jour. This large collection is probably a compilation of earlier composed material. Coelho’s most important compositions are his tientos, which are very long (200–300 bars on average), multi-sectional pieces. Imitative counterpoin

Marbrianus de Orto

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Marbrianus de Orto (Dujardin; also Marbriano, Marbrianus; c. 1460 – January or February 1529) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance (Franco-Flemish school). He was a contemporary, close associate, and possible friend of Josquin des Prez, and was one of the first composers to write a completely canonic setting of the Ordinary of the Mass. Life The illegitimate child of a priest, Orto was probably born in Tournai, and spent the early part of his life there. While his original surname was Dujardin, he used “de Orto” (the Italian translation of Dujardin) throughout his life. In June 1482, in the household of Ferry de Clugny, Cardinal-Bishop of Tournai (who died 7 October 1483), he went to Rome, where he became a singer in the papal chapel; he may have become an accomplished composer around this time, since his Missa ad fugam seems to have been written in response to the similar composition by Josquin des Prez, tentatively dated to the early 1480s, and Orto’s mass was copied for the Capella Sistina between 1487 and 1490. While he served in the Sistine Chapel Choir until at least 1499, during the papacies of Innocent VIII and Alexander VI, he began to acquire other posts and benefice

Marc'Antonio Ingegneri

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Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (also spelled Ingegnieri, Ingignieri, Ingignero, Inzegneri) (c. 1535 or 1536 – 1 July 1592) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He was born in Verona and died in Cremona. Even though he spent most of his life working in northern Italy, because of his stylistic similarity to Palestrina he is often considered to be a member of the Roman School of polyphonic church music. He is also famous as the teacher of Claudio Monteverdi. Not much is known about his early life, but he probably had family from Venice, and he likely studied with Cipriano de Rore at Parma, and Vincenzo Ruffo at Verona. Sometime around 1570 he moved to Cremona, and established a reputation there as a composer and instrumentalist. He may have been an organist, and is known to have been a string player. In 1581 he became maestro di cappella of the cathedral there, and he apparently remained in this position for the rest of his life. While at this position he is known to have taught Claudio Monteverdi, who became important to the transition into the Baroque period. Ingegneri was close friends with Bishop Nicolò Sfondrato, later Pope Gregory XIV, who was intimately involved with the re

Marcantonio Negri

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Marcantonio Negri (died October 1624) was an Italian composer, singer, and musical director of the early Baroque era. He was part of the musical establishment of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice during the same period as Monteverdi and was well known as a composer at the time. Life He was born in Verona, but little is known about his life before his appointment as assistant maestro di cappella at St. Mark’s on 22 December 1612. In this role, he supported Monteverdi, who was the primary maestro di cappella. His first publication, dating from 1608 in Venice, indicates that he had some experience as a composer and singer prior to his arrival at St. Mark’s; however, it is unclear whether he gained this experience in Verona, Venice, or elsewhere. After four years at St. Mark’s, Nehru became abbot of a monastery at Veglia (now Krk, Croatia), an island off the coast of Dalmatia. Despite this new position, he remained partially involved with St. Mark’s on a part-time basis. He resigned from St. Mark’s in 1619, and his position was filled by Alessandro Grandi. Negri died at Veglia. Music and influence Negri’s first book of affetti amorosi (1608) showcases the most modern canzonetta style, feat

Marchetto Cara

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Marchetto Cara (c. 1465 – probably 1525) was an Italian composer, lutenist and singer of the Renaissance. He was mainly active in Mantua, was well-connected with the Gonzaga and Medici families, and, along with Bartolomeo Tromboncino, was well known as a composer of frottolas. Life Very little is known of his early life. By 1494, he was already employed by the Gonzaga court at Mantua, and he evidently stayed there, without interruption except for travel to sing in nearby cities, until his death. Among his duties were directing the singers both in the Cathedral of San Pietro (Mantua) and in the private estate of the Gonzaga family. As lovers and patrons of music, they employed numerous musicians, and Cara was chief among them: he wrote music for weddings, for state occasions, for intermedi, and for private entertainments, and in so doing created some of the most refined light music of the time. Along with Tromboncino, he was the most famous composer of frottole, and his compositions continued to be collected and published after his death. Most likely, he died in 1525, since his widow remarried in early 1526, and there was at the time a legal requirement for a widow to wait nine mont

Marcin Leopolita

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Marcin Leopolita (also Martinus Leopolita; ; Life Leopolita was born in Lwów in the Kingdom of Poland (present-day Lviv, Ukraine). By the age of 20 he was a member of the royal music ensemble at the court of Zygmunt August, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. apparently becoming court composer there in 1560. After 1564, he returned to Lviv, where he lived until his death in 1589. Few compositions by Leopolita have survived. Four motets written in Latin (, , and ) are preserved in organ tablature. Of these, can be restored with confidence to its original vocal form. his connection with the manuscript is uncertain. Leopolita’s five-part mass is the only complete exant 16th-century Polish mass, and the , which adds a sixth voice (a second ) has the distinction of being the earliest extant example of six-part Polish polyphony. It is based on themes from four Polish vernacular Easter songs—hence the designation ‘Paschalis’—of which is the most prominent. Recordings * Early Polish Masses Gorczycki: Missa Paschalis Leopolita: Missa Paschalis Mielczewski: Missa super “O Gloriosa Domina” Jaroslaw Malanowicz (organ) Il Canto CD Accord - ACD018 * Waclaw z Szamotul: Songs and Motets an

Marco Antonio Cavazzoni

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Marco Antonio Cavazzoni (c. 1490 – c. 1560) was an Italian organist and composer. He was the father of composer Girolamo Cavazzoni. All of his extant music is contained in the print Recerchari, motetti, canzoni … libro primo, which was published in Venice in 1523. Included are the earliest known ricercars—they are not yet imitative, and are essentially written down improvisations, but there is a considerable amount of thematic development. The rest of the works in the collection are either arrangements of vocal pieces by Cavazzoni or other composers. Their style is firmly rooted in the Renaissance vocal chanson tradition. Published works *2 Ricercari *2 Mottetti: *4 Canzoni: A single piece for keyboard Recercada de maca in bologna, now kept in the parochial archives of Castell’Arquato (Piacenza) in Emilia-Romagna (ms. Musicale n. 2, cc. 5v-6v). References *Apel, Willi. 1972. The History of Keyboard Music to 1700. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700 by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. * * Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 23 (1979) Cavazzoni, Marc’Antonio by Oscar Mischiati (Italian

Marco da Gagliano

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Marco da Gagliano (1 May 1582 – 25 February 1643) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era. He was important in the early history of opera and the development of the solo and concerted madrigal. Life Gagliano was born on 1 May 1582 in Florence and lived most of his life there. After study with a religious confraternity and Luca Bati, he was employed for six years from 1602 by the church of San Lorenzo as a singing instructor. In 1607, he went to Mantua, where he wrote music for the Gonzaga family, including his impressive operatic setting of La Dafne. In 1609, he returned to Florence to become maestro di cappella at the Compagnia dell’Arcangelo Raffaello, the organisation from which he had received his boyhood musical training. Later that same year, the Medici made him maestro di cappella of their court, a position he held for 35 years. He died on 25 February 1643. Music and influence Gagliano wrote an enormous quantity of music, both sacred and secular, for the Medici; in addition, he was a singer and instrumentalist who entertained them privately. His works include fourteen published operas, of which two survive, La Flora (1628) set to a libretto by Andrea Salvadori and L

Marco Dall'Aquila

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Marco Dall’Aquila (c.1480 – after 1538) was a Venetian lutenist and composer known for musical forms called polyphonic ricercars. He was born in L’Aquila but lived and worked in Venice. He often performed at concerts in the houses of nobles in the city, and in 1505 he published Tabullatura et rasone de metter ogni canto in liuto. On 11 March 1505, Dall’Aquila also received a grant for a petition where he claimed to have developed a method of printing tablature which he could use to score any lute composition into tablature. In the petition for the grant, he also asked for a ban on other printing methods and imports of music scored by other methods, and for a portion of penalties paid for infringement. However, no printed editions demonstrating his method survive. Works Dall’Aquila’s music is widely available as recordings by contemporary lutenists. Selected works include: *Ricercar No.16, for lute *Ricercar No.33, for lute *Ricercar *Il est Bel et Bon *Ricervar Lautre Jour, No 101 *Nous Bergiers *La Traditora, No 3 *La Traditora, No 2 *La Battaglia (after Janequin) *La cara cosa, for lute (No 36f) *Ricercar/Fantasia for lute *Ricercar for lute (No 24) *Ricercar for lute (No 16) *La

Marcos Soares Pereira

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Marcos Soares Pereira (died 1655) was a Portuguese composer and mestre da Capela Real. He was the brother of the famous Portuguese composer João Lourenço Rebelo. Life Marcos Soares Pereira was born in Caminha most probably at the end of the 16th century, as the son of João Soares Pereira and Maria Lourenço Rebelo. Little is known about his musical studies and when or where he was ordained priest. In 1624 Pereira was admitted as chaplain-singer at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa, the ancestral seat of the Dukes of Braganza, the most important title in the peerage of Portugal in the middle of the 17th century. In 1629 Pereira replaced Robert Turner (c. 1578-1629) as mestre de capela. After the overthrow of the Philippine Dynasty on 1 December 1640, which had ruled Portugal since 1580, João, Duke of Braganza became king and the ducal chapel moved from Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. In 1641, after the retirement of Filipe de Magalhães, Marcos Soares Pereira was appointed mestre da Capela Real, a position he held until his death in 1655. Musical work None of Pereira’s musical work survived to the present day, most likely due to the Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 1755, with the destruction of

Mario Capuana

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Mario Capuana (1576 in Sicily – 4 May 1647 in Noto) was an Italian composer of motets and a requiem. He was maestro di capella at the Cathedral of Noto in the Province of Syracuse from 1628 to his death in 1647. In the years before and immediately after his death were published a small flurry of works in Venice. Editions *Messa da requiem a 4 (Venice, posthumous 1650) – edited with Requiem (1653) of Bonaventura Rubino. 1999. A copy is preserved in the Archive of the Sing-Akademie Zu Berlin, complete with needlessly disparaging comments in the handwriting of Carl Friedrich Zelter. *Sacro Armonie a tre voci con Basso Continuo por sonar il Clavicembalo ò altro Stromento di Mario Capuana Maestro di Capella. *Mario Capuana Motetti concertati a due, tre, quattro e cinque voci (1649) edition 1998. – This is one of the series of Renaissance Sicilian composers including Claudio Pari, Pietro Vinci, Antonio Il Verso, Antonio Formica, Tommaso Giglio, Anselmo Fazio, Giovan Pietro Flaccomio, Erasmo Marotta, Sigismondo d’India, Giandomenico Martoretta, Cataldo Amodei, Bartolomeo Montalbano, Bonaventura Rubino, and Vincenzo Gallo. Recordings *Parce mihi, Domine. on Fabellae Sacrae by Savadi. Pan 2

Martin Agricola

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Martin Agricola (6 January 1486 – 10 June 1556) was a German composer of Renaissance music and a music theorist. From 1524 until his death, he lived in the German city of Magdeburg, where he was a teacher or cantor in the Protestant school. Georg Rhau, a publisher and senator in Wittenberg, was Agricola’s close friend and publisher. Agricola’s theoretical writing was valuable in expounding the change from the old to the new system of musical notation. His Musica instrumentalis deudsch (English: German Instrumental Music), published in 1528, 1530, 1532 and 1542, and then heavily revised in 1545, was one of the most important early works in organology and on the elements of music. Agricola was the first to harmonize in four parts Martin Luther’s famous chorale, “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (English: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. Notes References ;Attribution * Further reading *Translation of Musica Instrumentalis Deudsch *Classical Composers Database * *

Martin Peerson

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Martin Peerson (or Pearson, Pierson, Peereson) (between 1571 and 1573 – December 1650 or January 1651 and buried 16 January 1651) was an English composer, organist and virginalist. Despite Roman Catholic leanings at a time when it was illegal not to subscribe to Church of England beliefs and practices, he was highly esteemed for his musical abilities and held posts at St Paul’s Cathedral and, it is believed, Westminster Abbey. His output included both sacred and secular music in forms such as consort music, keyboard pieces, madrigals and motets. Life and career From Peerson’s will and the March marriage registers, it appears that he was the son of Thomas and Margaret Peerson of March, Cambridgeshire, in England. It is believed that Martin Peerson was born in the town of March between 1571 and 1573, as records show that his parents married in 1570, but a “Margaret Peersonn” was married in 1573. It therefore seems that Thomas Peerson died a few years after 1570 and that Martin’s mother remarried. In the 1580s, Peerson was a choirboy of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London under organist Thomas Mulliner. Subsequently, he came under the patronage of the poet Fulke Greville. On May Day in 160

Martin Peudargent

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Martin Peudargent (or Peu d’argent, also Martin von Huy; Huy, c. 1510-1570s) was a Flemish composer and chapel master of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in Düsseldorf. Mainly motets survive from Peudargents hand. His motetcollection from 1555 is known as the first music to ever be printed in Düsseldorf. Peudargents musical style is typical for the Flemish school and closely resembles that of composers such as Clemens non Papa, even though Peudargent sticks less to Gregorian modes and strives towards a stronger textual expression. Works (selection) * Sacrarum Cantionum I, 12 motets for 5 voices, J. Bathen, Düsseldorf 1555 * Sacrarum Cantionum II, 14 motets, of which 1 for 6 voices and 13 for 5 voices, J. Bathen, Düsseldorf 1555 * Novi prorsus et elegantis libri musici, in quo continentur partim suavissima … Moteta … latinae & gallicae 4-, 5-, 6-voiced Motets, Oridryus & Buysius, Düsseldorf 1561. Aside of works by Peudargent also music by Josquin Baston, Pierre de Manchicourt, Jean de Latre and Clemens non Papa. This publication has disappeared during the Second World War. * Misit me vivens pater 4 voices, Irrogat omnipotens 6 voices in: Sacrarum Cantionum diversorum autorum

Massimo Troiano

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Massimo Troiano (died after April 1570) was an Italian Renaissance composer, poet, and a brief, but vivid chronicler of life at the court of Bavaria’s ruler, Duke Albrecht V in the late 1560s, the only period in which Troiano is known to history. Life Nothing is known of Troiano’s early life other than that he was from the vicinity of Naples, possibly from the town of Corduba, since in his first and second books of canzoni he calls himself “Massimo Troiano di Corduba da Napoli”. Only his activities during the three-year span of 1567-70 are documented, but those in some detail. In 1567 he published in Treviso a book of canzoni, secular songs on his own verse. By early 1568 he was in Munich, in the service of the House of Wittelsbach, singing in the Bavarian Hofkapelle under the direction of Orlande de Lassus. He traveled between Munich and Venice at least twice, with one extended stay in Venice in 1569, where he waited for the Duke of Bavaria to send him money and an acceptance letter for continued service. He remained in Munich until Easter 1570, when he was accused of murdering one of his musical colleagues, and fled. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he was never found, an

Mateo Flecha

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Mateo Flecha (Catalan: Mateu Fletxa; 1481–1553) was a Spanish composer born in Kingdom of Aragon, in the region of Prades. He is sometimes known as “El Viejo” (the elder) to distinguish him from his nephew, Mateo Flecha “El Joven” (the younger), also a composer of madrigals. “El Viejo” is best known for his ensaladas, published in Prague in 1581 by the same nephew. Life and career Mateo Flecha directed the music at the cathedral of Lleida (September 1523 – October 1525). From there he moved to Guadalajara, in the service for six years of the Duke, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. From there he went to Valencia where he assumed direction of the chapel choir of the Duke of Calabria. While thus employed, three of his works were included in songbooks associated with that chapel, including the Cancionero de Uppsala. In 1537 Flecha moved to Sigüenza where he served as maestro di cappella for two years. From 1544 to 1548 he lived in the castle at Arévalo as teacher of the Infantas Maria and Joanna, daughters of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558). Toward the end of his life Mateo Flecha became a monk of the Cistercian Order, living in the Monastery at Poblet, where he died in 1553. Flecha'

Mateo Flecha el Joven

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Mateo Flecha el Joven, in Catalan Mateu Fletxa el Jove (Prades. Baix Camp, c. 1530 – Sant Pere de la Portella, Berguedà, 20 February 1604) was a Catalan composer, and nephew of Mateo Flecha the Elder. He took up the Carmelite habit in Valencia. Much appreciated by Pope Sixtus V, he was an outstanding musician and prefect of the musicians of Charles V. After residing in Italy for an uncertain period, in 1564 he was chaplain to Maria-Theresa, wife of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and later he was a singer of the imperial chapel. When Maximilian died, Emperor Rudolf II names him Abbot of Tihany (Plattensee, Hungary). In the years 1570, 1581 and 1586, he travellend along Spain to recruit singers for the imperial chapel. His main works were published in Venice and in Prague, a city he had visited several times. In Venice he published Il 1.° libro de madrigali a 4 et 5 (1568, “The First Book of Madrigals at 4/5 voices”), a collection of 31 madrigals. In Prague he printed, in 1581, three polyphonic music books: Libro de música de punto, in four volumes but lost, Divinarum completarum psalmi, incomplete, and Las ensaladas, dedicated to Giovanni Borgia. This latest collection contains

Mateo Romero (composer)

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Mateo Romero (ca. 1575 – 1647) was a Belgian-born Spanish composer of Baroque music and master of the royal chapel. Biography Romero was born as Mathieu Rosmarin in Liège, Belgium, and, following the early death of his father was, like many children from the then-Spanish Netherlands, recruited as a child to serve as a choir boy at the Madrid court. Between 1586 and 1593 he was taught in Spain by his countrymen George de la Hèle and Philippe Rogier. He took the name Romero in 1594. In 1598 he was maestro de capilla at the Spanish court of Philip II of Spain and Philip III of Spain. He remained in this position till 1634. In 1609 he was ordained a priest and was private chaplain to Philipp III. He was also secretary of the Order of the Golden Fleece. After the death of Philip, he was also chaplain to King John IV of Portugal. Romero was one of the most appreciated composers of his time; he was known as “El Maestro Capitan”. His service extended over the threshold of two musical eras, the Renaissance and Baroque. Although he was not part of the polyphonic school of the great Franco-Flemish school, he played an important role in the introduction of Italian stile moderno in Spain. Works

Mathieu Gascongne

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Mathieu Gascongne (first name also Matthieu or Matthias; last name also Gascogne, Gascongus, Gascone, Gasconia, and Guascogna; fl. early 16th century) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Contemporaries, such as Adrian Willaert (as quoted by the renowned Venetian theorist Zarlino) grouped him with Josquin, Ockeghem, and Jean Mouton as among the finest composers of the time. Compared with those others, however, little of his output has survived. Life Little is known for certain about his life, and there are two principal theories regarding where he lived and worked. The first is that he was associated with the French royal court, for he wrote several motets for official occasions (such as the coronation of King Francis I in 1515); this would have put him there at the same time as Jean Mouton and just after Antoine de Févin. In addition, one document describes him as a priest of the Meaux diocese, and also associates him with the cathedral in Tours; it also names him as a singer in the royal chapel in 1517–1518. A second theory is that he was associated with a group of composers active at Cambrai, since his music appears in manuscripts there. Possibly both theories are correct,

Matthaeus Pipelare

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Matthaeus Pipelare (c. 1450 – c. 1515) was a Netherlandish composer, choir director, and possibly wind instrument player of the Renaissance. He was from Louvain, and spent part of his early life in Antwerp. Unlike many of his contemporaries, many of whom traveled to Italy, Spain or elsewhere, he seems never to have left the Low Countries. In spring 1498 he became the choir director at the Illustrious Confraternity of Our Lady at ’s-Hertogenbosch, a position he held until 1500. From his name it is presumed that either he or perhaps his father was a wind player, for example a town piper. Pipelare’s style was wide-ranging; he wrote in almost all of the vocal forms current in his day: masses, motets, secular songs in all the local languages. No instrumental music has survived. In mood his music ranged from light secular songs to sombre motets related to those of Pierre de La Rue, an almost exact contemporary. He wrote 11 complete masses which have survived to modern times (although many of the manuscripts were destroyed in the Second World War), as well as 10 motets, and 8 chansons; the chansons are both in French and Dutch. One of the masses is a four-voice cantus firmus setting of L'

Mattheus Le Maistre

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Mattheus Le Maistre or Matthaeus Le Maistre ( 1505–1577) was a Flemish Renaissance choirmaster and composer who is best known for his time in Dresden. His music was superior but in no way progressive, influential in both Counter-Reformation and Lutheran courts. Biography Early life and employment Born circa 1505 in Roclenge-sur-Geer, in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège yet he studied music from his early childhood Nothing is known regarding the identity of his musical instructors. It is speculated that, prior to his time in Munich, he worked in Leipzig because his name appears in music directories there. As such he was the first in a line of foreign musicians employed at the Bayerischer Hofkapelle. Here he introduced Propers for the weekdays. Additional perks of the position included one new uniform each year, plus free food upon the occasions of a court banquet. and although officially retired he retained the title of Kapellmeister and remained at the Saxon court until his death. It therefore follows that his writings have been described as both humanistic and pedagogic. He was among the early composers to write chorales with the melody defined in the treble, writing in this manner a

Matthias Werrecore

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Hermann Matthias Werrecore (c. 1500 in village of Warcoing, Pecq – after 1574) was a Flemish composer in Italy. He was maestro di cappella of Milan Cathedral from 1522 to 1550 where he was in charge of eleven adult singers and seven choirboys. Works His best known work is La Bataglia Taliana for four voices, originally published with the German title Die Schlacht vor Pavia (1544), reissued as La Bataglia Taliana con alcune villotte piacevole (Venezia, Gardane, 1549). A battaglia in memory of the Battle of Pavia 1525. The villotte include Andand’ a spasso. His surviving sacred compositions consist of his Cantuum quinque vocum (quos motetta vocant) Hermanni Matthiae Werrecorensis musici excelentissimi, liber primus (1559) dedicated to Antonius Marinus Pansanus, as well as a few other works found in collections and manuscripts. Recordings * La Bataglia taliana in collection War And Faith - composers Giovanni Gabrieli, Andrea Gabrieli, Clément Janequin, Giorgio Mainerio. La Fenice, Daltrocantro, Il Terzo Suono, Gianpaolo Fagotto. Arts Music 2004 * La Bataglia taliana on collection La Pellegrina - composers Giovanni de Bardi, Cristofano Malvezzi, Emilio de Cavalieri, Jacopo Peri Huelgas

Mattio Rampollini

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Mattio Rampollini (also Matteo) (?June 2, 1497 – c. 1553) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, active in Florence. Employed by the Medici, he was a colleague of the more famous Francesco Corteccia, and was noted for his madrigals, some composed for the opulent entertainments of the Medici court. He is mainly known as a contributing composer to the Intermedio of 1539. Biography Little is known about his early life. He was probably born in Florence, and the only records of his career are from that city. When Bernardo Pisano left Florence Cathedral to go to Rome in 1520, Rampollini took over the job of singing teacher to the boys there; around this time he may have been Corteccia’s teacher as well. In 1539 he provided some of the music for the wedding of Duke Cosimo de’ Medici and Eleanora di Toledo. The Venetian printer Antonio Gardano printed two madrigals from this wedding in 1539, Ecco la fida and Lieta per honorarte, along with the rest of the music (mostly composed by Corteccia). He evidently was employed by the Medici for his entire life. The largest surviving work of his, the setting of a cycle of seven canzoni by Petrarch, was published in 1554 by Jacques Moderne of Ly

Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Life Maurice was born in Kassel, the son of William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and of his wife Sabine of Württemberg. Although Maurice had been raised in the Lutheran faith, he converted to Calvinism in 1605. On the principle Cuius regio eius religio, Maurice’s subjects were also required to convert to Calvinism. Maurice’s conversion was controversial since the Peace of Augsburg had only settled religious matters between Roman Catholics and Lutherans and had not considered Calvinists. Maurice tried to introduce Calvinism to the lands which he had inherited from the extinct Hesse-Marburg branch of his family. Such a change of faith was contrary to the inheritance rules, and resulted in an ongoing conflict with the Hesse-Darmstadt branch . It also brought him into conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, Matthias. English strolling players (‘Die Englische Comoedianten’) were frequent visitors to, and performers in, towns and cities in Germany and other European countries, including Kassel,

Melchior Franck

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Melchior Franck (c. 1579 – 1 June 1639) was a German composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a hugely prolific composer of Lutheran church music, especially motets, and assisted in bringing the stylistic innovations of the Venetian School north across the Alps into Germany. Life Details of his early life are sparse, as is common for composers of the time. He was born in Zittau, and possibly studied with Christoph Demantius there, and also later with Adam Gumpelzhaimer in Augsburg. By 1601 Franck was in Nuremberg, as a music teacher; there he met Hans Leo Hassler, and learned from him both the Venetian polychoral style and the polyphonic style of the high Renaissance, both of which he incorporated into his own composition. In 1602 he took a position as Kapellmeister in Coburg to Prince Johann Casimir, and he remained in Coburg for the rest of his life. For the earlier portion of this time, the situation was ideal for him; he was supported by his patron, and had the resources necessary to carry on his composing. The Thirty Years’ War devastated the region around Coburg; in addition to the military depredations, typhus brought by the armies depopulated the enti

Melchior Vulpius

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Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570 in Wasungen – 7 August 1615 in Weimar) was a German singer and composer of church music. Vulpius came from a poor craftsman’s family. He studied at the local school in Wasungen (in Thuringia) with . From 1588, he attended the school in Speyer. After marrying in 1589, he obtained a position at the Gymnasium in Schleusingen. In 1596, he was named cantor in Weimar. He wrote and published church music, the best known being the setting of the hymn "" (Ah, stay with your grace) on a text by . This setting was often performed in Protestant churches on New Year’s Day and at the end of the service. Important compilations were (1602, 1604), (1604), (1605) and (1609). The Cantional (a collection of songs) was published posthumously in 1646 in Gotha. The St. Matthew Passion is another of Vulpius’ well-known works. By the middle of the 17th century, the music for the Passion had spread also to Sweden and later to Finland. Based on the several copies of music manuscripts that have been preserved in different archives in Finland, it can be concluded that the Passion became rather popular there. According to historical sources, this was the very first polyphonic passion c

Michael Altenburg

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Michael Altenburg (27 May 1584 – 12 February 1640) was a German theologian and composer. Altenburg was born at Alach, near Erfurt. He began attending school in Erfurt in 1590; he began studying theology at the University of Erfurt in 1598, and was awarded a bachelor’s degree in 1599 and a master’s in 1603. From 1600 he taught at the Reglerschule in Erfurt; he was Kantor at St. Andreas from 1601 and rector of the school at St. Andreas in Erfurt from 1607. In 1609 he quit teaching to become a pastor, moving to Tröchtelborn and preaching there until 1621. During this period Altenburg published music, and was compared to Orlando di Lasso. After 1621 he moved to Sömmerda, working at the Bonifaciuskirche. While he continued to publish and was respected for his compositions, the Thirty Years War sapped his efforts. In 1636 a massive plague wiped out most of his congregation, and his wife and ten of his children died before himself. He returned to Erfurt in 1637, where he remained as deacon and, from 1638, minister at St Andreas. Much of Altenburg’s compositional output consists of vocal concertos, motets and chorales. Works, hymns, editions and recordings Works *Passion after Isaiah ch. 5

Michael East (composer)

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Michael East (or Easte, Est, Este) (c. 1580–1648) was an English organist and composer. He was a nephew of London music publisher Thomas East (c. 1540–1608), although it was once thought that he was his son. In 1601, East wrote a madrigal that was accepted by Thomas Morley for publication in his collection The Triumphs of Oriana. In 1606, he received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Cambridge and in 1609 he joined the choir of Ely Cathedral, initially as a lay clerk. Elias Ashmole was a chorister at Lichfield, and later recalled that “Mr Michael East … was my tutor for song and Mr Henry Hinde, organist of the Cathedral … taught me on the virginals and organ”. East’s exact date of death is not known, but he died at Lichfield. His will was written on 7 January 1648 and proved on 9 May 1648. It mentions his wife Dorothy, daughter Mary Hamersly, and a son and grandson both named Michael. Thurston Dart is quoted as saying, “despite some slipshod part-writing, they are among the best five-part consorts of the time”. Works East was one of the most published composers of his era ; he published seven groups of compositions: * Groups 1 and 2: madrigals for three and five voi

Michael Maier

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Michael Maier (; 1568–1622) was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg. He was a learned alchemist, epigramist, and amateur composer. Early life Maier was born in Rendsburg, Holstein, the son of a specialist in beadwork in embroidery named Peter Maier. In the service of Rudolf II (1609–1611) In 1608, he went to Prague, and on 19 September 1609, he formally entered the service of Rudolf II as his physician and imperial counsellor. Ten days later, Rudolf raised him to the hereditary nobility and gave him the title of Imperial Count Palatine. Maier left the city that month. He corresponded with Moritz of Hessen-Kassel, and visited Hessen-Kassel’s brother-in-law, Count Ernst III of Holstein-Schauenburg. He was also a guest of Christoph Reinhard, Doctor of Laws and town syndic of Mühlhausen, to whom he later dedicated his book Atalanta Fugiens. From there he continued on to London arriving in 1611 or 1612. Whether he had arrived in person or not by Christmas 1611 is unknown, but he did send Christmas cards to both James I and his son Prince Henry. He composed a wedding song for the nuptials of Frederick V of the Palatinate to Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I. He wa

Michael Praetorius

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Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns. Life Praetorius was born Michael Schultze, the youngest son of a Lutheran pastor, in Creuzburg, in present-day Thuringia. After attending school in Torgau and Zerbst, he studied divinity and philosophy at the University of Frankfurt (Oder). He was fluent in a number of languages. After receiving his musical education, from 1587 he served as organist at the Marienkirche in Frankfurt. From 1592/3 he served at the court in Wolfenbüttel, under the employ of Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He served in the duke’s State Orchestra, first as organist and later (from 1604) as Kapellmeister (court music director). His first compositions appeared around 1602/3. Their publication primarily reflects the care for music at the court of Gröningen. The motets of this collection were the first in Germany to make use of the new Italian performance practices; as a result, they established him as a proficient composer. These “mo

Michelagnolo Galilei

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Michelagnolo Galilei (sometimes spelled Michelangelo; 18 December 15753 January 1631) was an Italian composer and lutenist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, active mainly in Bavaria and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the son of music theorist and lutenist Vincenzo Galilei, and the younger brother of the scientist Galileo Galilei. Life Galilei was born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He learned to play the lute at an early age, like his father. Most likely he was destined for a career in Florence, but when his father died in 1591, the sixteen-year-old lutenist was put in the charge of his older brother Galileo Galilei, who was in Padua. Some other employment had to be found for Michelagnolo, so in 1593 he went to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where foreign musicians were much in demand. Most likely he went there with the powerful Lithuanian Radziwiłł family. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had several sophisticated musical establishments at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, especially at Kraków: Luca Marenzio, one of Italy’s most famous madrigal composers, went there for a time, as did lutenists Diomedes Cato and Valentin Ba

Miguel de Fuenllana

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Miguel de Fuenllana (c.1500–1579) was a Spanish vihuelist and composer of the Renaissance. Biography Little is known of his life. It is assumed from his name that his roots lie in the municipality of Fuenllana, in the province of Ciudad Real, although he was born in Navalcarnero, Madrid. Blind from birth, he composed a Libro de música para vihuela intitulado Orphenica Lyra (Seville, 1554), dedicated to Philip II of Spain. At the arrival of Isabel de Valois, third wife of Philip II, she brought with her a group of French instrumental musicians who wished to stay in the Spanish court; Fuenllana alternated with this group and his musical works were performed together with those of foreign artists. At the death of the queen in 1568, he continued serving in the Spanish court. He later served Don Sebastian of Portugal in Lisbon starting in 1574. Works Orphénica Lyra comprises 182 pieces in six volumes. In the first three, the pieces are ordered ascending by the number of voices, passing through 2 and 3 in the first to 5 and 6 in the motets of the third volume. The book includes 51 fantasias newly composed by Fuenllanas alongside works of 17 other composers. His style is polyphonic with a

Mikołaj Gomółka

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Mikołaj Gomółka (c. 1535 – after 30 April 1591, most probably 5 March 1609) was a Polish Renaissance composer and a member of the royal court of Sigismund II Augustus. At the court, he served as a singer, flutist, and trumpeter. Life Gomółka was born in Sandomierz. Between 1545 and 1563, he resided at the royal court, where he acquired proficiency in playing the flute, the ‘sztort’ (an old Polish wind instrument, a prototype of the bassoon), the violin, and the lute. He eventually became a full-fledged musician of the royal chapel. After leaving the court, he took on various social and legal roles in Sandomierz. He spent some time at the court of Kraków bishop Piotr Myszkowski, Gomółka also conducted mining research near Muszyna and resided at the court of Jan Zamoyski in Kraków. As of 30 April 1591, he was still living there, which marks the last known date of his life. The only preserved work by Gomółka is a collection of 150 independent compositions to the text of David’s Psalter by Jan Kochanowski, for four-part unaccompanied mixed choir. The music is fully subordinated to the contents and the expressive layer of the text; he illustrates the mood or particular words by means of

Mikołaj z Radomia

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Mikołaj Radomski, also called Mikołaj z Radomia and Nicholas of Radom, was an early 15th-century Polish composer. He was connected with the court of Władysław Jagiełło and wrote polyphonic music renowned for its expression of religious contemplation. Life and career Mikołaj z Radomia was a Polish composer working in the first half of the 15th century, probably in Kraków, known only through his signatures on a few compositions: „N. de Radom”, „Nicolaus de Radom” and „Mycolay Radomsky”. Searches for the composer’s identity have not brought any results so far. Hypotheses have been put forward in the literature (for example H. Musielak) linking the identity of Mikołaj with any person in the sources with that name (e.g. „Nicolaus clavicembalista dominae reginae Poloniae” from 1422, „Nicolaus Geraldi de Radom”, who studied in Kraków, where he gained his master’s degree, and in the years 1389–91 was named in the Vatican acts as a spiritual person born in Radom and linked with the Kraków diocese, a few Mikołajs from Radom studying in the Kraków Academy in the years 1420, 1426 and others, a few signed in manuscripts from the second half of the 14th century and the second half of the 15th ce

Mikołaj Zieleński

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Mikołaj Zieleński (or Zelenscius; ) was a Polish composer, organist, and Kapellmeister to the primate Baranowski, Archbishop of Gniezno. Life Neither the date of his birth nor of his death are known; documents from Płock Cathedral state he was from Warka and show him to have been a member of the diocese in 1604 and organist in 1606, and in 1611 he married and was involved in a court case. The March 1611 dedication of his book places him at the Archbishop’s court in Łowicz, and that Baranowski hired no replacement suggests he may have survived his patron, who died in 1615. Zieleński’s only known surviving works are contained in two 1611 liturgical cycles of polychoral works, the Offertoria/Communes totius anni. These were dedicated to the Archbishop of Gniezno, Wojciech Baranowski. The whole comprises eight part-books and a ninth book, the Partitura pro organo, which constitutes the organ accompaniment. This publication contains in all 131 pieces written for various vocal and also vocal and instrumental ensembles, all with organ accompaniment. In addition to Offertories and Communions the two volume Venetian publication contains over a dozen other pieces, such as hymns, antiphons, a

Nathaniel Giles

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Nathaniel Giles (1558 – 1633 or 1634) was an English Renaissance organist and composer. He was the organist for Worcester Cathedral and wrote Anglican anthems. While Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal he took over Blackfriars Theatre in a business arrangement with producer Henry Evans and there he worked with Ben Jonson on a children’s company. Giles had the power under a royal warrant to impress children for service in the Chapel Royal. He allowed Evans and others to use the warrant to legally abduct children not for service as choir boys, but to work in their theatre. When in 1600 they abducted the son of a nobleman, this led to the Clifton Star Chamber Case. He was also a master of the Choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle and an organist at Westminster Abbey. His Te Deum (Durham Cathedral manuscript A2, folio 56) has instructions for the organist to play an octave lower than written, and one assumes this is to give the ‘dark’ sonority of a 10 ft organ stop rather than the everyday colour of the standard 5 ft Principal stop of the Tudor organ. His Vestigia mea dirige was included in the manuscript collection known as the Dow Partbooks. His son, Nathaniel Giles beca

Nicholas Lanier

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Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere (baptised 10 September 1588 – buried 24 February 1666) an honour given to musicians of great distinction. He was the court musician, a composer and performer and Groom of the Chamber in the service of King Charles I and Charles II. He was also a singer, lutenist, scenographer and painter. Biography Nicholas Lanier was a descendant of a French family of royal musicians, the Lanière family, who were Huguenots, and was baptised at Greenwich. His father and grandfather left France to escape persecutions. His aunt, Emilia Bassano, was the daughter of Venetian musicians at the Tudor court and, before her marriage to Alfonso Lanier, had been the mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, and possibly Henry Wriothesly, Earl of Southampton. Historian A. L. Rowse suggested that she may well have been the famous Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The family settled in England in 1561. Nicholas Lanier was the son of Frances Galliardello and John Lanier, who was the son of Nicholas Lanier the Elder, court musician to the French King Henry II. His maternal grandfather was another royal musician, Mark Anthony Galliardello. Nicholas was fir

Nicholas Ludford

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Nicholas Ludford (c. 1485 – 1557 ) was an English composer of the Tudor period. He is known for his festal masses, which are preserved in two early-16th-century choirbooks, the Caius Choirbook at Caius College, Cambridge, and the Lambeth Choirbook at Lambeth Palace, London. His surviving antiphons, all incomplete, are copied in the Peterhouse partbooks (Henrican set), which disappeared from view until some were rediscovered in 1850, and the rest only in 1926. Ludford is well known as being the composer of the only surviving cycle of Lady Masses, small-scale settings of the Ordinary and Propers in three parts to be sung in the smaller chapels of religious institutions on each day of the week. Ludford’s composing career, which appears to have ended in 1535, is seen as bridging the gap between the music of Robert Fayrfax (1465–1521) and that of John Taverner (1490–1545). Music scholar David Skinner has called Ludford “one of the last unsung geniuses of Tudor polyphony”. In his Oxford History of English Music, John Caldwell observes of Ludford’s six-part Mass and Magnificat Benedicta that it “is more a matter of astonishment that such mastery should be displayed by a composer of whom v

Nicola Vicentino

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Nicola Vicentino (1511 – 1575 or 1576) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most progressive musicians of the age, inventing, among other things, a microtonal keyboard. Life Little is known of his early life. Born in Vicenza, he may have studied with Adrian Willaert in Venice, which was close by, and he acquired an early interest in the contemporary humanistic revival, including the study of ancient Greek music theory and performance practice (about which little was known, but was then being uncovered, through the work of scholars such as Girolamo Mei and Giangiorgio Trissino). At some time in the 1530s or early 1540s, he went to Ferrara, which was to become the center for experimental secular music in Italy from the middle to the end of the 16th century. Apparently, he served as a music tutor to the Duke of Ferrara and some of his family members in the House of Este, and some of Vincentino’s music was sung at the court of Ferrara. During the late 1540s, his reputation as a music theorist grew. He established his reputation as a composer with his publication of a book of madrigals in Venice in 1546, and in 1551 he took part in one of the

Nicolao Dorati

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Nicolao Dorati (c. 1513 – February 1593) was an Italian composer and trombone player of the Renaissance, active in Lucca. Although he was primarily an instrumentalist, all of his published music is vocal, and consists mainly of madrigals. A few details are known of his life. He was part of a family of musicians, many of whom were trombonists in Lucca, and he was born in that town. A younger brother, Bartolomeo, also played the trombone. Nicolao was hired as a trombonist by the city when it created the Cappella di Palazzo in 1543, and in 1557 he became director of that ensemble, a position he kept for the rest of his life. Most of Dorati’s surviving music was published in Venice. He produced three collections of madrigals for five voices (1549, 1561, 1567); a book of madrigals for from five to eight voices (1551); a collection of madrigals for four voices entitled Le stanze della signora Vittoria Colonna (1570); and a book of madrigals for six voices (1579). In addition to this considerable output of secular music, he wrote at least three motets, two of which were for six voices and published in 1585, and one of which survives incomplete. Additionally, a few works appear in publicat

Nicolas Champion

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Nicolas Champion (also Nicolas Liégeois, dis le Liégeois; c. 1475 – 20 September 1533) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the renowned musical establishments of the Habsburg court, including the chapels of Philip I of Castile and Charles V. While with Philip’s chapel he was a close associate of composers such as Pierre de La Rue, Marbrianus de Orto and Alexander Agricola. Life Champion was born in or near Liège, where he probably received his early training. Little information survives regarding his early life and the first record relating to his involvement with Philip’s Grande chapelle, the Habsburg chapel choir, dates from 13 November 1501, prior to Philip’s first trip to Spain. He was one of the few singers who remained with the chapel after Philip’s death in 1506, maintained by his wife Joanna the Mad; for several years after Philip’s death, Joanna traveled around Castile with his corpse in its coffin, having her chapel choir sing requiems to it each night, until her father Ferdinand I finally had her locked up in the fortress at Tordesillas. After the dissolution of Joanna’s chapel, Champion joined the chapel of Charles V. While th

Nicolas de La Grotte

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Nicolas de La Grotte (also La Crotte) (1530 – c. 1600) was a French composer and keyboard player of the Renaissance. He was well known as a performer on the organ and on the spinet, as well as a composer of chansons. In addition, he was one of very few French composers of the 16th century with a surviving composition written specifically for the keyboard. Life Nothing is known about his early life; the first record of La Grotte’s life is from 1557, when he was employed as a keyboard player (organ and spinet) to the King of Navarre, Antoine de Bourbon, at Pau in southwestern France. In 1562 he was given a position with the Duke of Anjou, along with Guillaume Costeley, and when the Duke of Anjou became King Henry III of France in 1574, La Grotte acquired the prestigious post of ‘vallet de chambre et organiste ordinaire’. His reputation as an organist seems to have been high; several writers in the early 1580s, such as La Croix du Maine and Jean Dorat, praised his playing. Between 1586 and 1589 he attempted to purchase land outside of Paris (whether he was successful is not known) and he went to Tours during the 1590 siege of Paris, where he stayed with the as-yet-uncrowned Henry IV o

Nicolas Gombert

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Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495 – c. 1560) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history. Life Details of his early life are sketchy, but he was probably born around 1495 in southern Flanders, probably between Lille and Saint-Omer, possibly in the town of La Gorgue. German writer and music theorist Hermann Finck wrote that Gombert studied with Josquin; this would have been during the renowned composer’s retirement in Condé-sur-l’Escaut, sometime between 1515 and 1521. Gombert was employed by the emperor Charles V as a singer in his court chapel in 1526 and possibly as a composer as well. Most likely he was taken on while Charles was passing through Flanders, for the emperor traveled often, bringing his retinue with him, and picking up new members as he went. A document dated 1529 mentions Gombert as magister puerorum (“master of the boys”) for the royal chapel. The exact duration of his service in the galleys is not known, but he was able to continue composing for at least part of the time. He

Nicolas Millot

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Nicolas Millot (d. 1590 or later) was a French composer of the late Renaissance, mainly of chansons. He was also a singer in the French royal chapel, which he served in various capacities for about thirty years. After Claude Goudimel, Guillaume Costeley, and Nicolas de La Grotte, he was one of the leading composers of chansons in France in the 1560s. Life No information has yet been found regarding his early life. The earliest surviving records involves his employment with the Ste Chapelle in Paris at the end of 1559, where a Noel Millot, probably the same person, was one of the clerks. By the next year he begins to appear in the archives of the French royal chapel as a singer, and he remained there until at least 1590. Among his duties was the recruitment of singers from other regions of France. In 1572, Charles IX sent him to Tours to find choirboys. There are several other references to his activity in the royal chapel in the 1570s and 1580s, including a mention that he was one of the maîtres de chapelle of Henry III in 1575, and that he had been sous-maître de la chapelle de musique du Roy for 20 years by 1585. He seems to have ended his career as master of the choirboys (maîtr

Nicolas Payen

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Nicolas Payen (also Nicolas Colin) (c. 1512, in Soignies – after April 24, 1559) was a Franco-Flemish composer and choirmaster of the Renaissance, associated with the Grande Chapelle, the Habsburg imperial chapel, at the end of the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Life Payen was born in Soignies, and received his earliest musical training in that town, in the church of St. Vincent. When he was about 13 years old he went to Spain to sing in the choir of Charles V; children were commonly recruited in the Low Countries for service in the imperial chapel. In the 1530s he may have attended university, but this portion of his life is poorly documented. In the 1540s he rose in the chapel hierarchy, becoming successively a clerk and a chaplain, and in 1556 he took over the post of maestro di capilla, the director of music, from Cornelius Canis who had retired the previous year simultaneously with the abdication of Charles V. Thus Payen became the first maestro di capilla for Habsburg monarch Philip II of Spain. Payen acquired honors including prebends. In 1558 he became canon at the church in Tournai. He died in Madrid the next year or shortly after. Music and influence Payen’s musi

Nicolaus Zacharie

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Nicolaus Zacharie (c. 1400 or before – 1466) was an Italian composer of the early Renaissance. Until recently he had been confused with the earlier composer Zacara da Teramo, but recent research has established his identity; he was one of a few native Italian composers working in the early 15th century whose work has survived. Life He was probably from Brindisi or somewhere nearby, on the evidence of papal archives. The earliest solid record of his life is February 7, 1420, when he was employed at Florence Cathedral as a singer; on the evidence of his motet Letetur plebs, which includes the comment in the score “composed in Taranto, in a great hurry” it is presumed he was already active as a composer prior to coming to Florence in 1420. Just a few months later – June 1 – Pope Martin V hired him during a trip to Florence, taking him back to the papal choir in Rome, probably in September when he returned there, having successfully ended the Western Schism a few years before. Zacharie remained in the choir until 1424, and after an absence of ten years joined again for a few months in 1434; his whereabouts between those two periods is unknown. At the end of his life he was a chaplain a

Nikolaus Decius

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Nikolaus Decius (also Degius, Deeg, Tech a Curia, and Nickel von Hof; c. 1485 – 21 March 1541 ) was a German monk, hymn-writer, Protestant reformer and composer. Biography He was probably born in Hof in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, around 1485. He studied at the University of Leipzig and obtained a master’s degree at Wittenburg University in 1523 and became a monk. Although a monk, he was an advocate of the Protestant Reformation and a disciple of Martin Luther. He wrote in 1523 “Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr”, a German paraphrase of the Latin Gloria, adapted by Luther in 1525. Decius’s version was first sung on Easter Day at Braunschweig on 5 April 1523. Decius’s Low German version first appeared in print in Gesang Buch by Joachim Sluter, printed in 1525. In 1526, Decius became preacher at the Church of St. Nicholas in Stettin at the same time as Paulus von Rhode was appointed preacher at St. James’s in Stettin. In 1535 he became pastor of St. Nicholas and died there in March 1541 after a suspected poisoning. Shortly before his death he wrote the hymn “O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig” (O Lamb of God, innocent) sung on a tune from the 13th century. Decius’s version was first published in A

Nikolaus Herman

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Nikolaus Herman (first name also Nicolaus or Niklas; 1500 – 3 May 1561) was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages. Career Herman was born in Altdorf. In 1518 he came as cantor and teacher at the Latin School of Joachimsthal (now Jáchymov, Bohemia). He was a supporter of the Reformation; a letter of Martin Luther to him is dated 6 November 1524. He collaborated with people such as Johannes Mathesius, who served there from 1532 as principal of the school, and from 1540 as a pastor. On 24 June 1557 Herman retired. He published his hymns, which he wrote primarily for teaching children, in 1560 under the title (The Sundays’ Gospels through the year in songs written for the children and Christian fathers). Hymns Several of his hymns are part of present-day hymnals, such as the current German Protestant hymnal (EG) and the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob (GL). He created text and melody for a few hymns: * "" (also: “allzugleich”) (Praise God, you Christians all the same) (EG 27, GL 134): The hymn text was published in 1560, with a melody Herman had already published in 1554 (then as tune of “”, Zahn N

Ninot le Petit

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Ninot le Petit (also Johannes Parvi) (fl. ca. 1500 – 1520) was a French composer of the Renaissance, probably associated with the French royal chapel. Although a substantial amount of his music has survived in several sources, his actual name is not known with certainty. Life Two identifications have been proposed by musicologists in the latter half of the 20th century. The first possibility, suggested by Barton Hudson in 1979, is that le Petit may have been Johannes Baltazar alias le Petit, since a singer of that name was in the papal chapel between 1488 and 1502, and his name resembles that in the attribution of some “le Petit” motets in a Vatican manuscript. The second possibility is that “le Petit” may be the same as Jean Lepetit, the singing master at Langres Cathedral between 1506 and 1510. Baltazar died in 1502, Lepetit after 1529; stylistically the music of le Petit suggests composition in the first two decades of the 16th century. Music and influence Le Petit’s style is similar to that of Antoine de Févin and Jean Mouton, the two most famous French composers associated with the French royal chapel. He preferred clear harmonies, a texture occasionally broken by long duets,

Noel Bauldeweyn

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Noel Bauldeweyn (first name also Noe, Natalis; surname also Balbun, Balduin, Bauldewijn, Baulduin, Baulduvin, and Valdovin; (c. 1480 – after 1513) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in the Low Countries. A contemporary of Josquin des Prez, he had a strong reputation until well after the middle of the 16th century. That some of his works have long been misattributed to Josquin, the most renowned composer of the age, is indicative of his skill as a composer. Life Little documentation of his life has yet come to light. He is known to have been the singing master at St. Rombouts in Mechelen between 1509 and 1513, replacing Jean Richafort. That he held a position of such high status, in a church which was a musical center – and also used by the Burgundian court chapel itself – indicates that he was probably not younger than about 25 at the time. In 1513, Jacques Champion took Bauldeweyn’s position at St. Rombouts, but the circumstances of his departure, and where he went, are not known. The extraordinarily wide distribution of his music in sources, ranging from Italy, Bohemia, the Netherlands, and Spain, suggests that he may have traveled, though at what point in h

Orazio Vecchi

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Orazio Vecchi (6 December 1550 (baptized) in Modena – 19 February 1605) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He is most famous for his madrigal comedies, particularly L’Amfiparnaso. Life He was born in Modena, and studied with Salvatore Essenga, a Servite friar there. In addition he prepared for holy orders with early education at the Benedictine monastery, and took holy orders sometime before 1577. By the end of the 1570s he was well-connected with the composers of the Venetian school (for example Claudio Merulo and Giovanni Gabrieli) since he collaborated with them in writing a sestina for a ducal marriage. During this period he accompanied Count Baldassare Rangoni on his travels, going to Bergamo and Brescia. He was maestro di cappella (director of music) at the Salò cathedral between 1581 and 1584. Following this, he was the choirmaster at the cathedral of Reggio Emilia, until 1586. In that year he moved to Correggio where he was appointed canon of the cathedral there; he composed copiously during his time there, though he felt isolated from the major musical centers of Italy such as Rome, Venice, Florence and Ferrara. Eventually he attempted to correct this by movi

Orfeo Vecchi

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Orfeo Vecchi (ca. 15511603) was an Italian composer and choirmaster. His most important appointment as choirmaster was at Santa Maria alla Scala, Milan. His earliest extant compositions date from 1588. Biography Vecchi was born sometime around the year 1551 and educated in the Vercelli Cathedral. In 1580 Vecchi was nominated by Charles Borromeo for the post of the newly created position of “maestro di cappella” at Santa Maria alla Scala, in good part because of the combination of his youth and training. This effort was successful. in the post-Tridentine style, His tenure at Santa Maria alla Scala returned the institution to its leading place among musical establishments in Milan. His reputation was such that a collection of his work was published (though at no benefit to himself) in its entirety outside Milan. Compositions He is best known for his two collections of “sacred madrigals”, La Donna vestita di sole (1590) and Scielta de Mardrigali (1604). The second of these, published by his brother a year after his death, contains works borrowed from the secular madrigals of other composers, and modified into motets with Latin sacred texts substituting for the original lyrics. His out

Orlande de Lassus

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Name#

Lasso’s name appears in many forms, often changed depending on the place in which his music was being performed or published. In addition to Orlando di Lasso, variations include Orlande de Lassus, Roland de Lassus, Orlandus Lassus, Orlande de Lattre and Roland de Lattre. Since these various spellings or translations of the same name have been known and accepted for centuries, and since there is no evidence that he stated a preference, none of them can be considered incorrect.

Orlando Gibbons

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Orlando Gibbons (bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical family dynasty, by the 1610s he was the leading composer and organist in England, with a career cut short by his untimely death in 1625. As a result, Gibbons’s oeuvre was not as large as that of his contemporaries, like the elder William Byrd, but he made considerable contributions to many genres of his time. Musicologists characterize his music as exemplifying the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods. Gibbons was born into a musical family where his father was a wait, his brothers—Edward, Ellis and Ferdinand—were musicians and Orlando was expected to follow the tradition. It is not known under whom he studied, although it may have been with Edward or Byrd, but he almost certainly studied the keyboard in his youth. Irrespective of his education, he was musically proficient enough to be appointed an unsalaried member of the Chapel Royal in May 1603 and a full-fledged gentleman of the Chapel Royal as junior organist by 1605. By 1606, he had

Osbert Parsley

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Osbert Parsley (1510/15111585) was an English Renaissance composer and chorister. Few details of his life are known, but he evidently married in 1558, and lived for a period in the parish of St Saviour’s Church, Norwich. A boy chorister at Norwich Cathedral, Parsley worked there throughout his musical career. He was first mentioned as a lay clerk, was appointed a “singing man” in c. 1534, and was probably the cathedral’s unofficial organist for half a century. His career spanned the reigns of Henry VIII and all three of his children. After the Reformation of 1534, the lives of English church musicians changed according to the official policy of each monarch. Parsley wrote mainly church music for both the Latin and English rites, as well as instrumental music. His Latin settings are considered to be more fluent and attractive-sounding than those he wrote to be sung in English. His longest composition, Conserva me, domine, has a graceful polyphonic style. Parsley’s other liturgical works include Daily Offices (two morning services and an evening service), and the five-part Lamentations (notable for the difficulty in singing the top notes of the highest part). His instrumental music,

Paolo Isnardi

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Paolo Isnardi (c. 1536 - 5 May 1596) was a late-Renaissance choirmaster and composer. Biography Isnardi was musically educated by Francesco Manara at the Ferrara Cathedral. Although he spent most of his life residing in Ferrara, he spent some time at both Venice and Mantua between the years 1560 and 1570. It was in 1560 that his first published work, Primo libro di madrigali, was printed. On the recommendation of Luigi d’Este, another patron, he was appointed successor to the recently deceased Francesco dalla Viola as maestro di capella at the Ferrara Cathedral, although he likely did not take up this post until 1573. Style Isnardi wrote several lamentations, madrigals, masses, and psalms. These were published between 1561 and 1598. His main musical technique is that of parody, although this technique is notably absent from his Mass for two choirs. He has been credited with being among the first to use Tridentine form for the Dies Irae portion of his requiems. References

Paolo Quagliati

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Paolo Quagliati (c. 1555 – 16 November 1628) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era and a member of the Roman School of composers. He was a transitional figure between the late Renaissance style and the earliest Baroque and was one of the first to write solo madrigals in the conservative musical center of Rome. Life Quagliati was born in Chioggia to an aristocratic family. Most of his life he spent in the service of various royal and aristocratic families. In 1594 he became a Roman citizen, and between 1605 and 1608 Quagliati was employed by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese. Most likely he was organist at Santa Maria Maggiore from around 1608 until his death. During that time he also served as organist for various formal occasions around the city, and eventually he became private chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV. Towards the end of his life he was much respected, if not renowned, by his fellow composers, as can be judged from dedications of collections of music to him; however, some of this may have been due less to the quality of his music than to his direct papal connections and immense influence. Works and style Stylistically, Quagliati’s music is clear, elegant, and he generall

Paul Hofhaimer

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Paul Hofhaimer (25 January 1459 – 1537) was an Austrian organist and composer. He was particularly gifted at improvisation, and was regarded as the finest organist of his age by many writers, including Vadian and Paracelsus; in addition he was one of only two German-speaking composers of the time (Heinrich Isaac was the other) who had a reputation in Europe outside of German-speaking countries. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. Life He was born in Radstadt, near Salzburg. Sources are somewhat contradictory on his early life, with Vadian asserting that he was self-taught, and the Nuremberg humanist Conrad Celtes saying that he acquired his technique at the court of Emperor Frederick III. Hofhaimer went to Innsbruck in 1478, and so impressed Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol that he was given a lifetime appointment as court organist in 1480. He almost certainly knew Heinrich Isaac well while he was in Innsbruck, since Isaac became court composer there later that decade. In 1489 he began serving Maximilian I as organist, but he did this in addition to his Innsbruck service. In 1498, after several years of travel, during which he visited the Saxon court of Elector Fre

Paul Siefert

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Paul Siefert (variants: Syfert, Sivert, Sibert; 23 May 1586 – 6 May 1666) was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school. Biography He was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), Royal Prussia (a fief of the Crown of Poland) to his father’s second wife and named after his father (died 1604), who was a procurator. The Danzig city council gave a scholarship to him to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck in Amsterdam from 1607 to 1610, where he studied alongside Samuel Scheidt for part of that time. Upon completion of his studies, he returned home where he became assistant organist of the Marienkirche. His application to become principal organist of the church after Cajus Schmiedtlein died in March 1611 failed due to complaints about his arrogance and style of performance. He moved to Königsberg in 1611 to take up the post of organist of Altstadt Church, and became court organist at Warsaw in 1616. He returned to Danzig in 1623 to become principal organist, where he remained until his death; he failed in an application for the post of Kapellmeister in 1627 after the death of Andreas Hakenberger, who was succeeded by Kaspar Förster. He did not lead a serene life; he became

Pedro Bermúdez

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Pedro Bermúdez (1558–1605) was a Spanish composer and chapel master, who has been recognised as one of the most outstanding polyphonists in the New World, and who was active in Granada, Antequera, Cusco, Santiago de Guatemala (present-day Antigua Guatemala), and Puebla. Life Pedro Bermúdez was born 1558 in Granada, Spain. From an early age he was a choirboy in the cathedral of his home town, where he was taught by Santos de Aliseda. He later was a pupil of composition of Rodrigo de Ceballos (1530–81) at the Royal Chapel of Granada. In 1584, Bermúdez won the position of chapel master in Antequera, where he experienced continued strain and pressure from the church dignitaries, as he showed little inclination to teach the choirboys. After two years in that position he was dismissed following a fight with one of the choir singers. Returning to Granada, he became a singer in the Royal Chapel. In 1595 he was invited by Antonio de la Raya, newly appointed bishop of Cusco, Peru, to follow him to the New World and become the chapel master at the cathedral of that ancient Inca city, now under Spanish occupation. He commenced his activities in Cusco in September 1597. After only seven weeks,

Pedro de Cristo

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Pedro de Cristo (1545/1550 – 12 December 1618) was a Portuguese composer of Renaissance music. He is one of the most important Portuguese polyphonists of the 16th and 17th centuries. Life Pedro de Cristo was born in Coimbra, and in 1571 entered the Augustinian monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra. While there, he studied under Francisco de Santa Maria, who was the current chapel master (mestre de capela). Pedro de Cristo succeeded Francisco de Santa Maria as chapel master before serving in the same role at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. Cristo was ordered to return to Santa Cruz in 1605. In 1615, he was allowed to return to São Vicente. He died as the result of a fall in Coimbra in 1618. Music and Influence While at the Santa Cruz monastery, Pedro de Cristo likely studied under the chapel master Francisco de Santa Maria. This influence can be seen in Cristo’s early music through his limited vocal range, syllabic text settings, and the combined use of cambiata and passing tones of figuration. but also for his versatile background in various instruments. Cristo could play several instruments, including the keyboard, harp, flute, and dulcian. A contemporary manuscript,

Pedro de Escobar

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Pedro de Escobar (c. 1465 – after 1535), a.k.a. Pedro do Porto, was a Portuguese composer of the Renaissance, mostly active in Spain. He was one of the earliest and most skilled composers of polyphony in the Iberian Peninsula, whose music has survived. Life He was born at Porto, Kingdom of Portugal, but nothing is known of his life until he entered the service of Isabella I of Castile in 1489. His surname is of Castilian origin, and maybe he was born to Castilian immigrants, or descendants, established in Porto. But Castilians regarded him as Portuguese. He was a singer in the Catholic Queen’s chapel for ten years, and clearly was working as a composer as well; in addition he was the only member of her chapel described in court records as Portuguese. In 1499 he returned to his native Portugal, but in 1507 received an offer of employment, which he accepted, as the maestro de capilla (chapel master in the Castilian language) at the cathedral in Seville. While there he had charge of the choirboys, having to take care of their room and board in addition to having to teach them to sing; he complained of low pay, and eventually resigned. In 1521 he was working in Portugal, as mestre de c

Pedro de Lagarto

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Pedro de Lagarto (born circa 1465; died 1543 in Toledo) was a Spanish singer and composer of the Renaissance period. Almost nothing is known about his early years, but a document dated 1537 affirms that he had been in the service of the Toledo Cathedral for 62 years. This suggests that he entered the cathedral in 1475 as a choirboy. In June 1490 he became master of the choirboys (claustrero), replacing Juan de Triana in the post. In 1495 he succeeded in obtaining a prebend as a singer in open contest; according to the rules, the winner would be the “most accomplished and fluent singer” among the contestants, and highly trained in polyphonic composition. In 1507 he was seriously ill and does not seem to have resumed his duties as claustrero after this time. He held at least two chaplaincies at the cathedral and between 1530 and 1534 was maestro de ceremonias. By 1537, being deaf and blind, he asked to be relieved of his duties as chaplain; he died towards the end of 1543. Works The only works by Lagarto that survived to our days were the ones included in one or more cancioneros of his time. Four works have been explicitly attributed to him in the Cancionero Musical de Palacio: (: *A

Pedro Ruimonte

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Pedro Ruimonte (or Rimonte, Ruymonte) (1565 – November 30, 1627) was a Spanish composer and musician who spent much of his career in the Low Countries. Early years He was born in Zaragoza, the son of Pedro Ruimonte and Gracia de Bolea y Latas, and was baptized in the Church of San Pablo in 1565. Pedro had three sisters, Justa, Gracia and Catalina. It is believed that he studied under Melchor Robledo, who gave public classes on music in La Seo, although he also could have studied with several other noted musicians who were in the city in the 16th century. Until his arrival in Brussels, nothing further is known of him. Stay in Flanders It is believed that Ruimonte arrived in Brussels in 1599 as a young man in the choir of the retinue of Archduke Albert of Austria and the Princess Isabel Clara Eugenia, new governors of the Low Countries. On August 17, 1601, he wrote to his sister, stating that he was maestro de música en la capilla de Sus Altezas Serenísimas (master of music in the chapel of His Majesty). In 1604, he announced himself on the title page of Missae sex as Maestro de la Capilla y de la Cámara de Sus Excelencias (maestro di cappella and of the chamber of His Majesty). In 1

Peeter Cornet

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Peeter Cornet (Pierre, Pietro, Peter, Pieter) (ca. 1570-80 – 27 March 1633) was a Flemish composer and organist of the early Baroque period. Although few of his compositions survive, he is widely considered one of the best keyboard composers of the early 17th century. Life Very little is known about Cornet’s life. Much of the information comes from a letter by his widow. Cornet was born in the 1570s in the Brussels, then the capital of the Southern Netherlands. The family included numerous musicians, among them a violinist, singers and organists. ) and John Bull, as well as fellow Flemish composers Géry Ghersem and Matthijs Langhedul. Apparently Cornet was also active as an organ consultant and builder. In 1615 he provided advice concerning the organ of St. Rumbolds Cathedral (Sint-Romboutskathedraal) in Mechelen, and in 1624 he signed a contract to build a choir division for the same organ. The settings of Salve Regina and Tantum Ergo exhibit similar characteristics. The former comprises five sections (Salve, Ad te clamamus, Eia ergo, O clemens, Pro fine). The first three are fugues on the initial motifs of the corresponding lines, the fourth is a cantus firmus setting with the me

Perissone Cambio

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Perissone Cambio (c.1520 – c.1562) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance, active in Venice. He was one of the most prominent students and colleagues of Adrian Willaert during the formative years of the Venetian School, and published several books of madrigals in the 1540s. Life Nothing is known about his early life except that he was either from Flanders or the immediately adjacent French-speaking areas. Two competing mentions of his origin exist in the historical record, one naming him as French and one as Flemish, with the Flemish mention coming from the Venetian Senate; the latter is considered more reliable. By the early 1540s he had come from his homeland to Venice, probably to study with Willaert, who was renowned as a teacher. This was near the end of the period during which musicians who received their early training in the Netherlands and adjacent areas left their homelands, going to Italy and other locations where demand for composers and singers was greatest. Perissone became one of Willaert’s students, and part of a close group which included Girolamo Parabosco, Baldassare Donato, Jacques Buus, Jacques Du Pont, and Cipriano de Rore; in addition he

Peter Philips

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Peter Philips (also Phillipps, Phillips, Pierre Philippe, Pietro Philippi, Petrus Philippus; c.1560–1628) was an eminent English composer, organist, and Catholic priest exiled to Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands. He was one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos of his time, and transcribed or arranged several Italian motets and madrigals by such composers as Lassus, Palestrina, and Giulio Caccini for his instruments. Some of his keyboard works are found in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Philips also wrote many sacred choral works. Life Philips was born in 1560 or 1561, possibly in Devonshire or London. From 1572 to 1578 he began his career as a boy chorister at Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, under the aegis of the Catholic master of choristers, Sebastian Westcott (died 1582), who had also trained the young William Byrd some twenty years earlier. Philips must have had a close relationship with his master, as he lodged in his house up to the time of Westcote’s death, and was a beneficiary of his will. In the same year (1582), Philips left England for good, like so many others for reasons of his Catholicism, and stayed briefly in Flanders before traveling to Rome where he entered

Philip Rosseter

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Philip Rosseter (1568 – 5 May 1623) was an English composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. His family seems to have been from Somerset or Lincolnshire, he may have been employed with the Countess of Sussex by 1596, and he was living in London by 1598. In 1604 Rosseter was appointed a court lutenist for James I of England, a position he held until his death in 1623. Rosseter is best known for A Book of Ayres which was written with Thomas Campion and published in 1601. Some literary critics have held that Campion wrote the poems for Rosseter’s songs; however, this seems not to be the case. It is likely that Campion was the author of the book’s preface, which criticizes complex counterpoint and “intricate” harmonies that leave the words inaudible. The two men had a close professional and personal relationship; when Campion died in 1620, he had named Rosseter his sole heir. Rosseter’s lute songs are generally short, homophonic, with minimal repetition or word painting (imitating textual meanings through music), while at the same time being rich in musical invention. Rosseter’s only other book was Lessons for Consort (1609) for a broken consort of bandora, cittern, lute,

Philip van Wilder

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Philip van Wilder (Weldre, Welder, Wylder, Wyllender, de Vuildre, Wild, Wildroe; c. 1500 – February 24, 1554) was a lutenist and composer from the Habsburg Netherlands, active in England. Life and career Early years Like Peter van Wilder, who also worked in the Tudor court and was presumably related to him, Philip was probably born in Millam, near Wormhout, or in the nearby village of Wylder (“Wilder” in Dutch). His father may have been Mathis (Matthew) van Wilder, a lutenist from the court of Philip the Fair of Castile who also worked at the Tudor court from 1506 to 1517. It can be speculated that Peter and Philip were his two sons, and that he used his influence to secure court employment for them in England. It is not known when Philip arrived in England, but since Peter dated his residence in England from 1515, it is possible that the two travelled together. A note in Italian in the Jacobean scorebook anthology GB-Lbl Egerton 3665 describes Philip as “Master Philip of Flanders, musician to King Henry VIII, who lived in England around the year 1520”. He was certainly in London by 1522, living in the parish of St Olave’s Hart Street (close to the Tower of London) and having £60 "

Philipp Dulichius

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Philipp Dulichius (also Deulich, Deilich, Teilich, Dulich, Dulichs) (18 December 1562 – 24 March 1631) was a German composer. Life Dulichius Philip was born in Chemnitz, where his father, Caspar Deulich, was a clothier, councillor and mayor. Of his student days it is only known for certain that he was enrolled in the University of Leipzig in 1579. In 1587 he became cantor at the Gymnasium in Stettin. Since 1618 he taught at the same Gymnasium. He was also a teacher at the Marienkirche in Stettin and at the court of the Pomeranian Duke. In 1630 he retired after 43 years of service, and he died in Stettin. The Marienkirche, where he was buried, burnt down in 1789 and was never rebuilt. Philip Dulichius composed 232 motets, which were highly appreciated at his time and earned him the nickname of the Pomeranian Lassus. On the occasion of the Heinrich-Schütz Days in September 2004 in Greifswald a lecture was given on “Philipp Dulichius - Kantor an St. Marien und am Fürstlichen Pädagogium Stettin 1587-1631” (Philip Dulichius - cantor at St Mary’s and at the Gymnasium of Stettin 1587-1631). In Dulichius’ birth town Chemnitz a memorial plaque was placed at the St Jacob’s church in November

Philippe Basiron

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Philippe Basiron (Philippon de Bourges) (c. 1449just before 31 May 1491) was a French composer, singer, and organist of the Renaissance. He was an innovative and prominent composer of the late 15th century, and was praised by many of his contemporaries. Life He was probably born in Bourges, and received his early training there, becoming a choirboy at the attached to the royal palace (now the ) in October 1458, along with his brother Pierron. Between October 1458 and 31 March 1459 the brothers were assigned to the care of Jehan Gaudier, and in 1462 the composer Guillaume Faugues became briefly magister puerorum (master of the choirboys); he may have been a formative influence on the young Philippe. The boy’s musical gifts were sufficiently distinguished that he had a clavichord purchased for him in 1462, an extremely rare occurrence for a choirboy of 12 or 13 years old. Ockeghem also visited Bourges that year, but if the boy made his acquaintance then is not known; however the influence, and possibly friendship, of the older composer was to become clear later. In 1464 he already had a position of authority, being given the responsibility for the musical instruction of the other boy

Philippe de Monte

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Philippe de Monte (1521 – 4 July 1603), sometimes known as Philippus de Monte, was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance active all over Europe. He was a member of the 3rd generation madrigalists and wrote more madrigals than any other composer of the time. Sources cite him as being “the best composer in the entire country, particularly in the new manner and musica reservata.” Others compare his collections of music with that of other influential composers, such as Orlande de Lassus. Life and career Philippe de Monte was born in Mechelen around 1521. After boyhood musical training at St. Rumbolds Cathedral in Mechelen, where he was a choirboy, Monte went to Italy — a common destination for a young Flemish composer in the sixteenth century – where he made a name for himself as a composer, singer, and teacher. He lived and worked in Naples for a while, and in Rome, in the employ of Cardinal Orsini, although he was in England for a brief period, 1554–1555, during the reign of Queen Mary I, while she was married to King Philip II of Spain. Monte reported that he disliked working in Philip’s choir since all the other members were Spaniards. While in England, Monte was acquainted wi

Philippe Rogier

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Philippe Rogier (c. 1561 – 29 February 1596) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at the Habsburg court of Philip II in Spain. He was one of the last members of the Franco-Flemish school, in the closing days of the Renaissance period in music history, and was a prolific composer; however most of his music was lost in the destruction by fire of the library of John IV during the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. Life He was born in Arras, then in the Spanish Netherlands now in France, around 1561. Presumably he received his early training there or nearby, and his talent was sufficient for him to be brought in 1572 to Spain to sing in the choir of Philip II in Madrid. Boys were often recruited from the Low Countries to become singers in the imperial chapel; the numerous cathedral schools in the towns of northern France and the Netherlands provided a rich environment from which the Habsburgs could cherry-pick the best musicians. Rogier became assistant director of the capilla flamenca in 1584, chaplain by 1586, and director of music at the court of Philip in 1586 on the death of the previous director, George de La Hèle. Sometime before 1595 he also became a priest. Rogier

Philippe Verdelot

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Philippe Verdelot (1480 to 14851530 to 1540) was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent most of his life in Italy. He is commonly considered to be the father of the Italian madrigal, and certainly was one of its earliest and most prolific composers; in addition he was prominent in the musical life of Florence during the period after the recapture of the city by the Medici from the followers of Girolamo Savonarola. Life Verdelot was born in Les Loges, Seine-et-Marne, France. Details of his early life are obscure. He probably came to Italy at an early age, spending the first decade or two of the 16th century at some cities in northern Italy, most likely including Venice. A painting of 1511, described by Vasari but never positively identified, is believed by many musicologists to show Verdelot in Venice with an Italian singer. Verdelot is known to have been maestro di cappella at the Baptisterium San Giovanni in Florence from 1523 to 1525; and he seems also to have been employed at the Cathedral there, from 1523 until 1527. In 1526 he collaborated with Niccolò Machiavelli on a production of Machiavelli’s famous cynical comedy La Mandragola. While the play was written in 1518,

Pierre Alamire

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Pierre Alamire (also Petrus Alamire; probable birth name Peter van den Hove; c. 1470 – 26 June 1536) was a German-Dutch music copyist, composer, instrumentalist, mining engineer, merchant, diplomat and spy of the Renaissance. He was one of the most skilled music scribes of his time, and many now-famous works of Franco-Flemish composers owe their survival to his renowned illuminated manuscript copies; in addition he was a spy for the court of Henry VIII of England. Life He was born to a family of merchants in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire but came to the Seventeen Provinces at an early age. Alamire was not his real name; the name was a musical reference, “A” (the musical pitch) plus the solmization syllables “la”, “mi” and “re” (scale steps six, three and two respectively). Most likely his actual name was van den Hove (or Imhoff, Imhove), although details on his family background are slim. In the late 1490s he began to receive commissions for work in the Low Countries, for example at ’s-Hertogenbosch and Antwerp, where his impressive skill at musical copying and illuminating were immediately valued. This was the period when the explosion of musical creativity in the Low Coun

Pierre Certon

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Pierre Certon (ca. 1510–1520 – 23 February 1572) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation after Josquin and Mouton, and was influential in the late development of the French chanson. Life Most likely he was born in Melun, but he lived most of his life in Paris. The earliest records of his life date from 1527, when he was in the service of the king. In 1530 he was charged with playing ball at Notre Dame Cathedral as well as refusing to go to a service, both dangerous irreverences that almost cost him prison time—but he was young enough to be forgiven. From this event a birthdate between 1510 and 1520 can be inferred. In 1536 he became a master of choristers at the Sainte-Chapelle (choir), and he remained at this post, with a few additional benefices, for the rest of his life. Another post he held late in his life – concurrently with his activity in Paris – was as canon at the cathedral in Melun. He seems to have helped organize many grand entertainments, and doubtless composed many of his works for them. Most likely he was a close friend of the more famous composer Claudin de Sermisy, as evidenced by his dedications, notes, and the poignant

Pierre de la Rue

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Pierre de la Rue (c. 145220 November 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vico. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the most famous and influential composers in the Netherlands polyphonic style in the decades around 1500. Biography Early life La Rue was probably born at Tournai, in modern Belgium, and likely educated at the Notre-Dame Cathedral there, which had a substantial musical establishment. He may have been the son of Jean de la Rue, a master enlumineur of the city of Tournai. While no records remain of his childhood, a Peter vander Straten (the Flemish equivalent of his name) is mentioned in the archives of the cathedral of Ste. Gudule in Brussels in 1469–1470, as an adult (tenor) singer; this is considered very likely to have been him. In 1471 he was in Ghent at the Jacobskerk as a part-time singer, paid from the cathedral’s miscellaneous fund, sugg

Pierre de Manchicourt

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Pierre de Manchicourt (c. 1510 – 5 October 1564) was a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish School. De Manchicourt was born at Béthune. Little is known of his early life other than that he was a choirboy at Arras in 1525. Further biographical information is scant, however the title-pages of his publications reveal that between 1539 and 1556 he held a succession of posts in Arras, Tours and Tournai, before going to Spain to be master of the Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca) at the court of Philip II, where he stayed for the remainder of his life. Similar to many composers of the early to mid 16th century, he predominantly wrote masses, motets and chansons. His motets are particularly significant as they show the three separate stages of early sixteenth century motet development, highly unusual to find in the work of a single composer. In his earliest motets one can hear the influence of Ockeghem; in his middle period works, the paired imitation style of Josquin des Prez; and in his late works the stylistic refinement, well-crafted melodic lines and pervasive imitation recall Gombert. Manchicourt is an excellent example of a Franco-Flemish composer who learned his craft and art

Pierre Moulu

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Pierre Moulu (1484?c. 1550) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance who was active in France, probably in Paris. Life Little is known of his life, but internal evidence in his compositions indicates he was probably at the French royal chapel during the first two decades of the 16th century, at least, and was also associated with the cathedral in Meaux, on the Marne east of Paris. He composed music for ceremonial occasions, for example a sombre lament for the death of Queen Anne of Brittany (1514), and he also composed a motet which lists all the composers which he considered to be the most celebrated in France, arranged chronologically, and ending with Josquin. Documents from the Vatican (1505–1513) help establish his identity, as they indicate that a “Petrus Moulu” held various clerical positions at Meaux Cathedral. He may have written his mass Stephane gloriose, for the cathedral of St Etienne (Saint Stephen) in this town. Music Moulu’s music was clearly influenced by Josquin, but no documentary evidence survives to substantiate Pierre de Ronsard’s claim that he studied with Josquin. The motet Anxiatus est in me spiritus meus which laments Queen Anne’s death is modeled o

Pierre Passereau

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Pierre Passereau (fl. 1509–1547) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin, he was one of the most popular composers of “Parisian” chansons in France in the 1530s. His output consisted almost exclusively of chansons; most of them were published by printer Pierre Attaingnant. Most of them were “rustic” in character, similar to patter songs, using onomatopoeia, double entendres, and frequent obscenity, a common feature of popular music in France and the Low Countries in the 1530s. Life Some details of Passereau’s life have been compiled by scholars, including pioneering 19th-century musicologist François-Joseph Fétis in his enormous Biographie universelle des musiciens (1834). Passereau first appears in the historical record as a tenor singer in the chapel of the Count of Angoulême (who was later to become King Francis I); therefore he was already an adult, and born before about 1495. He had some association with both Bourges Cathedral and Cambrai Cathedral, as he appears in the records of both places, and is documented as being a singer at Cambrai between 1525 and 1530. He may also have been a priest at the church of Saint Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in Paris

Pierre Vermont

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Pierre Vermont (l’aîné, primus, Vermond seniorem; c. lk=no – before February 22, 1533) was a French composer of the Renaissance, associated with the Sainte-Chapelle. Twelve of his works have survived, including seven motets and five chansons. Biography There were two closely connected composers named Vermont, of whom Pierre was possibly the elder, and a Pernot Vermont (c.1495–1558) possibly younger, but not by much. Musicologists have not been able to establish a family relationship, although it seems likely. That Pierre was the elder of the two, even though their conjectured birthdates are similar, is inferred from his appellation (l’aîné, primus, or Vermond seniorem). All of the music assigned simply to ‘Vermont’ in the sources has been attributed to Pierre rather than Pernot. A birthdate for Pierre is estimated based on the record of his being a choirboy in Sainte-Chapelle at the beginning of 1510 as one of a group of only six who sang treble for royalty, and his subsequent departure to complete his education at the end of the next year, probably when his voice broke. In 1512 he assisted in the performance of the daily liturgy at Sainte-Chapelle as a cleric, and in the early 152

Pietro Aron

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Pietro Aron, also known as Pietro (or Piero) Aaron (c. 1480 – after 1545), was an Italian music theorist and composer. He was born in Florence and probably died in Bergamo (other sources state Florence or Venice). Biography Very little is known about Aron’s early life but at least one source claims he may have been Jewish. He was educated in Italy. Aron was a self-taught musician. He claimed in his Toscanello in musica (1523) that he had been friends with Obrecht, Josquin, and Heinrich Isaac in Florence. If true, the time frame would have been most likely in 1487. Between 1515 and 1522, he was Church Cantor at the Cathedral of Imola. In 1516 he became a priest there. In February 1523 Aron went to Venice and became cantor of Rimini Cathedral, where he worked for Sebastiano Michiel, who was Grand Prior of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. In 1525, he was “maestro di casa” in a Venetian house. In 1536, after the death of Michiel, he joined a monastery in Bergamo where he remained until his death. Aron is known for his treatises on the contrapuntal practice of the period. His earliest treatise, De institutione harmonica, on counterpoint, is written in Italian even though most schol

Pietro Della Valle

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Pietro Della Valle (; 2 April 1586 – 21 April 1652), also written Pietro della Valle, was an Italian composer, musicologist, and author who travelled throughout Asia during the 17th century. His travels took him to the Holy Land, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and as far as India. Life Pietro Della Valle was born in Rome on 2 April 1586, to a wealthy and noble family. His early life was spent in the pursuit of literature and arms. He was a cultivated man, who knew Latin, Greek, classical mythology, and the Bible. He also became a member of the Roman Accademia degli Umoristi, and acquired some reputation as a versifier and rhetorician. In 1611 he took part in a Spanish naval expedition against the Barbary States. When Pietro was disappointed in love and began to consider suicide, Mario Schipano, a professor of medicine in Naples, suggested the idea of travelling in the East. It was Schipano who received a sort of diary in letters from Pietro’s travels. Before leaving Naples, Pietro took a vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. So, at age 28, he left Venice by boat on 8 June 1614 and reached Constantinople; he remained there for more than a year and acquired a good knowledge o

Pietro Taglia

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Pietro Taglia (fl. second half of the 16th century) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, active in Milan, known for his madrigals. Stylistically he was a progressive, following the innovations of more famous composers such as Cipriano de Rore in Venice, and his music was well-known at the time. Life Next to nothing is known about his life but what can be inferred from his publication history and the music itself. Records show that in 1565 he was maestro di cappella, the choirmaster and general music director, at the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan, at which post he would have been intimately involved with sacred music. Unusually for a maestro di cappella who was a composer, he seems to have written no sacred music at all, or else none has survived. His first book of madrigals was published in Milan in 1555, and his works continued to be published, reprinted, or printed in instrumental versions, until the end of the century. Taglia had some connection with Venice, but exactly what that connection was is unknown – whether he worked there for a time, made periodic visits, or simply maintained friends there has not been documented. He seems to have been close to

Pomponio Nenna

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Pomponio Nenna (baptized 13 June 1556 – 25 July 1608) was a Neapolitan Italian composer of the Renaissance. He is mainly remembered for his madrigals, which were influenced by Gesualdo, and for his polychoral sacred motets, posthumously published as Sacrae Hebdomadae Responsoria in 1622. Life Pomponio Nenna was born in Bari, in Apulia at the Kingdom of Naples. His father, Giovanni Battista Nenna, was a city official in Bari and was the author of “Il Nennio : nel quale si ragiona di nobiltà”, a book about nobility and virtuous character, published in 1542. Pomponio Nenna probably studied with Stefano Felis in Bari. In 1574 his first pieces of music to be published were four villanelle which were included in the collections of “Villanelle alla Napolitana”, edited by Giovanni Jacopo de Antiquis, who may also have been one of Nenna’s teachers. In 1582 Nenna dedicated his first book of madrigals to Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria, near Bari. Carafa had nominated Nenna to be his successor. and is also the man found in flagrante delicto with the composer Don Carlo Gesualdo’s wife, both of whom were killed in 1590 by Gesualdo’s own hand in one of the most famous murders in the history

Riccardo Rognoni

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Riccardo Rognoni or Richardo Rogniono (ca. 1550 – before 20 April 1620) is the earliest known member of the Rognoni family which started one of the earliest of all violin schools, based in Milan. His treatise Passaggi per potersi esercitare nel diminuire (“Passages for practice in diminution”), Venice 1592, External links *

Richard Dering

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Richard Dering (c. 1580–1630) — also Deering, Dearing, Diringus, etc. — was an English Renaissance composer during the era of late Tudor music. He is noted for his pioneering use of compositional techniques which anticipated the advent of Baroque music in England. Some of his surviving choral works are part of the repertoire of Anglican church music today. Despite being English, he lived and worked most of his life in the Spanish-dominated South Netherlands owing to his Roman Catholic faith. Dering was likely a Protestant in England in his early life, but it is thought that in his early thirties he converted to Roman Catholicism during his time in Italy. Following the English Reformation in the 16th century, religious tensions were high. A number of English composers who had converted to Catholicism — or were suspected of converting — went to live in exile in Roman Catholic countries in Continental Europe. It is known that Dering visited Florence and then lived for a time at the English College in Rome, a seminary for English Catholic priests. A letter from Sir Dudley Carleton to Sir John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton dated 25 June 1612 makes reference to Harington’s serv

Richard Edwardes

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Richard Edwardes (also Edwards, circa 1523 – 31 October 1566) was an English poet, playwright, and composer; he was made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and was master of the singing boys. He was known for his comedies and interludes. Life Richard Edwardes was born around 1523 in Somerset. Edwardes began his studies at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in May 1540 and joined Christ Church, Oxford as it opened in 1546. He joined Lincoln’s Inn but did not take up law as a career. After he died in 1566, he was succeeded by William Hunnis. Works Plays In 1566, Edwardes’ Palamon and Arcite was performed before Elizabeth I at Oxford when the stage fell — three people died and five were injured as a result. Despite the tragic accident, the show continued to play that night. The excellent Comedie of two the moste faithfullest Freendes, Damon and Pithias (written in 1564, published in 1571), a comedy, is his only extant play. The ladies were named as Howard, Dacres, Baynam, Arundel, Dormer, Mansell, Margaret Cooke, and Bridges. The verses are found in a British Library manuscript, (Cotton MS Titus A XIV), and were not included in the Paradise. Music Edwardes was less well known as a composer,

Richard Farrant

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Richard Farrant ( 1525 – 30 November 1580) was an English composer, musical dramatist, theatre founder, and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. The first acknowledgment of him is in a list of the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal in 1552. The year of his birth cannot be accurately determined. During his life he was able to establish himself as a successful composer, develop the English drama considerably, found the first Blackfriars Theatre, and be the first to write verse-anthems. He married Anne Bower, daughter of Richard Bower who was Master of the Chapel Royal choristers at the time. With Anne he conceived ten children, one of whom was also named Richard. Work with Royalty As a member of the Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, Farrant was active in ceremonies surrounding the royal family. He began his work with the Chapel Royal around 1550 under the reign of Edward VI. Fortunately, for Farrant, this is a time that saw huge developments in Latin Church Music. Composers like William Byrd and Christopher Tye were busy expanding and elaborating on the Church Music of the day. In Farrant’s twelve years with the Chapel Royal, he was able to participate in funerals for Edward VI and Ma

Richard Hygons

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Richard Hygons (also Higons, Huchons, Hugo; c. 1435 – c. 1509) was an English composer of the early Renaissance and early proponent of the English votive style. While only two compositions of this late 15th-century composer have survived, one of them, a five-voice setting of the Salve Regina Marian antiphon, has attracted interest from musicologists because of its close relationship to music being written at the same time on the continent, as well as its high level of workmanship. Life Hygons seems to have spent his entire career at Wells Cathedral; at any rate, no records survive indicating his activities elsewhere. He is first mentioned in 1458 as a vicar-choral, and in 1460 he was ordained as an acolyte. Between 1461 and 1462 he was one of the five organists that the cathedral employed. A document dated 7 December 1479 gives more detail than any other about his duties: he was given a house to use, rent-free, near to the cathedral; he was given an annual salary of a little over 96 shillings; he was to teach all aspects of music to the choristers, and was expected to teach organ to anyone who had the talent. His required presence at certain masses, Vespers, and Matins was also giv

Richard Sampson

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Richard Sampson (died 25 September 1554) was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music. He was an Anglican bishop of Chichester, and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield. Biography He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the Paris Sorbonne and Sens (also in France). Having become Doctor of Canon Law, he was appointed by Cardinal Wolsey as diocesan chancellor and vicar-general in his diocese (the bishopric of Tournai), where he lived until 1517. Meanwhile, he gained English preferment, becoming Dean of St. Stephen’s, Westminster and of the Chapel Royal (1516), Archdeacon of Cornwall (1517) and prebendary of Newbald (1519). From 1522 to 1525 he was English ambassador to Emperor Charles V. He was now Dean of Windsor (1523), Vicar of Stepney (1526) and held prebends at St. Paul’s Cathedral and at Lichfield; he was also Archdeacon of Suffolk (1529). He became one of Henry VIII Tudor’s chief agents in the royal divorce proceedings, which assisted the advancement of his ecclesiastical careerhe was awarded the deanery of Lichfield in 1533, the rectory of Hackney (1534), and treasurership of Salisbury (1535). On 11 June 1536, he was elected Bishop of Chichester, and as such fu

Rinaldo del Mel

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Rinaldo del Mel (also René del Mel, del Melle) (probably 1554 – c. 1598) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, mainly active in Italy, and a member of the Roman School of composition. He likely studied with Palestrina, and was a skilled and prolific composer, especially of cyclic madrigals of the type popular in Rome. Life Mel was born in Mechelen to an aristocratic family closely connected to the Duchy of Lorraine; his father was in charge of the financial management of the Duke’s estate. In 1562, at the probable age of eight, he began study at the Cathedral of St. Rombaut, with Séverin Cornet being his principal teacher. In 1572, after finishing his schooling, he was sent to Lisbon by his family, where he may have served as maestro di cappella at the court (according to Giuseppe Baini, the 19th century writer on music, who was not always a reliable source). By 1580 he was in Rome, possibly studying with Palestrina. Records indicate he was at Chieti in 1583, and in January 1584 in Venice; in July of that year he accepted a position as maestro di cappella at Rieti Cathedral, but was dismissed shortly thereafter for being too often absent from his duties. Between 1585 an

Robert Carver (composer)

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Robert Carver CRSA (also Carvor, Arnot; c. 1485 – c. 1570) was a Scottish Canon regular and composer of Christian sacred music during the Renaissance. Carver is regarded as Scotland’s greatest composer of the 16th century. He is best known for his polyphonic choral music, of which there are five surviving masses and two surviving motets. The works that can definitely be attributed to him can be found in the Carver Choirbook held in the National Library of Scotland. Carver’s work, noted for the gradual build-up of ideas towards a resolution in the final passages, is still performed and recorded today. Carver was influenced by composers in continental Europe, and his surviving music differs greatly from that produced by many of his contemporaries in Scotland or England at the time. Highly ornate in style, it resembles most closely the richly decorated music of the Eton Choirbook. Carver was the subject of the 1991 BBC radio play Carver by John Purser, which won one of the Giles Cooper Awards for that year. Biography Carver spent much of his life at Scone Abbey. A recently rediscovered charter book for the abbey, with upwards of 50 examples of Carver’s signature, suggests that he spen

Robert Fayrfax

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Robert Fayrfax (23 April 1464 – 24 October 1521) was an English Renaissance composer, considered the most prominent and influential of the reigns of Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII of England. He represents the third stage of the development of the English votive style in the Eton Choirbook and the Caius Choirbook. Biography He was born in Deeping Gate, Lincolnshire, to William Fayrfax, Esquire, of Deeping Gate and Ann Tanfield, daughter of Robert Tanfield, Keeper of Arms of St Mary Aldermanbury. He had the patronage of the leading cultural figure of Henry VII’s court, the king’s mother Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509). He became a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal by 6 December 1497. He was granted a chaplaincy of the Free Chapel at Snodhill Castle near Dorstone, a post which was given away a year later to Robert Cowper, another Gentleman. Fayrfax was at court at Richmond Palace on 28 March 1502 when Elizabeth of York, the wife of Henry VII, gave him 20 shillings for “setting an Anthem of oure lady and Saint Elizabeth”. This ‘Anthem’ is almost certainly Eterne laudis lilium considering its acrostic ELISABETH REGINA ANGLIE (‘Elizabeth Queen of England’) and its references to both Mary

Robert Johnson (English composer)

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Robert Johnson ( 1583 – 1633) was an English composer and lutenist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean eras. He is sometimes called “Robert Johnson II” to distinguish him from an earlier Scottish composer. He worked with William Shakespeare, providing music for some of his later plays. Early life Robert Johnson was the son of John Johnson, who was a lutenist to Elizabeth I. In 1594, Robert’s father died, and in 1596, he joined the household of George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon as an apprentice. Robert is assumed to have been around 13 at the time, as this was a typical age to begin an apprenticeship, but his date of birth is unknown. Carey and his wife, Elizabeth Spencer, were patrons of the lutenist and composer John Dowland, who dedicated various compositions to them. The family had a London house (Hunsdon House, Blackfriars) and a country home (Hunsdon House, Hunsdon, Hertfordshire), which partially survives. Johnson joined the Carey household at an interesting time in their patronage of the arts. In 1597, Dowland dedicated his First book of songs and ayres to George Carey. As well as supporting musicians, Carey was patron of a theatre company to which William Shakespeare belonge

Robert Morton (composer)

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Robert Morton (also Mourton, Moriton; c. 1430 – after 13 March 1479) was an English composer of the early Renaissance, mostly active at the Burgundian court. He was highly regarded at the time. Only secular vocal music, all rondeaux for three voices, survive. Life Little can be reconstructed with certainty about his life except where his activity intersects with the Burgundian court. He was born in England, but no details of his early life are known. From 1457 until 1476 he was a clerc or chappellain in the chapel choir, and unusually he never was promoted to a higher position. By 1460 he was a priest, since he was given that title Messire in chapel documents. The long relatively peaceful period at the court under Philip the Good’s reign ended with Philip’s death in 1467, and under his successor Charles the Bold, the musical activities of the court were seriously disrupted; many of the singers and composers, including Hayne van Ghizeghem, took part in his many futile military campaigns. Morton must have known Hayne rather well, for an anonymous piece survives which describes the virtuosic singing and playing of the two of them together at Cambrai. Payment records for Morton end in

Robert Parsons (composer)

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Robert Parsons (c. 1535 – 25 January 1572) was an English composer of the Tudor period who was active during the reigns of King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. He is noted for his compositions of church music. Early life Parsons was born around 1530–35, but no details of his birth survive and there is no evidence connecting him with either Robert Parsons (1596–1676), a vicar choral at Exeter Cathedral, or his contemporary, the composer William Parsons of Wells. Although little is known about his life, it is likely that in his youth he was a choir boy, as until 1561 he was an assistant to Richard Bower, Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. Career and influence Parsons was composing during a period of major religious upheaval in England. After the death of Henry VIII in 1547, the new king, Edward VI, advanced the Reformation in England, introducing major changes to the liturgy of the Church of England. In 1549, Thomas Cranmer’s new Book of Common Prayer swept away the old Latin-language liturgy and replaced it with prayers in English. This brand new liturgy suddenly demanded that new music be written in English for the church, and musicians of the Chapel Royal s

Robert White (composer)

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Robert White (also Whyte; c. 1538 – 1574) probably born in Holborn, a district of London, was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His surviving works include a setting of verses from Lamentations, and instrumental music for viols. Life Robert White was the son of an organ builder. He was a chorister, then a singing man, in the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1554 to 1562. During that time, in 1560, he received a Bachelorship of Music from Cambridge University, and in 1562 he moved the few miles to Ely, where he succeeded his father-in-law Christopher Tye as Master of the Choristers and married Christopher Tye’s daughter in 1565. He accepted a similar post at Chester Cathedral in 1566, where he succeeded Richard Saywell and took part in the Chester Whitsuntide pageants during the years 1567 to 1569. Such was his reputation as a choir trainer that in 1570 he was appointed organist and master of the choristers of Westminster Abbey. White and his family died in an outbreak of plague in the Westminster, 1574. Although White seems to have spent much of his life working to the north of the capital, his will (dated 7 November 1574) stated that he left property of some s

Rodrigo de Ceballos

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Rodrigo de Ceballos (also Çavallos, Cevallos, Zaballos; c.1525-c.1581 ) was a Spanish composer. Early life His father’s family de Ceballos Cabanilla came from Burgos, and he may have trained as a musician there. However, he was born in Aracena (Huelva), and was ordained a priest in Seville in 1556. He was the brother of the composer Francisco de Ceballos. Career He is classed among the composers of the Andalusian school, alongside better-known composers such as Francisco Guerrero (who, with Pedro Fernández de Castilleja, gave him his holy orders) or Cristobal de Morales. He occupied a succession of posts in Andalusia. He was named Maestro de capilla in Málaga in 1554, in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba in 1556, and in the Royal Chapel of Granada in 1561 until his death in 1581. Works His polyphonic works, preserved in various Spanish and Latin American cathedrals and monasteries, are often confused with those of Francisco de Ceballos. Francisco, who was maestro at Burgos Cathedral from 1535 to his death in 1571, was Rodrigo’s uncle. 79 works of Rodrigo’s are known to survive; these include 39 motets, three masses, eight psalms for Vespers, six hymns, eight settings of the Magnifica

Rogier Michael

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Rogier Michael von Bergen (ca. 1553 probably in Bergen-op-Zoom – after middle 1623 in Dresden) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer and Kapellmeister of the late Renaissance. Life and work Early life Michael came to Vienna as a child with his father Simon Michael († after 1566); his father was “probably the best mechanic and musician” during the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I (1556-1564) and was listed as a singer in the list of court chapels under Emperor Maximilian II from 1564 to 1566. Rogier presumably spent time as a choirboy in Vienna and in 1564 he joined the court chapel of Archduke Charles II in Graz as a choirboy. Johannes de Cleve then Annibale Padovano were in charge of this chapel, with Padovano advising Rogier to go to Venice to study further under Andrea Gabrieli, which he did from 1569 to 1572. After his return to Germany, he took a position as a tenor singer in Ansbach at the court chapel of George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1572, where he remained until 1574. Dresden On the recommendation of Emilie of Saxony, the sister of Elector August of Saxony, Michael became a singer and musician at the Dresden court orchestra on 1 February 1575. The Elector

Ruggier Trofeo

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Ruggier Trofeo (c. 1550 – 19 September 1614) was an Italian composer and organist. His name is sometimes rendered as Ruggiero De Trofeis. Trofeo appears to have been a native of Mantua; an anthology of music by natives of that city contains one madrigal by him, and in his 1589 book of canzonette he is described as being a “Mantuan”. He was most likely a pupil of Francesco Rovigo, as several of the older composer’s works were at one point combined with his own for publication. He served as organist of the Mantua Cathedral during the winter of 1576/77, acting as deputy for Annibale Coma. By 1587 he had become the organist of the Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara, in the same city. In May of that year, Trofeo was seriously wounded in an encounter with his patron, Guglielmo Gonzaga, over a woman. Musicologist David Mason Greene describes the incident thus: In 1587, Duke Guglielmo found him in a back street chatting with a woman whose company he deemed unfitting for a church organist, and when Trofeo told him to mind his business, the duke punctured him to a considerable depth with his sword. What the duke was doing in a back street, history does not say, and he died three months later

Ruggiero Giovannelli

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Ruggiero Giovannelli (c. 1560 – 7 January 1625) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a member of the Roman School, and succeeded Palestrina at St. Peter’s. Life He was born in Velletri, near Rome. It has been claimed that he was a student of Palestrina, but there is no documentary evidence of this; stylistic similarities between their music, and an obvious close career association, make it a reasonable assumption. Not much is known about Giovannelli’s life until 1583 when he became maestro di cappella at San Luigi dei Francesi, a post which he held until 1591, at which time he went to the Collegio Germanico. In addition to these posts he was maestro di cappella for Duke Giovanni Angelo of Altaemps, at his private chapel, probably concurrently with his other jobs. He also sang, and served in various administrative posts. Giovannelli’s most important appointment was as the replacement for Palestrina as the maestro di cappella at the Julian Chapel at St. Peter’s, on 12 March 1594, a position which he held until 1599, when he became a singer at the Sistine Chapel. In 1614 he became maestro di cappella at the Sistine Chapel, and he retired in 16

Salamone Rossi

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Salamone Rossi or Salomone Rossi () (Salamon, Schlomo; de’ Rossi) (ca. 1570 – 1630) was an Italian Jewish violinist and composer. He was a transitional figure between the late Italian Renaissance period and early Baroque. Life Rossi was likely born on August 19th, 1570 in Mantua. Some scholars like E. Werner claimed that he was the son of the distinguished historian Azariah de’ Rossi, however Azariah had no sons. Rossi spent his entire professional career in Mantua. As a young man, Rossi acquired a reputation as a talented violinist. He was then hired as a court musician in Mantua in 1587, where records of his activities as a violinist survive in the Gonzaga court. Rossi served at the court of Mantua for 41 years, from 1587 to 1628 as concertmaster where he entertained the ducal family and their highly esteemed guests. The composers Rossi, Monteverdi, Gastoldi, Wert and Viadana provided fashionable music for banquets, wedding feasts, theatre productions and chapel services amongst others. Rossi was so well-thought of at this court that he was excused from wearing the yellow badge that was required of other Jews in Mantua. He also probably worked with a Jewish theatrical group, play

Samuel Rüling

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Samuel Rüling (also Rühling, Rhuling, Rülich) (1586 – June 1626) was a German composer and poet in the early 17th century. Before Kreuzkirche Rüling was born around 1586 in Groitzsch, near Leipzig, as the son of Johann (also Johannes, Hans) Rüling. His father (1550–1615) served as organist in Zeithain from 1572 to 1575, then in Döbeln until 1582, and finally until his death in Groitzsch, where he was also town clerk. Johann Rüling also published the Tabulaturbuch auff Orgeln und Instrument in 1583, and consequently his considerable musical accomplishments make it likely that Samuel received an extensive musical education early on. Samuel Rüling entered the Fürstenschule at Grimma on 20 June 1601, and left it on 4 July 1606. His instructors in Grimma were primarily the rector Martin Hayneccius and cantor Fridericus Birck. He matriculated at the University of Leipzig in the same summer semester, where he studied with Ambrosius Sonewaldt, and later with Mühlmann, Harbart and Corvinus. He must also have been in close proximity with the prominent Thomaskantor Sethus Calvisius. Around 1610, he became cantor at the university church Paulinerkirche, which was famous for its substantial mus

Samuel Scheidt

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Samuel Scheidt (baptized 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era. Life and career Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with Sweelinck, the distinguished Dutch composer, whose work had a clear influence on Scheidt’s style. On his return to Halle, Scheidt became court organist, and later Kapellmeister, to the Margrave of Brandenburg. Unlike many German musicians, for example Heinrich Schütz, he remained in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War, managing to survive by teaching and by taking a succession of smaller jobs until the restoration of stability allowed him to resume his post as Kapellmeister. When Samuel Scheidt lost his job because of Wallenstein, he was appointed in 1628 as musical director of three churches in Halle, including the Market Church. Scheidt was the first internationally significant German composer for the organ, and represents the flowering of the new north German style, which occurred largely as a result of the Protestant Reformation. In south Germany and some other countries of Europe, the spiritual and artistic influence of Rome remained strong, s

Sandrin

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Sandrin (Pierre Regnault) (c. 1490 – after 1561) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a prolific composer of chansons in the middle of the 16th century, some of which were extremely popular and widely distributed. Life He was probably born in St. Marcel, not far from Paris, though details of his early life are incomplete. He was a choirboy at the French royal court in 1506, and in 1517 was a singer for Louise of Savoy. From then until 1539 his name is absent from all records at the court, but other records suggest he may have been working as an actor during this time. By 1539 he was again at the French royal court, this time singing in the royal chapel itself; and within a few years he had established a reputation as one of the most noted composers of chansons in France, along with Claudin de Sermisy. He went to Italy sometime in the early 1550s, and is known to have been maestro di cappella for the Ferrarese Este family at Siena, in 1554. By 1560 he had returned to Paris, though probably only briefly, for he came to settle a family estate, and by the next year he was in Italy again, this time in Rome. He disappears from the records at this point, and probably died in 1

Sauvaire Intermet

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Sauvaire Intermet (ca. 1573 – 1657 in Avignon) was a 17th-century French musician and composer. Biography Originally from Tarascon, Sauvaire is perhaps the son of Giraud Antermet who was baptized on 30 November 1573 in the Sainte-Marthe church of Tarascon. He was appointed a clerk. In 1590, Sauvaire Intermet was appointed music master of the Church of St. Trophime, Arles until 1595, when he seems to have moved to Avignon where he was already benefiting from the chapter of Saint-Agricol. An act of 25 March 1599 qualifies him as mestre de chapelle de la Reyne de France, probably Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont (1553-1601), widow of Henri III and retired at Chenonceaux. He was able at that time to meet masters of the Chapel or the King’s Chamber. On 24 August 1599, he was received canon in the chapter of Saint-Agricol of Avignon and took on the role of Kapellmeister. His career in this church lasted several decades; it was punctuated with the classic incidents of a master’s life, such as a procedure for insults uttered against the master of children in 1612. On 1 May 1619 he became auditor of the accounts of the chapter of Saint-Agricol, which obliged him to be replaced. His career at Sa

Scipione Lacorcia

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Scipione Lacorcia (fl. 1590–1620) was a Neapolitan composer of madrigals. Biographical data for Lacorcia is almost non-existent. Apart from his activity from 1590 to 1620, culminating in his third book of madrigals for 5 voices, little is known. Book II is dedicated to Alessandro Miroballo, marchese di Bracigliano. Book III, dated 1 October 1620 is prefaced with a humble plebeian dedication to his lordship Francesco Filomarino (1600–1678), principe della Rocca. Book III also features two “guest” madrigals by the nobleman Ettore de la Marra (ca. 1570–1634) signore di Baiano e Castelfranco, who like Filomarino and the amateur madrigalist Scipione Dentice was a member of the five family seggio Capuana who participated in the city government. Ettore de la Marra was also a lutenist and guitarist in Carlo Gesualdo’s Accademia and has two other surviving madrigals in the collection Teatro de Madrigali (Gargano and Nucci, Naples 1609). The poems in Lacorcia’s Book III are mainly anonymous, perhaps indicating that they may be from local aristocratic poets. Lacorcia is considered one of the madrigalists most influenced by Carlo Gesualdo, along with Francesco Genuino, Crescenzio Salzilli, Ago

Scipione Stella

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Scipione Stella (1558 or 1559 – May 20, 1622) was a Neapolitan composer. He is to be distinguished from another member of the circle of Carlo Gesualdo, Scipione Dentice. Life and career Born in Naples, Stella studied with Giovanni Domenico da Nola who was the maestro di cappella at the Santissima Annunziata Maggiore, Naples. Da Nola recommended Stella for the post of organist at that church in 1579; a post he eventually held from 1583 through 1593. A May 1593 letter written by Spanish composer Sebastián Raval mentions that Stella had performed Raval’s madrigals with Scipione Dentice and Luca Marenzio at the palace of Cardinal Montalto in Naples in May 1953. By 1594, and possibly earlier, Stella had entered the service of Carlo Gesualdo and accompanied him to Ferrara for his wedding to Eleonora d’Este (1561–1637) on 21 February 1594. After leaving Gesuldo’s service, Stella became a monk and entered the Theatine monastery at the San Paolo Maggiore in Naples on 30 January 1598. At this time he assumed the name Padre Pietro Paolo. Stella died in Naples on May 20, 1622. Works Sacred *Motectorum liber primus (Ferrara, ?1595) *Hymnorum ecclesiasticorum liber primus, hymns for 5 voices (Na

Sebastián de Vivanco

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Sebastián de Vivanco (c. 1551 in Ávila – October 26, 1622 in Salamanca) was a Spanish priest and composer of the Renaissance. Life Vivanco was born in Ávila, like Tomás Luis de Victoria; however, the exact date of his birth is unknown. It is hypothesized that he was born a few years after Victoria and that they both knew each other as children and sang together at the chapel of the Cathedral of Ávila. During the time that Vivanco sang in the chorus, the maestri di cappella were Gerónimo de Espinar, Bernardino de Ribera (1559) and Juan Navarro Hispalensis (1563). This last composer had the most profound influence on Vivanco. After 1566, with the change in his voice, Vivanco commenced studies as a priest, as Victoria had done. Around 1576, while still a subdeacon, he was named maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Lérida, but shortly thereafter, on July 4, 1576, he was dismissed from this position. Upon his return to Castille, in February 1577, he was named maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Segovia, a position of higher prestige and pay than the previous ones. He moved there with his mother and remained there for the following ten years. During this period he became a deacon

Sebastián Raval

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Sebastián Raval (c. 15501604) was a Spanish composer of vocal and instrumental music. Born in Cartagena, he served as a soldier of the Army of Flanders in Flanders and Sicily. He joined the order of St. John of Jerusalem after being wounded in the siege of Maastricht. He moved to Italy where he served as a musician in the court of Francesco Maria II della Rovere in Urbino, of the viceroy of Sicily, Bernardino de Cárdenas, and of the cardinals Peretti and Colonna in Rome. In Rome, he declared himself the “best musician in the world”, on account of which he was challenged to a musical contest first by Giovanni Maria Nanino and shortly afterwards by Francesco Soriano. Raval was defeated in both cases. On 28 April 1595 he succeeded Luis Ruiz as the last Spanish maestro di cappella of the viceroyal chapel of the Spanish viceroys in Palermo. In Sicily, he again challenged a musician, Achille Falcone, to a contest; it was first decided in Falcone’s favour but, after some appeals, in Raval’s. After Falcone’s death in 1600, Antonio Falcone, father of Achille, published all the process of this musical duel in his Relazione del successo and took Raval and Falcone’s pieces (the object of this

Sebastian Westcott

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Sebastian Westcott (also spelt Wescott or Westcote) (c. 1524 – 1582) was an English organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He is especially known for staging performances of plays with the Children of Paul’s. Life Westcott was a chorister, under John Redford, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and in 1550 became organist and almoner of the cathedral. In 1557 he became master of Children of Paul’s, the boys of that cathedral. He retained his post at St. Paul’s, under Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth I, from 1550 to 1582, notwithstanding the fact that he was an avowed Catholic. Westcott is best known for the many plays and pageants, with music, which he produced for the English Court during a period of 32 years, these plays being performed by the boys of the cathedral school. So celebrated was he in this respect that he was generally referred to as “Master Sebastian”. Under Queen Mary he had the honour of arranging the music for the formal restoration of Catholicism at St. Paul’s, in November 1553. He also composed the Te Deum which was sung on 9 February 1554, on the suppression of Wyatt’s rebellion. He conducted the service for the reception of Cardinal Reginald Pole on the firs

Sebastiano Festa

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Sebastiano Festa (ca. 1490–1495 – 31 July 1524) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, active mainly in Rome. While his musical output was small, he was one of the earliest composers of madrigals, and was influential on other early composers of madrigals, such as Philippe Verdelot. He may have been related to his more famous contemporary Costanzo Festa, another early madrigal composer. Life He was from Villafranca Sabauda in the Italian province of Piedmont, not far from Turin; his father, named Jacobinus, was a musician resident in Turin in the 1520s. Jacobinus was probably Festa’s teacher. While it is tempting to suggest that he was the younger brother or other relation of the much more famous Costanzo Festa, since they were from the same region, had similar musical acumen and both wrote madrigals, no direct evidence of this has emerged. Sebastiano first appears in the record in a manuscript copied between 1516 and 1519, possibly as the copyist: the document contains motets both by himself and Costanzo. He lived and worked in Rome in the early 1520s, with the Genoese aristocrat Ottobono Fieschi as his patron, and he worked with other musicians connected with Pope Leo X. Cost

Serafino Razzi

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Serafino Razzi (1531–1613), born in Marradi and later residing in Florence, was a notable Italian Dominican friar celebrated for his contributions to music and literature. In 1563, he unveiled a substantial compilation of carnival songs within the lauda genre, titled Libro primo delle laudi spirituale. This collection stands as a vibrant mosaic, showcasing pieces of diverse ages and characters drawn from the rich musical landscape of Florence. Comprising 91 lauda settings for one to four voices, Razzi’s work reflects his extensive travels, meticulously chronicled in his diaries. Razzi’s sister was the sculptor and nun Maria Angelica Razzi. Works (books) * * * * * Works (music) * Libro primo delle laudi spirituali (1563), a large collection of carnival songs in the lauda genre. This collection includes 91 lauda settings for one to four voices. * O dolcezza (date of publication unknown) * O Giesu dolce (date of publication unknown) * O Maria diana stella (date of publication unknown) * O Vergin Santa non m’abbandonare (date of publication unknown) * Stabat mater dolorosa (date of publication unknown) * Razzi’s music was likely much more extensive than what survives today. His collect

Sethus Calvisius

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Sethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz (21 February 1556 – 24 November 1615), was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance. Biography He was born into a peasant family at Gorsleben in present-day Thuringia. By the exercise of his musical talents he earned money enough for the start, at Helmstedt, of a university career, which the aid of a wealthy patron enabled him to continue at Leipzig. He became director of the music-school at Pforta in 1572. In 1594 he was transferred to Leipzig in the same post, including directing the Thomanerchor at the Thomaskirche. He retained this post until his death in Leipzig, despite the offers successively made to him of mathematical professorships at Frankfurt and Wittenberg. Calvisius was also a significant astronomer: in his Opus Chronologicum (Leipzig, 1605, 7th ed. 1685) he expounded a system based on the records of nearly 300 eclipses. An ingenious, though ineffective, proposal for the reform of the calendar was put forward in his Elenchus Calendarii Gregoriani (Frankfurt, 1612); and he published a book on music, Melodiae condendae ratio (Erfurt, 1592). He composed chor

Settimia Caccini

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Settimia Caccini (6 October 1591 – c. 1638, Italy) was a well-known Italian soprano and composer during the 1600s, being one of the first women to have a successful career in music. Caccini was highly regarded for her artistic and technical work with music. She came from a family of well-known composers and singers, with her father being Giulio Caccini and her sister Francesca Caccini. Settimia Caccini was less well known as a composer because she never published her own collection of works. Instead, nine works are attributed to her in two manuscripts of secular songs. Settimia was known much more for her talent as a singer, and she performed for nobility with the Caccini family consort and as a soloist. Coming from a musical family, she was able to lead herself to her own fame and success. Life Settimia Caccini was born on 6 October 1591, in Florence, Italy. Her father was a famous and popular composer and a pioneer in monodic music. At a young age her father taught her about music and composition. Her mother, Lucia Gagnolanti, was a singer as well, but died when Caccini was young. Caccini was the youngest child of three. Her sister Francesca also became quite a renowned composer,

Sigismondo d'India

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Sigismondo d’India (c. 1582 – before 19 April 1629) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the most accomplished contemporaries of Monteverdi, and wrote music in many of the same forms as the more famous composer. Life d’India was probably born in Palermo, Sicily in 1582, though details of his life are lacking until around 1600. During the first decade of the 17th century he probably traveled widely in Italy, meeting composers, acquiring patrons at various aristocratic courts, and absorbing the musical styles at each locale. This was a time of transition in music history, as the polyphonic style of the late Renaissance was giving way to the widely diverse practices of the early Baroque, and d’India seems to have acquired an unusually broad grasp of the total stylistic practice in Italy: the expressive madrigal style of Marenzio, the grand polychoral work of the Venetian School, the conservative polyphonic tradition of the Roman School, the attempts to recover the music of the ancient world in monody and its larger vehicle, the newly developing opera, as well as the mannered, emotionally intense chromatic style of Carlo Gesualdo in Napl

Simon Bar Jona Madelka

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Simon Bar Jona Madelka or Šimon Bariona Oppollensis (before 1550 in Opole – c. 1598 in Plzeň) was a Czech composer. In addition to being a composer, he was also a member of the butcher’s guild in the Plzeň. Madelka published two music collections. Biography Madelka may have come from Opole, as suggested by the cognomen Oppolensis, preserved in the collection of his music. The surname Madelka was also quite common both in Silesia and Opole. He came to Western Bohemia probably in consequence of culmination of the reformation wave in Opole Region in the middle of the 16th century. Madelka was a Catholic, and his religion may have been the main reason for his changing residences. In 1575 he was entered to the register of the butcher’s guild in Plzeň, and in 1580 became a master butcher. In 1585 he became the member of the guild’s board of elders. He died probably during the epidemic of a plague that killed 1300 to 1600 citizens of Plzeň in 1598. His name appears in the manuscripts exclusively as Šimon Bariona; the other variants of his name, Bar Jona and Madelka figure only in his printed music. He is mentioned in various musical sources with other European composers such as Clemens no

Simon Boyleau

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Simon Boyleau (fl. 1544–1586) was a French composer of the Renaissance, active in northern Italy. A prolific composer of madrigals as well as sacred music, he was closely connected with the court of Marguerite of Savoy. He was also the earliest documented choirmaster at the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan. Biography Nothing is known of his early life. A French origin is indicated by three bits of evidence: his name, a dedication he left in a manuscript book of madrigals, in which he said he was of French nationality, and a comment by the Paduan publisher of his 1546 collection of madrigals for four voices that he was French. During this period many musicians from France and the Low Countries came to Italy after receiving their early musical training in the north; employment and patronage prospects were greater in Italy throughout most of the 16th century. Although the exact events are not documented, scholars have inferred that Boyleau probably spent his first Italian years in Venice, due to musical influences seen in his work as well as their publication history. In 1551 he became maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at Milan Cathedral, his earliest documented post; h

Simon Lohet

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Simon Lohet (Loxhay) (born before c. 1550 – buried 5 July 1611) was a Flemish composer and organist of the late Renaissance, active in Germany. He is best known as one of the earliest exponents of the keyboard fugue. Life Lohet’s father was a certain Jean de Liège, so the family originates from Liège and Simon was probably born in the area. Loxhay is the Walloon version of his surname. He was appointed organist of the Württemberg court at Stuttgart on 14 September 1571, assisting Utz Steigleder and H.F. Fries until both went into retirement. Lohet then assumed full responsibility for the chapel services. He was also somewhat active as a teacher, his pupils included his own son Ludwig (who became his father’s assistant in 1594) and, most importantly, Adam Steigleder (father of Johann Ulrich Steigleder). Lohet made several trips to the Low Countries in the 1570s and to Venice in 1581 to buy instruments and music. In 1601 he retired from his post. He remained in Stuttgart until his death in summer 1611. Works Johann Woltz’s Nova musices organicae tabulatura (Basel, 1617) contains all of Lohet’s known works (six also survive in another manuscript, D-Mbs Mus.ms.1581). The bulk of his sm

Simone Molinaro

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Simone Molinaro (c. 1570 – May 1636) was a composer of the late Renaissance in Italy. He was especially renowned for his lute music. Life and career Molinaro was born in Genoa. He studied music with his uncle, Giovanni Battista Dalla Gostena, who was maestro di cappella at Genoa Cathedral. In 1593, Gostena was murdered, and Molinaro succeeded him in his post at the Cathedral in 1599. The same year he published Intavolatura di liuto, containing lute works both by himself and by Gostena. In addition to his lute works, Molinaro composed a large number of sacred choral music, most of which does not survive completely because of missing partbooks. However, some five-voice motets have been preserved in the collections of Hassler and Schadaeus. Molinaro died in May 1636 in Genoa. Assessment In his dances for lute, according to Eitner, Molinaro “despises all counterpoint, and shows himself as a pure melodist and harmonist, but both in so simple and pretty a way, that they all have something uncommonly attractive”. Molinaro wrote at the time when, according to Paul Henry Lang, lute music was reaching its apogee. Along with Giovanni Terzi, Molinaro’s lute music introduces “a finished, gracef

Stefano Bernardi

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Stefano (or Steffano) Bernardi (18 March 1580 – 15 February 1637), also known as “il Moretto”, was an Italian priest, composer and music theorist. Born in Verona and maestro di cappella at the Verona Cathedral from 1611 to 1622, he later moved to Salzburg, where he was responsible for the music at the Salzburg Cathedral and composed a Te Deum for 12 choirs performed at the cathedral’s consecration in 1628. Bernardi’s career spanned the transition from late Renaissance music to early Baroque, with some of his works in the polyphonic style of Palestrina and others in the new stile concertato. He composed both sacred and secular music, including several masses and motets as well as sinfonias and three books of madrigals. He also wrote a treatise on counterpoint published in 1615. Biography Bernardi was born in Verona and educated at the Scuola Accolitale (Acolyte College) attached to the Verona Cathedral, where he also sang in the choir under Ippolito Baccusi. In 1622 Bernardi left Verona to take up a post as Director of Court Music to Archduke Carl Joseph, Bishop of Breslau and Brixen. Following the Archduke’s death in 1624, Bernardi settled in Salzburg, where he was to become the Di

Stefano Fabri

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Stefano Fabri (c. 1560 – 1609, or Fabbri, Stefano Fab(b)ri senior) was an Italian composer, organist and furthermore he was known to play the trombone. He succeeded Ruggiero Giovanelli as maestro di cappella of the Cappella Giulia at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Family and background He was born in Orvieto as the son of the flemish musician Franceso Fabri, who also had been his first teacher of music. His son Stefano Fabri jr. had been the teacher of Francesco Beretta - also a director of music at the Vatican. Biography His career began at the cathedral of his birth place in Orvieto. First he was a singer but he also played the organ and the trombone later on. In 1599 he left his position in Orvieto to succeed Ruggiero Giovanelli He kept this employment until 1601. 1601-1607 he worked at the Lateran and then he advanced to be the director of music at S. Loreto. Besides his function also a director of music at the Vatican, the Lateran and S. Loreto, where he stayed until the end of his life, he also composed for S. Luigi dei Francesi and S. Maria Maggiore. His burial place is near to S. Loreto. Works He was well-known as a capable couterpointist. He composed antiphones (Codice n.

Stefano Felis

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Stefano de Maza Gatto also known as Stefano Felis (baptised in Bari on 20 January 1538; 25 September 1603), was a Neapolitan Italian composer of the Renaissance, and the collaborator and probable teacher of composer Pomponio Nenna. He composed madrigals, sacred motets, and choral settings of the Mass. Felis was born in Bari, in the province of Apulia of the Kingdom of Naples, where he became a canon at Santa Nicola. He later became Maestro di Cappella of the cathedral in Naples. He accompanied the papal nuncio, Antonio Puteo, on a journey to the court of Rudolph II in Prague during the 1580s. It was in Prague that his first book of masses was published in 1588 by the printer Georgius Nigrinus, and Felis later remarked upon his stay in Prague in the preface to his Sixth Book of Madrigals, published in Venice in 1591. As an educator, Felis seems to have had a profound effect on the succeeding generation of musicians; Carlo Gesualdo, Giovan Battista Pace, Giovan Donato Vopa, and Pomponio Nenna are counted among his pupils. In Pomponio Nenna’s first published collection of madrigals, Il Primo Libro de madrigali à cinque voci, (c. 1603), there appear several madrigals by Felis. As a tea

Stefano Landi

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Stefano Landi (baptized 26 February 1587 – 28 October 1639) was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: Il Sant’Alessio (1632). Biography Landi was born in Rome, the capital of the Papal States. In 1595 he joined the Collegio Germanico in Rome as a boy soprano, and he may have studied with Asprilio Pacelli. Landi took minor orders in 1599 and began studying at the Seminario Romano in 1602. He is mentioned in the Seminary’s records as being the composer and director of a Carnival pastoral in 1607; and in 1611 his name appears as an organist and a singer, though he was already maestro di cappella at S Maria della Consolazione in 1614. Agostino Agazzari was maestro di cappella at the Seminario Romano, and he may have been one of Landi’s teachers as well. In 1618 he had moved to the north of Italy, and published a book of five-voice madrigals at Venice; apparently he had acquired a post as maestro di cappella at Padua. In addition he wrote his first opera in Padua, La morte d’Orfeo. Most likely it was used as part of the festivities for a wedding. His experien

Stefano Rossetto

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Stefano Rossetto (also Rossetti) (fl. 1560–1580) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance, born in Nice, who worked mainly in Florence for the powerful Medici family, and in Munich. Life His life has not yet been thoroughly studied. The earliest information available shows that he may have lived and worked on Chios, an island in the Aegean, in the service of the Genoese Giustiniani family; the connection can be made from the dedication to one of his 1560 books of madrigals. In 1560 he assisted at the wedding of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy and Marguerite of Valois, which took place in Nice. In 1566 at the latest he went to Florence, where he served Ferdinando I de’ Medici as a composer, alongside Alessandro Striggio, and Francesco Corteccia, whose career by then had begun to wane. By 1579 he was in the employ of either Albrecht V, or William V (Albrecht died in 1579). The intermedio performed in Florence in 1583 alongside Fedini’s play Le due Persile may have been his work. Connections between the Medici and Bavarian courts were close through the period, and composers often passed between them. Nothing certain is yet known of Rossetto’s career after 1580. Rossetto also compos

Sulpitia Cesis

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Sulpitia Lodovica Cesis (15 May 1577 in Modena, Italy – ?), was an Italian composer as well as a well-regarded lutenist. Her father was Count Annibale Cesis and he gave 300 pieces of gold for her dowry when she entered the Augustinian convent in Modena in 1593. She was a nun at the convent of Saint Geminiano in Modena, although some sources report it as Saint Agostino. Her only known work is a volume of Motetti Spirituali, which she wrote in 1619. Aspects of Motetti Spirituali It is composed of 23 motets for 2–12 voices. Although most of the motets are written in Latin, four are written in Italian. Some scholars believe that the piece was composed earlier than 1619 because of its style. Unlike her contemporaries, her work contains indications for instruments such as cornetts, trombones, violones, and archviolones. Her 12-voice works are also especially different from the 2-3 voiced works popular in the 17th century Example of Sulpitia Cesis’s work “Mary Magdalena et altera Maria” This song was not intended as a congregational hymn and is an excerpt from Matthew 28:1-7 Translation: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary/ went to the palace of the sepulcher. It is Jesus whom you seek./ He

Tarquinio Merula

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Tarquinio Merula (24 November 1595 – 10 December 1665) was an Italian composer, organist, and violinist of the early Baroque era. Although mainly active in Cremona, stylistically he was a member of the Venetian school. He was one of the most progressive Italian composers of the early 17th century, especially in applying newly developed techniques to sacred music. Life He was born in Busseto. He probably received early musical training in Cremona, where he was first employed as an organist. In 1616 he took a position as organist at the church of Santa Maria Incoronata in Lodi, where he remained until 1621, at which time he went to Warsaw, Poland to work as an organist at the court of Sigismund III Vasa. In 1626 he returned to Cremona, and in 1627 became maestro di cappella at the cathedral there, but he only remained for four years, moving to Bergamo to accept a similar position in 1631. Alessandro Grandi, his predecessor, had died in the Italian plague of 1629–31 (which affected many cities in northern Italy, including Venice), and he faced the formidable task of rebuilding the musical institution there after many of its members had died. Unfortunately Merula got into trouble with

Teodora Ginés

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Teodora Ginés (1530–1598) was a Dominican musician and composer that played in Santiago de Cuba cathedral orchestra. She is credited as the creator of the song titled “Son de la Má Teodora” the oldest son montuno. Life Ginés was formerly a slave, born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, but was freed. Along with her sister, Micaela, she emigrated to Cuba, where they were both engaged at the orchestra at the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba: Micaela as a violinist, and Teodora playing the Bandola. Teodora is credited with the authorship of the song " Son de la Má Teodora", circa 1562. This song was transcribed by the Cuban musician and composer Laureano Fuentes Matons, in his book “The Arts in Santiago de Cuba” published in 1893. Matons identified “Son de la Má Teodora” as the first Son in Cuban history, which was later confirmed by the Cuban essayist, and musicologist Alejo Carpentier. References External links *

Thomas Ashwell

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Thomas Ashwell or Ashewell (c. 1478 – after 1513 (possibly 1527?)) was an English composer of the Renaissance. He was a skilled composer of polyphony, and may have been the teacher of John Taverner. His admission to St. George’s Chapel as a chorister in 1491 suggests a birthdate of approximately 1478, but nothing else is known about his early life. He stayed at St. George’s until 1493, and account records at Tattershall College in Lincolnshire list him as a singer there in 1502 and 1503. He was in a position of authority at Lincoln Cathedral in 1508, according to records there, and was employed at Durham Cathedral as Cantor or Master of the singing boys, and to provide music for the Lady Chapel, in 1513; no further records survive of his life. The Durham Cathedral archives show the first successor to his duties there as being a William Robson, who began his duties in 1527, and this may be an indication of Ashwell’s death some time before that. Surviving Ashwell compositions Only scattered remnants of Ashwell’s music survive. As was common for pre-Reformation music in England in Latin, the large majority of manuscripts were destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henr

Thomas Campion

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Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620 He later entered Gray’s Inn to study law in 1586. However, he left in 1595 without having been called to the bar. On 10 February 1605, he received his medical degree from the University of Caen. Campion is thought to have lived in London, practising as a physician, until his death in March 1620 – possibly of the plague. He was apparently unmarried and had no children. He was buried the same day at St Dunstan-in-the-West in Fleet Street. Poetry and songs The body of his works is considerable, the earliest known being a group of five anonymous poems included in the “Songs of Divers Noblemen and Gentlemen”, appended to Newman’s edition of Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella, which appeared in 1591. In 1595, Poemata, a collection of Latin panegyrics, elegies and epigrams was published, winning him a considerable reputation. This was followed, in 1601, by a songbook, A Booke of Ayres, with words by himself and music composed by himself and Philip Rosseter. The following year he published his Observations in the Art of English Poesie, “against the vulgar and unartificial custom of riming,” in favour of rhymel

Thomas Causton

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Thomas Causton or Caustun (died 1569) was an English composer. Causton was a gentleman of the chapel royal under Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Nothing is known of his parentage, but it is possible that he is identical with a Thomas Causton who was living about the same date at Oxted in Surrey. This individual was the son of William Causton of Orpington, by Katherine Banister, and was married to Agnes Polley of Shoreham. Their son William (d. 1638) had a numerous family, who lived at Oxted until late in the seventeenth century. On 29 Oct. 1558 Mary wrote to the mayor and aldermen of London in favour of Thomas Causton, ‘one of the gentlemen of the chappell,’ requesting that he should be admitted into the freedom of the city. In 1560 he contributed some music to John Day’s rare ‘Certain Notes, set forth in four and three parts, to be sung at the Morning, Communion, and Evening Prayer.’ The same publisher’s ‘Whole Psalmes in Foure Partes’ (1563) also contains twenty-seven compositions by Causton. A Venite and service by him have been reprinted in the ‘Ecclesiologist,’ and a Te Deum and Benedictus in score are preserved in the British Library (Add MS 31226). He died on 28 Oct. 156

Thomas Crecquillon

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Thomas Crecquillon or Créquillon (c. 1505 – probably early 1557) was a Franco-Flemish school composer of the Renaissance. While his place of birth is unknown, it was probably within the region loosely known at the time as the Low Countries, and he probably died at Béthune. Biography Very little is known about his early life. He was a priest and a member of the chapel of Emperor Charles V, but whether he was maître de chapelle or merely a singer is still a matter of dispute; the surviving documents are contradictory. Later he seems to have held positions at Dendermonde, Béthune, Leuven, and Namur. Unlike many of the composers of the Franco-Flemish school, he seems never to have left his home region for Italy or other parts of Europe. Crecquillon was retired by 1555, and most likely he died in 1557, probably a victim of the serious outbreak of the plague in Béthune that year. The location of his burial remains a mystery, and no likeness of Crecquillon is known to exist. Crecquillon’s music was highly regarded by his contemporaries, and shows a harmonic and melodic smoothness which prefigures the culminating polyphonic style of Palestrina. He wrote twelve masses, more than 100 motets

Thomas Elsbeth

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Thomas Elsbeth (? – after 1624) was a German composer. Details of Elsbeth’s life are few and vague. Elsbeth was born in Neustadt, Franconia; his birth date is totally unknown, although he did refer to himself as “poor and old” in 1616. Since his early publications were issued in Frankfurt an der Oder, he is thought to have been an acquaintance of Bartholomäus Gesius, the kantor there. He may have attended Viadrina University in Frankfurt, though modern scholars have been unable to substantiate this with archival research. He dedicated a publication to the city councilmen of Breslau, and may have spent time there. He also published several books of works in Liegnitz after 1606, and so it is probable that he lived there for some time. However, he is not listed in any of the surviving city payrolls. He is presumed to have lived in Jauer from 1616, and probably died there in or after 1624, the date of his last publications. Elsbeth left a significant body of extant motets and songs. Elsbeth’s songs, of which there are about 100, are for three to five voices; some are in a homophonic style and others are set in a polyphonic chorale style. He never took up use of the basso continuo, desp

Thomas Ford (composer)

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Thomas Ford (c. 1580buried 17 November 1648) was an English composer, lutenist, viol player and poet. Life Ford was attached to the court of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of James I, who died in 1612. He was a musician to the household of Prince Henry from 1610 to 1612, a musician to the household of Prince Charles from 1617 to 1625, and a musician to Charles I from 1626 to 1642, the outbreak of the English Civil War. His will was made on 12 November 1648 and he was buried in St. Margaret’s, Westminster on 17 November, but it is not known exactly when he died. Ford wrote anthems, for three to six voices; four sacred canons; 35 partsongs; six fantasias for five parts; and a few other pieces for viols. His most important collection was probably the Musicke of Sundrie Kindes (London, 1607), which was in two parts. The first book included lute ayres, described as “Aries for 4 voices to the Lute, Orphorion, or Basse-viol, with a Dialogue for two Voices…”; the second part contained dances such as “Pavens, Galiards, Almaines, Toies, Jigges, Thumpes, and such like…” scored for combinations of viols. Many of the ayres are given in two versions: one for voice or voices and lute,

Thomas Lupo the elder

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Thomas Lupo (baptised 7 August 1571 – probably December 1627) was an English composer and viol player of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Along with Orlando Gibbons, John Coprario, and Alfonso Ferrabosco, he was one of the principal developers of the repertory for viol consort. Life He was part of a distinguished family of musicians, who included several generations. His father was Joseph Lupo, a string player and composer from Venice who had come first to Antwerp, and then to London; Thomas was probably born there. In 1588 he joined the violin consort at the court of Queen Elizabeth I – he was only 16 – but evidently he was not paid for his service until 1591. Thomas retained this position, or variants thereof, for his entire life. During the Jacobean era, he served both in the households of Prince Henry (after 1610) and Prince Charles (after 1617). A surviving record from 1627 indicates that he was in financial trouble, and had to sign away £100 of his future income to pay off his creditors: the report goes on to state that his wife violently attempted to prevent him from doing so. He died in London, probably in December 1627. Music and influence Lupo was one of the princi

Thomas Morley

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Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the English madrigal, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states that Morley was “chiefly responsible for grafting the Italian shoot on to the native stock and initiating the curiously brief but brilliant flowering of the madrigal that constitutes one of the most colourful episodes in the history of English music.” Living in London at the same time as Shakespeare, Morley was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England. He and Robert Johnson are the composers of the only surviving contemporary settings of verse by Shakespeare. Morley was active in church music as a singer, composer and organist at St Paul’s Cathedral. He was also involved in music publishing. From 1598 up to his death he held a printing patent (a type of monopoly). he studied with William Byrd, whom he named as his mentor in his 1597 publication A Plain and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke. Byrd also taught Morley’s contemporary, Peter Philips.

Thomas Ravenscroft

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Thomas Ravenscroft (c. 1588 – 1635) was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of English folk music. Biography Little is known of Ravenscroft’s early life. He probably sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral from 1594, when a Thomas Raniscroft was listed on the choir rolls and remained there until 1600 under the directorship of Thomas Giles. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1605 from Cambridge. Ravenscroft’s principal contributions are his collections of folk music, including catches, rounds, street cries, vendor songs, “freeman’s songs” and other anonymous music, in three collections: Pammelia (1609), Deuteromelia or The Second Part of Musicks Melodie (1609) and Melismata (1611), which contains one of the best-known works in his collections, The Three Ravens. Some of the music he compiled has acquired extraordinary fame, though his name is rarely associated with the music; for example “Three Blind Mice” first appears in Deuteromelia. He moved to Bristol where he published a metrical psalter (The Whole Booke of Psalmes) in 1621. As a composer, his works are mostly forgotten but include 1

Thomas Robinson (composer)

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Thomas Robinson (c. 1560) was an English Renaissance composer and music teacher, who flourished around 1600. He taught and wrote music for lute, cittern, orpharion, bandora, viol, and voice. Biography Very little is known about Robinson’s life, but it is possible to draw conclusions from the dedicatory pages of his works. He and his father were in service of the Cecil family: Robinson’s father worked for the 1st Earl of Salisbury, Robert Cecil, and Robinson was in the service of the 1st Earl of Exeter, Thomas Cecil, who was Robert Cecil’s brother. The Cecil family fostered several artists in these days, amongst others William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons. It was before 1589 that Robinson became Princess Anne’s (1574–1619) and Queen Sophie’s (1557–1631) private music teacher at Elsinore, Denmark. Princess Anne was the daughter of the King of Denmark, Frederick II (1559–1588). It is presumed that Robinson must have been in his twenties then, so that his birth can be dated back to around 1560. The Court of Denmark, like other courts, employed many well-recognized musicians from Denmark and other countries, like England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. It is known that John Dowland –

Thomas Selle

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Thomas Selle (23 March 1599 – 2 July 1663) was a German baroque composer. Life There is practically no reliable information about the early years of Thomas Selle. Between his birth in 1599 and his matriculation in the University of Leipzig in 1622, there is no documentary evidence of his activities. However, considering his claim from around 1643 in the Kurtze doch gründliche anleitung zur Singekunst (A brief but thorough introduction to the art of singing) of “having been motivated by the late Mr. Seth Calvisius” (“aus antrieb des sel igen H errn Sethi Calvisij”) in applying himself to the art of chanting, he is assumed to be an alumnus of the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where he would have been student of Sethus Calvisius († 1615) and perhaps also Johann Hermann Schein († 1630). By 1624 he is a teacher at the Latin school of Heide, and only a year after he becomes a headmaster in Wesselburen (both Schleswig-Holstein). In his time in Wesselburen he married Anna Weihe, the daughter of a bourgeois family from Husum, and prepared most of his secular songs to appear in print. In 1634 Selle and his wife resettled in Itzehoe, where Selle took on the duties as Kantor with the title of direc

Thomas Stoltzer

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Thomas Stoltzer, also Stolczer, Scholczer (c.1480–1526) was a German composer of the Renaissance. Life Nothing is known of Stoltzer’s early life, though he is thought to have come from the same family as Clemens Stoltzer, who was a town clerk in Schweidnitz, and to have been born in Schweidnitz, Silesia. Stoltzer may have studied with Heinrich Finck; while no concrete evidence of this association exists, he was at the least intimately familiar with Finck’s work since he quotes from Finck’s music copiously. He served as a priest in Breslau from 1519, and was a supporter of the Reformation, though he never made public his sentiments. Louis II appointed him magister capellae in Ofen at the Hungarian court on May 8, 1522. Ludwig’s wife, Mary, asked him to set Martin Luther’s translations of psalms xii, xiii, xxxviii and lxxxvi, which he did between 1524 and 1526. One personal letter of Stoltzer’s is still extant, dated February 23, 1526 and addressed to Albert, Duke of Prussia in Königsberg; in this letter Stoltzer relates the news of a recently completed psalm setting and intimates that he would like to join Albrecht’s court. On this letter, there is additional writing, dated March 15

Thomas Tallis

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Thomas Tallis (; also Tallys or Talles; c. 150523 November 1585) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one of England’s greatest composers, and he is honored for his original voice in English musicianship. Life Youth No records about the birth, family, or childhood of Thomas Tallis exist, so almost nothing is known about his early life and origins. Historians have calculated that he was born in the early part of the 16th Century, toward the end of the reign of Henry VII of England. Estimates of his birth year range from 1500 to 1520. His only known relative was a cousin named John Sayer. As the surnames Sayer and Tallis both have strong connections with Kent, Thomas Tallis is usually thought to have been born somewhere in the county.<!–

Thomas Tomkins

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Thomas Tomkins (1572 – 9 June 1656) was a Welsh-born composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English Madrigal School, he was a skilled composer of keyboard and consort music, and the last member of the English virginalist school. Life Tomkins was born in St David’s in Pembrokeshire in 1572. His father, also Thomas, who had moved there in 1565 from the family home of Lostwithiel in Cornwall, was a vicar choral of St David’s Cathedral and organist there. Three of Thomas junior’s half-brothers, John, Giles and Robert, also became eminent musicians, but none quite attained the fame of Thomas. By 1594, but possibly as early as 1586, Thomas and his family had moved to Gloucester, where his father was employed as a minor canon at the cathedral. Thomas almost certainly studied under William Byrd for a time, for one of his songs bears the inscription: To my ancient, and much reverenced Master, William Byrd, and it may have been at this period of his career, since Byrd leased property at Longney, near Gloucester. Although documentary proof is lacking, it is also possible that Byrd was instrumental in finding young Thomas a

Thomas Weelkes

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Thomas Weelkes (1576 (?) – November 1623) was an English composer and organist. He became organist of Winchester College in 1598, moving to Chichester Cathedral. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigals, anthems and services. Life Early life There is no documentary evidence about Weelkes’s early years. According to the biographer David Brown, circumstantial evidence points to the possibility that Weelkes was a son of John Weeke, rector of Elsted in Sussex and his wife Johanne. If this was so, the boy was the Thomas Weeke baptised at Elsted on 25 October 1576; he had at least five siblings. Brown adds that there is no firmer evidence about Weelkes’s childhood and musical training, although one piece of information is found in the preface to Weelkes’s collection Ballets and Madrigals (1598), where he states that he had been in the service of “his master Edward Darcy Esquire, Groom to her Majesty’s Privy Chamber”. Early musical career, organist at Winchester College In the preface to his first volume of madrigals (1597) Weelkes states that he was a very young man at the time of their composition – “my yeeres yet unripened” – which, in Brown’s view, confirms that he was born

Thomas Whythorne

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Thomas Whythorne (1528–1595) was an English composer who wrote what some consider to be the earliest known surviving autobiography in English. Early life and education Born in Somerset (Whythorne was a Somerset spelling of the surname “Whitehorn”) to a wealthy family, Whythorne was a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford and attended Magdalen College School. On leaving the school he briefly attended Magdalen College itself, but left within a year to study under the writer and musician John Heywood. He did not inherit enough to live a life of leisure however and so became a music tutor to various members of the gentry. Career as musician Chafing against his treatment by some employers as a mere servant (whom he considered below him due to his background and education), Whythorne searched for a patron to allow him to concentrate on composing. His musical manuscripts indicate that near the end of his life he found a patron in Francis Hastings, but little is known of this relationship despite Whythorne’s lengthy preface. Whythorne traveled widely throughout Europe and spent six months in Italy, learning its language and music. Whythorne returned to England in 1555, impressed by the con

Tielman Susato

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Tielman (or Tylman) Susato (c. 1510/15 – after 1570) was a Renaissance composer, instrumentalist and publisher of music in Antwerp. Biography While Susato’s exact place of birth is unknown, some scholars believe that because of his name—Susato meaning de Soest, of the town of Soest — he may be from the town of that name in Westphalia, or the town of Soest in The Netherlands. Not much is known about his early life, but he begins appearing in various Antwerp archives of around 1530 working as a calligrapher as well as an instrumentalist: trumpet, flute and tenor pipe are listed as instruments that he owned. In 1543, he founded the first music publishing house using movable music type in the Low Countries. He could be found in Antwerp, “At the Sign of the Crumhorn.” Until Susato set up his press in Antwerp, music printing had been done mainly in Italy, France and Germany. Soon afterwards, Susato was joined by Petrus Phalesius the Elder in Leuven and Christopher Plantin, also in Antwerp, and the Low Countries became a regional center of music publishing. It is possible that Susato also ran a musical instrument business, and he attempted several times to form partnerships with other pub

Tobias Hume

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Tobias Hume (possibly 1579 – 16 April 1645) was a Scottish composer, viol player and soldier. Little is known of his life. Some have suggested that he was born in 1579 because he was admitted to the London Charterhouse in 1629, a prerequisite to which was being at least 50 years old, though there is no certainty over this. He had made his living as a professional soldier, serving as an officer with the Swedish and Russian armies. His published music includes pieces for viols (including many solo works for the lyra viol) and songs. They were gathered in two collections, The First Part of Ayres (or Musicall Humors, 1605) and Captain Humes Poeticall Musicke (1607). He was a particular champion of the viol over the then-dominant lute, something which caused John Dowland to publish a rebuttal of Hume’s ideas. Hume was also known as a prankster, as some of his somewhat unusual compositions illustrate. His most notorious piece was “An Invention for Two to Play upone one Viole”, also known as Prince’s Almayne. Two bows are required and the smaller of the two players is obliged to sit in the lap of the larger player. This work was notated in tablature and is indeed technically possible to p

Tomás Luis de Victoria

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Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as da Vittoria; c. 1548) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Renaissance, and was “admired above all for the intensity of some of his motets and of his Offices for the Dead and for Holy Week”. His surviving oeuvre, unlike that of his colleagues, is almost exclusively sacred and polyphonic vocal music, set to Latin texts. As a Catholic priest, as well as an accomplished organist and singer, his career spanned both Spain and Italy. However, he preferred the life of a composer to that of a performer. Life and career Family background and early years Tomás Luis de Victoria was born around 1548, most likely in Ávila, the main residence of his family at the time. Victoria’s birthplace has been the subject of debate, and remains unclear since his baptismal record has never been found. The town of Sanchidrián has been proposed as another possible birthplace, however it was only later that the Victorias would settle there, when Tomás’ eldest brother moved to Sanchidrián with his young family and widowed mother.

Truid Aagesen

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Truid Aagesen (fl. 1593–1625) was a Danish composer and organist. His only known published music is a set of secular Cantiones for three voices which were published in Hamburg in 1608 under his Latinized name, Theodoricus Sistinus. He was also known under the name Trudo Haggaei Malmogiensis. Little is known about Aagesen’s early life but his musical mentor and spiritual adviser was Norwegian-born Jesuit Laurentius Nicolai with whom he studied music. Aagesen was appointed organist of Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen on 23 June 1593. He studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli from 1599 to 1600. In 1600, he went to Prague as a royal commissioner for the King Christian IV. Between 1609 and 1611, he is supposed to have taught at the court and therefore received subsidies from the royal treasury. In 1613, the Danish king published a letter stating that all men of the “Roman Catholic” religion must leave Denmark. Aagesen, who had been suspected of being on the Pope’s payroll as early as 1604, was informed of a ruling made in the governing body of Copenhagen University on 15 September 1613 that, since he had Catholic sympathies, he should not be allowed to continue as organist. In 1615, he wa

Valentin Haussmann

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Valentin Haussmann (c. 1560 – c. 1613–14) was a German composer, music editor and poet, known from the publications of his compositions, derived from Italian and Polish models. Life Little is known of Haussmann’s life, and information is ascertained from the titles, prefaces and dedications of his printed works. He published compositions between 1588 and 1611, and was very active from 1602 to 1606. He appended “Gerbipola” (a Latinized form of Gerbstedt, a town in Saxony-Anhalt) to his name, so this is assumed to be his home town. It is thought he did not have a permanent position anywhere, but travelled throughout Germany, composing in various places works which he dedicated to princes and towns. There are many songs in German that are derived from Italian canzonettas, and there is instrumental music where he uses the melodies and rhythms of Polish folk music. In later years, from 1606 to 1609, he published, with German translations, villanellas by Luca Marenzio, canzonettas by Orazio Vecchi, tricinia by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi and ballets by Thomas Morley. His publications were evidently popular, since collections went through several editions within a few years. His biographer

Vicente Espinel

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Vicente Gómez Martínez-Espinel (; 28 December 15504 February 1624) was a Spanish writer and musician of the Siglo de Oro. He is credited with the creation of the modern poetic form of the décima, composed of ten octameters, named espinela in Spanish after him. Biography Espinel was born in Ronda. He studied at the University of Salamanca, where he adopted as his own his father’s second surname, and later on at the universities of Granada and Alcalá. As a latinist, he translated to Spanish Horace’s Epistola ad Pisones. After leaving university, he had an adventurous life as a soldier, serving in Flanders and elsewhere. He was a prisoner of pirates at Argel and a soldier in Italy after being liberated, and returned to Spain about 1584. Afterwards, he moved to Madrid and took holy orders in 1589. Four years later he became chaplain at Ronda, but absented himself from his living. Still, his musical skill obtained for him the post of choirmaster at Plasencia. His (Assorted Rhymes), produced in 1591, showed a caustic wit. Later, in 1618, the printer Juan de la Cuesta published Espinel’s picaresque novel , for which he is best known. This book, with several autobiographical details, was p

Vicente Lusitano

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Vicente Lusitano (c. 1520) was a Portuguese composer and music theorist of the late Renaissance. Some of his works on musical theory and a small number of compositions survive. Lusitano was for a time a Catholic priest and taught in several Italian cities, but later converted to Protestantism. He is believed to have been of mixed race. Since the 1980s, he has been described as the first published black composer. Life and career Lusitano, a Portuguese-language term for “Portuguese”, appears to be a descriptive nickname rather than a family name. Little is known of his life. He was born in Olivença, likely around 1520. Lusitano is described as pardo, a Portuguese term indicating he was of mixed European and non-European heritage. By 1561 he had married, converted to Calvinist Protestantism, and traveled to Germany. There is no record of him after 1561. and published as Un tratado de canto de órgano (siglo XVI) in 1913. * Introdvttione facilissima, et novissima, di Canto Fermo, Figvrato, Contrapon to semplice, et in concerto. Con Regole Generali per far fvghe differenti sopra il Canto Fermo, a ii, iii & iiii. voci, & compositioni, proportioni, generi. S. Diatonico, Cromotico, Enarmoni

Vincenzo Bellavere

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Vincenzo Bellavere (also Bell’haver, Bell’aver, Belaver) (c.1540-1541 – 29 August 1587) was an Italian composer of the Venetian School. While a fairly minor figure in the Venetian School, he was a competent composer of madrigals and wrote a few works in the grand Venetian polychoral style. Biography Nothing is known about him prior to his appearance in Padua in 1567 as an organist at Crosieri Cathedral. That same year he tried to gain the prestigious job as first organist of the cathedral there. In 1568 he acquired the position of primary organist at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a Venetian establishment almost as prestigious as St. Mark’s; he held this post until 1584 at which time he returned to Padua to take the post at the cathedral that he at first failed to win. In December 1585 he was fired from his job in Padua, probably because of an unexcused absence, but he returned to Venice to become organist of yet another Venetian church, Santo Stefano. In 1586 he became first organist at St. Mark’s, the position just vacated by Andrea Gabrieli; thus he was first organist alongside Giovanni Gabrieli, who was second organist. Unfortunately Bellavere died after only holding this post

Vincenzo Galilei

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Vincenzo Galilei (3 April 1520 – 2 July 1591) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist. His children included the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and the lute virtuoso and composer Michelagnolo Galilei. Vincenzo was a figure in the musical life of the late Renaissance and contributed significantly to the musical revolution that demarcates the beginning of the Baroque era. In his study of pitch and string tension, Galilei produced perhaps the first non-linear mathematical description of a natural phenomenon known to history. Some credit him with directing the activity of his son away from pure, abstract mathematics and towards experimentation using mathematical quantitative description of the results, a direction of importance for the history of physics and natural science. With fellows of the Florentine Camerata, he laid the foundations for opera. Biography He was born in 1520 in Santa Maria a Monte, near Pisa, Republic of Florence, and began studying the lute at an early age. His mother was from San Vincenzo near Livorno. Sometime before 1562 he moved to Pisa, where on 5 July he married Giulia Ammannati of a noble family. Galileo Galilei was the oldest of six

Vincenzo Ruffo

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Vincenzo Ruffo (c. 1508 – 9 February 1587) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers most responsive to the musical reforms suggested by the Council of Trent, especially in his composition of masses, and as such was an influential member of the Counter-Reformation. Vincenzo Ruffo was born at Verona, and became a priest there in 1531. Most likely he studied with Biagio Rossetti, the organist at the cathedral in Verona. Ruffo published his first book of music in 1542. Also in 1542 he became maestro di cappella at the cathedral in Savona, but he only held this position for a year; the cathedral was destroyed in 1543 by the Genoese, and Ruffo fled. In either 1543 or 1544 he went to Milan to work for Alfonso d’Avalos, who was the governor of Milan at this time. When d’Avalos was called back to Madrid in 1546, Ruffo went back to in Verona, where he was the music director at the Accademia Filarmonica in 1551-1552, superseding Jan Nasco; in 1554 he became the choirmaster at the cathedral of Verona. While there he probably taught Gian Matteo Asola and Marc’ Antonio Ingegneri, the teacher of Monteverdi; it is possible, though not proven, that he taught Andrea Ga

Vincenzo Ugolini

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Vincenzo Ugolini (Perugia, 1 November 1578 - Rome, 6 May 1638) was an Italian composer of the early Baroque era and of the Roman School. Life Born in Perugia, he was first a puer chori (boy soprano) at San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome under Giovanni Bernardino Nanino; then he was engaged as a contralto until July 1594 and as a bass from the beginning of May 1600 until the end of 1601. In 1603 he was mastro di capella of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome. After an illness in 1606, he left this work in 1609 and became maestro at the Duomo of Benevento. This position he held until 1615, with a hiatus in 1614 where he worked for Cardinal Arrigoni in Rome. From 2 July 1616 he turned to San Luigi dei Francesi holding the same positions, and in 1620 he succeeded Francesco Soriano as maestro of the Cappella Giulia at San Pietro. During this time he also tutored the mezzo-soprano singer Marc’Antonio Pasqualini. In 1629 he was deponent for the testament of the composer Domenico Allegri, brother of Gregorio Allegri. From May 1631 he was again maestro of San Luigi, and held the post until his death in 1638. His successor was his pupil Orazio Benevoli. Works *Sacrae cantiones, lib. 1, 8vv, bc (Roma,

Vinko Jelić

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Vinko Jelić (1596 - after 22 July 1636) was a Croatian Baroque composer, singer and musician. He is considered among the most prominent European creators of the early Baroque chamber sacred concerto. He is also considered as the most prolific Croatian Baroque composer, along with Ivan Lukačić. A total of 69 of Jelić’s vocal (soloist and choral) and 12 instrumental works have been preserved; several compositions with lost tenor lines were supplemented by Lovro Županović, the editor of Jelić’s works. Life He was born in Rijeka in 1596. From 1606, with his older brother Petar (d. 1609), he was a choirboy singer in the court chapel of Archduke Ferdinand in Graz, where his teacher was the Italian Matthias Ferrabosco, then deputy music director. After a one-year stay in Rijeka in 1609, he returned to Graz in 1610 and, becoming a pupil of the Ferdinandeum, attended grammar school and participated in church music as a discantist. He then studied at the Jesuit University in Graz and graduated from theology in 1617; at the same time, he was an instrumentalist in the court chapel from 1615. In 1618, he entered the service of Ferdinand’s brother, Archduke Leopold, administrator of the dioceses

Vittoria Aleotti

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Vittoria Aleotti (c. 1575 – after 1620), believed by some scholars to be the same as Raffaella Aleotta (c. 1570 – after 1646) was an Italian Augustinian nun, a composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. She is recognized as one of the earliest known female composers to have works published, contributing to the development of sacred and secular vocal music. Aleotti was a nun at the Convent of San Vito in Ferrara, where she composed and performed music. Her published works include madrigals and sacred motets, notably appearing in the 1593 collection Il giardino de’ musici di Donne. Some scholars believe she may also have been the composer known as Raffaella Aleotti, who published a collection of sacred motets in 1593. Her contributions to music were significant in an era when female composers were rare, and her works remain a subject of interest in studies of women in Renaissance music. Early life She was born in Ferrara to the prominent architect Giovanni Battista Aleotti, and was mentioned in his will, written in 1631. According to her father, Vittoria became interested in music after listening to her older sister being taught music. Within a year, Vit

Wacław of Szamotuły

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wacław z Szamotuł (c. 1520 in Szamotuły, near Poznań – c. 1560 in Pińczów), also known as Wacław Szamotulski (), was a Polish composer. Life Wacław z Szamotuł was a student at the Lubrański Academy in Poznań later studying at Kraków University in 1538. In 1547 or 1548 he was appointed composer to the court of Sigismund II Augustus. In 1555 Wacław left Kraków, having received the title of “royal composer.” Nevertheless, during Szamotuly’s lifetime his music was known outside of Poland. He died early, and only a few of his works survive. In the words of Szymon Starowolski, who wrote the first concise biography of Wacław, “If the gods had let him live longer, the Poles would have no need to envy the Italians their Palestrina, Lappi or Vedana.” His motets In te Domine speravi and Ego sum pastor bonus were the first Polish musical compositions to be published abroad. According to Gustave Reese, Wacław’s style may be seen in both of these motets; “the constant overlapping of phrases and full-fledged imitative style reveal Franco-Netherlandish influence.” Works Motets (Motety) * In te, Domine, speravi (published in Nuremberg, 1554) * Ego sum pastor bonus (published in Nuremberg, 1564) * N

Walter Frye

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Walter Frye (died 1474?) was an English composer of the early Renaissance. Life Nothing certain is known about his life. He may have been a “Walter Cantor” at Ely Cathedral between 1443 and 1466, and he may have been the Walter Frye who joined the London Parish Clerks in 1456; he also may have been the Walter Frye who left a will at Canterbury in 1474. Music Most of Frye’s music survives in manuscripts from the continent, which has suggested to scholars that he spent much of his time there; however stylistically his music is closer to that of other English composers (such as John Dunstaple and John Hothby) than to that of the Burgundian School, the most notable contemporary movement on the continent. A reason sometimes given for the survival of his music in continental sources is that the few remaining English 15th-century manuscripts rarely mention the names of composers; therefore there may be a good deal of his music which is simply anonymous. Survival of music from the period in England is sparse because most of it was destroyed during the dissolution of the Monasteries carried out between 1536 and 1540 by Henry VIII. Frye wrote masses, motets and songs, including ballades and

William Brade

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Brade (1560 – 26 February 1630) was an English composer, violinist, and viol player of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, mainly active in northern Germany. He was the first Englishman to write a canzona, an Italian form, and probably the first to write a piece for solo violin. Biography Little is known about his early life. Around 1590 he left England to pursue a musical career in Germany, as did several other prominent English musicians, sensing better job opportunities abroad. He switched employments often between the various courts in north Germany and Denmark. Between his arrival in Germany, sometime around 1590, and 1594 he worked for the Brandenburg court; between 1594 and 1596 he worked for Christian IV of Denmark in Copenhagen; then until 1599 he was back in Brandenburg. He returned that year to Copenhagen, where he stayed until 1606. From 1606 to 1608 he worked at Bückeburg in Brunswick-Lüneburg. From 1608 to 1610 he was employed in Hamburg, but he returned to Bückeburg in 1610. Evidently by 1612 he was again planning on switching jobs, for a letter surviving from that year, written by the count at Bückeburg, tells the Hamburg court pithily that he was a

William Byrd

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Byrd (; c. 15404 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continent. He is often considered along with John Dunstaple and Henry Purcell as one of England’s most important composers of early music. Byrd wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school), and consort music. He produced sacred music for Anglican services, but during the 1570s became a Roman Catholic, and wrote Catholic sacred music later in his life. Life Birth and background Richard Byrd of Ingatestone, Essex, the paternal grandfather of Thomas Byrd, most likely moved to London in the 15th century. Thereafter succeeding generations of the Byrd family are described as gentlemen. William Byrd was born in London, the third surviving son of Thomas Byrd and his wife, Margery. No record of his birth has survived, and the year of his birth is not known for certain, but a document dated 2 October 1598, and written by William Byrd, states that he is “58 yeares or th

William Cornysh

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Cornysh the Younger (also spelled Cornyshe, Cornishe or Cornish) (1465 – October 1523) was an English composer, dramatist, actor, and poet. Life In his only surviving poem, which was written in Fleet Prison, he claims that he has been convicted by false information and thus wrongly accused, though it is not known what the accusation was. He may not be the composer of the music found in the Eton Choirbook, which may alternatively be by his father, also named William Cornysh, who died c. 1502. The younger Cornysh had a prestigious employment at court, as Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal; and being responsible for the musical and dramatic entertainments at court and during important diplomatic events such as at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520; and visits to and from the courts of France and the Holy Roman Empire, which he fulfilled until his death. He died in 1523, his birth date unknown. Musical works The Eton Choirbook (compiled c. 1490–1502) contains several works by Cornysh: Salve Regina (found in several other sources as well), Stabat mater, Ave Maria mater Dei, Gaude virgo mater Christi, and a lost Gaude flore virginali. The Caius Choirbook (c. 1518–1520

William Daman

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William Daman (or William Damon; died 1591) was a musician in England in the royal household of Elizabeth I. His few surviving compositions include an early setting of the Psalms to part-music. Life Daman is thought to have been born in Liège (modern-day Belgium) around 1540 and came to England as a servant of Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset on his return from Rome in 1566. In November of that year Daman married Anne Derifield at St James Garlickhythe in London, and the parish register of St Peter le Poer shows entries for baptisms or burials of eight of their children from 1572 to 1585. From 1576 until his death he was in the royal household of Elizabeth I, where he was one of six musicians in a recorder consort that played dance music. He died in 1591, and was buried at St Peter le Poer on 26 March. An adaptation of the tune for Psalm 45 from ‘The Psalmes in English Metre’ 1579 is set to the hymn ‘Lord Jesus, think on me’ by A W Chatfield translated from the Greek of Synesius of Cyrene 375-430 (New English Hymnal #70a). In 1591 another version of Daman’s Psalms appeared from Thomas East’s press. This work was published by William Swayne, and by him dedicated to Lord Burghley

William Hawte

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sir William Hawte (also Haute or Haut) (c. 1430 – 2 July 1497) was a prominent member of a Kentish gentry family of long standing in royal service, which, through its near connections to the Woodville family, became closely and dangerously embroiled in the last phases of the Wars of the Roses. It is claimed that he is the same Sir William Hawte who was a composer of liturgical and devotional choral music (who flourished c. 1460–1470), represented in a number of manuscript choirbooks that survive to this day. Two settings of the Benedicamus Domino are found in the Pepys Manuscript, and another work attributed to him, a Stella coeli, extirpavit (a Latin prayer to the Virgin, for protection from plague ) exists in the Ritson Manuscript. Family Hawte the composer is identified as a son of William Haute of Bishopsbourne, Kent, M.P., by his second wife, Joan Wydeville, daughter of Richard Wydeville, M.P. (1385–1441), of Grafton, Northamptonshire and Maidstone, Kent, who married c. 1429. William the father did have a child by his first wife, and there is mention of a young William Haute seeking a novitiate at Christ Church priory in Canterbury around 1430. However the weight of evidence i

William Horwood (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Horwood, also Horewud, was an English polyphonic vocal composer in the late-medieval period ( 1430 – 1484). He was an early proponent of the English votive style and represents the first stage of its development in the Eton Choirbook, contributing three complete pieces and one fragment to the document. In 1470, he was a singer at Lincoln Cathedral, in 1476, he was a vicar choral at Lincoln, and from 1477 until 1484, he was the Cathedral choirmaster. There is also one incomplete piece attributed to Horwood in the fragmentary York mass manuscript, Borthwick Institute MS Mus.1; however, Theodor Dumitrescu in his edition of the mass manuscript suggests this may be a different composer with the same surname. The survival of these large-scale pieces makes Horwood the most important representative we have of the period between Dunstaple and early Tudor composers such as Fayrfax and William Cornysh. Horwood’s “Magnificat secundi toni a 5” bears a strong resemblance to compositions of his near contemporary Josquin des Prez (c. 1440–1521), so much so that he might easily be mistaken for Josquin upon first audition. No mention is made of Horwood among the listing of Josquin’s contempo

William Hunnis

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Hunnis (died 6 June 1597) was an English Protestant poet, dramatist, and composer. Biography Hunnis was as early as 1549 in the service of William Herbert, later Earl of Pembroke. His friend Thomas Newton, in a poem prefixed to The Hive of Hunnye (1578), says: “In prime of youth thy pleasant Penne depaincted Sonets sweete”, and mentions his interludes, gallant lays, rondelets and songs, explaining that it was in the winter of his age that he turned to sacred lore and high philosophy. In 1550 he published Certayne Psalms … in Englishe metre, and shortly afterward was made a gentleman of the Chapel Royal to Edward VI. At Mary I’s accession he retained his appointment, but in 1555 he is said to have been one of a party of twelve conspirators who had determined to take Mary’s life. Although nothing came of the first plot, shortly afterward he was party to the Dudley conspiracy to dethrone Mary in favour of her sister Elizabeth. Hunnis, having some knowledge of alchemy, was to go abroad to coin the necessary gold, but this doubtful mission was exchanged for the task of making false keys to the treasury in London, which he was able to do because of his friendship with Nicholas

William Inglott

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Inglott or Inglot (1553/4buried 31 December 1621) was an English organist and composer of the Elizabethan era, who is mostly associated with the cathedral in the English city of Norwich. Inglott moved from Norwich to Hereford Cathedral, returning in 1611 to replace the composer Thomas Morley as the cathedral organist. His memorial plaque at Norwich Cathedral was restored 90 years after his death. Amongst the few surviving works by Ingott are two keyboard pieces by Ingott in the collection of keyboard music known as the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and a Short Service for four voices, reconstructed in 1989. Biography William Inglott’s father Edmund (d. 1583) was the organist at Norwich Cathedral. William retained a strong connection to the cathedral during his career, first as a chorister under his father (15671568), as a lay clerk (from 1576), and as the cathedral’s organist (15871591). He was paid in 1582 for teaching the boys in the choir during a period when his father was too ill to work. Inglott moved to Hereford Cathedral as Master of the Choristers from 1597 until some time after 1610, but returned to Norwich as organist in 1611, replacing the composer Thomas Morley. No

William Leighton

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sir William Leighton ( ; – buried 31 July 1622) was an English Jacobean composer and editor who published The Teares and Lamentacions of a Sorrowfull Soule (1614). He was also a politician. Family Leighton was first son of William Leighton (died 1607) of Plaish Hall, Cardington, Shropshire, who was Chief Justice of North Wales, and of his wife Isabella, daughter of Thomas Onslow of London. Leighton married Winifred, daughter of Simon Harcourt, of Ellenhall, Staffordshire, by whom he had one son and two daughters. His wife died in 1616. Leighton seems to have been in poor standing with his own father, who in the latter’s will divided his property between William’s half-brother and William’s then infant son. William was not allowed use of his son’s portion unless he gave “good and sufficient sureties”. Leighton’s biographer ‘J.J.C.’ suggests it was probably because Leighton had been a follower of Elizabeth I’s disgraced favourite the Earl of Essex, to whom Leighton had written letters in 1600. Career For education, Leighton recordedly attended Shrewsbury School in 1577, followed by admission as a law student to the Inner Temple in 1580. Leighton served as MP for Much Wenlock in the l

William Mundy (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

William Mundy (c. 1529–1591) was a Renaissance English composer of sacred music and father of composer John Mundy. Life Mundy was the son of Thomas Mundy, a musician and sexton of the London church St Mary-at-Hill. William Mundy married Mary Alcock and had two sons, John Mundy, an organist and composer, and Stephen Mundy, a gentleman of the household to James I and Charles I. In 1543, William Mundy was head chorister of Westminster Abbey, until his voice broke. He was appointed deputy to St Martin, Ludgate in 1547, and from 1548 to 1558 Mundy served as Parish Clerk for the church of St Mary-at-Hill in London (his father Thomas’ employer). Mundy was appointed Vicar choral to the Chapel Royal in 1559, and as a Gentleman of the Chapel in 1564, Works Overview Coming of age during the reign of Henry VIII, Mundy’s career spanned much of England’s Tudor Dynasty, and reflected the changes in church music that accompanied the religious turmoil of that period. Mundy’s extant body of sacred music consists of the two masses above, six Anglican service settings, the single Kyrie, twenty-two motets (in Latin), thirteen anthems, and a large number of musical settings for specific Psalms. These se