Josquin, des
Josquin des Prez
Period: Renaissance
Born: c. 1450 in Hainault, Belgium
Died: Saturday, August 27, 1521 in
Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Belgium
Nation of Origin: Belgium
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Major Works:
19 Masses, 100 Motets, 70 Chansons, Instrumental Pieces, and
Frottole
Déploration sur le trépas de Jean Ockeghem
Tu solus, qui facis mirabilia
Adieu mes amours
Mille regretz
Faulte d'argent
L'homme armé super voces musicales Mass
Hercules dux Ferrariae Mass
Malheur me bat Mass
Faysans regres
Absalon fili mi
Dominus regnavit
Other Information:
Josquin studied with Ockeghem and stands at the border of the
Medieval and the Renaissance worlds. The British musicologist and
composer, Charles Burney revived interest in Josquin's work in the
late 18th century.
Quick Facts:
- Earlier research had confused Josquin with Juschinus de Frantia
(aka Judochus de Picardia), a singer at the Milan Cathedral from
1459 to 1472. Earlier references to Josquin singing at Milan during
this time are now thought to be incorrect. As a result, Josquin was
thought to have been an adult in 1459 prompting an estimate of 1440
as his birth. Scholars now believe his birth year is closer to 1450
because his earliest known adult activity occurred in the
mid-1470s.
- He spent most of his career in Italy.
- His many motets show a freer style, wide variety of texts, and
more possibilities for text/music relationships.
- His masses were more conservative - most are cantus firmi but
the parody mass on Ockeghem's chanson Malheur me bat is
important. Parody mass was the dominant form by 1540. The Mass
offered little opportunity for experimentation.
- He made use of many secular tunes for cantus firmi.
- In his motets, each phrase of text has its own motive,
presented in imitation by each voice before moving to a cadence.
His cadences were often concealed by overlapping phrases. The music
continues without obvious divisions into sections. He used rounded
3-part forms.
- His harmony sounds more major and minor than modal.
- He fit the music to text - correct declamation with word (tone)
painting.
- He made use of Soggetto cavato - a subject carved out - each
vowel indicates a corresponding syllable of the hexachord.
Essay:
Josquin des Prez was one of the few composers to enjoy renowned
fame. He was highly regarded by such patrons and admirers as Martin
Luther, Pope Alexander VI, the Sforza family of Milan, the Estes of
Ferrara, and Louis XII of France. Born about 1450, probably in
Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Hainaut (now part of Belgium), Josquin
lived a long, successful life until his death in 1521. His first
known adult activity is in the service of Duke Galeazzo Sforza of
Milan (1474 to 1479). In 1484 he is known to have served Cardinal
Ascanio Sforza and was a member of the papal chapel in Rome. In
1503 he was choir director at the court of Ferrara in Italy, where
he was paid quite well. In 1504 Josquin returned to his homeland,
possibly to escape the plague, which later killed Obrecht. He would
live the remainder of his life in Condé-sur-l'Escaut,
Hainaut.
During his lifetime Josquin composed approximately eighteen Masses,
100 motets, and seventy chansons. Unfortunately, many of his works
cannot be dated. As a result, the chronology of his works can only
be hypothesized and debated. Although his motets and chansons
greatly outnumber his Masses, the Mass was the traditional outlet
for the mastery of composers in his day. Whether or not he composed
all eighteen of the Masses for which he is credited is a matter of
additional debate. The Masses under question are Missa Da
pacem and Missa Alez regretz, which were discovered in
sources compiled long after his death.
Josquin's Masses exemplify his technical and constructive genius.
The three types of compositional techniques that he used in
composing his Masses were the use of cantus firmi, paraphrased
pre-existing melodies, and cyclic canons. The largest group of his
Masses are cantus-firmus masses. The number of his cantus-firmus
Masses based on secular melody is indicative of his preference to
secular rather than sacred melodies. Perhaps he and other composers
preferred secular tunes because they were more melodically
interesting than sacred tunes. The secular tunes typically had more
shape than the sacred tunes; however, it should be noted that
Josquin did not go without composing Masses around sacred tunes,
which were mostly derived from plainchant. Among some of the
secular cantus-firmi used by Josquin are L'ami Baudichon,
N'auray je jamais mieulx, and L'homme
armé.
Some of the Josquin's secular tunes are borrowed from chansons,
such as N'auray je jamais mieulx. L'homme armé
could possibly have been the tenor of a three-voice chanson. This
notion is currently under investigation.
L'homme armé (The Armed Man), has a rich
history in Masses. At least thirty-one Mass-settings were based on
this melody in the Renaissance period. Two of these, which were by
Josquin, are Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales
and Missa L'homme armé sexti toni. Among other well
known composers to use the tune were Dufay, Ockeghem, Palestrina,
and Obrecht. The last Mass to incorporate the tune was a
seventeenth century twelve-voice work by Carissimi.
Missa L'homme armé sexti toni is of Josquin's modern
tendencies of composition, such as transposition for the purpose of
creating a major key tonality. In this Mass he transposes to F (in
the sixth mode) from the normal G. This is but one technique
borrowed from the former Super voces musicales version. The
most obvious difference in the two Masses is the overall wide range
of the voices in Sexti toni.
Sexti toni (discussed from here on) begins with a brief
unison in the tenor and bass, followed by open fifths leading to a
rich major triad with the statement of the third voice in the
Kyrie. Each voice is independent of the barline (as in all
sections). This is precisely what gives the Mass the floating
quality which it so appropriately exudes.
The Gloria begins with a duet between the soprano and tenor. The
soprano leads the sequence, beginning in measure five, soon
followed by the tenor, resulting in a canon. The alto and bass
enter with their own duet at bar nine. The Gloria is shaped by a
cadential hierarchy. The introduction of the first duet is followed
by the tutti, ending on a half cadence. The next duet and tutti
lead to a full cadence. The second phrase is characterized by the
sequence ending on the half cadence. A sense of climax is achieved
in the third phrase with the highest note of the section and a
satisfying full V-I cadence. A new section of text starts with each
new section of music. The contour of melody indicates text-painting
such as a rise in melody at the phrase, "in the highest."
The melody is stated in retrograde in Agnus Dei, simultaneously
with the direct melody. Retrograde was first used by Josquin in the
Super voces musicales version; however, it was presented in
succession with the direct melody instead of simultaneously. This
particular section of Sexti toni contains an increase of
voices from four to six. The retrograde and direct melodies are in
the lower two voices. The upper four voices are in paired canons.
Josquin achieves variance in the speed of the melody by increasing
and decreasing note durations in proportions.
May 3, 1993
Updated January 11, 2002 with assistance from Kristine
Brancolini
Essay contributed by:
Robert L. Hinson, Jr.
Composer Bibliography:
Scherr, Richard, The Josquin Companion, Oxford University
Press, March 2000, ISBN: 0198163355
General Bibliography:
Kennedy, Michael, The Oxford Dictionary of
Music, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1997, ISBN:
0198691629
Reese, Gustave, Music in the Renaissance, W.W. Norton &
Company; November 1959, ISBN: 0393095304
Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World , W. W.
Norton & Company, 1943, ASIN: 0393097188
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc.,
January 2001, ISBN: 1561592390
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors,
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group,
December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Links to essays at other sites:
Please note: These links will open in a new window.
Biographical essay from the Grove Concise Dictionary of
Music
Biographical essay at the Naxos site
If this link does not work, try searching naxos.com directly.
Copyright © 2005, Steven G. Estrella, All Rights
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