Janequin, D’un seul soleil After last week’s foray into the ars subtilior, you may be ready for something a bit more sedate. Clément Janequin (1485-1558) was in his time perhaps the most celebrated composer of French chansons. Today he may be best known for two … Read more
Dunstable, Quam pulcra es Very little is known about the life of English composer John Dunstable (c. 1390-1453) (sometimes listed as Dunstaple or Dunstapell or Dumstable), yet he is universally acknowledge as one of the most influential composers of the 15th century. His music in … Read more
Today I am presenting a post that goes back a while (well, eleven years to be exact). The post itself floated up while searching my files for prose to complement a new talk I am giving at this year’s conferences: a consideration of the critical, … Read more
Morales, Lux aeterna The renowned early music scholar Gustav Reese called Cristóbal de Morales (1500-1553) the “first great Spanish master of the Late Renaissance.” Where does that fit with our discussion a few weeks back about Juan de Anchieta (1462-1523)? Morales belonged to the generation … Read more
Praetorius, Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming Christmas is not over yet. We are in the midst of the Christmas Season—the twelve days of Christmas—although this post probably won’t hit the weekly digest until the season is almost over. The source of the text of … Read more
Anchieta, Bone Jesu The composer Juan de Anchieta (c. 1462-1523) served in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella in one of the most dynamic periods of Spanish history. In 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516) married Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504), uniting Catholic Spain after … Read more
Tallis, If Ye Love Me If Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585) had a list of greatest hits, If Ye Love Me would surely rank near the top. One of the things I remember well about the day I married Carol is the performance of this work … Read more
Josquin, El Grillo Josquin Desprez (c. 1450–1455-1521) is one of the most important composer of the middle Renaissance. His life history is riddled with gaps and uncertainties as he moved through various posts in the Low Countries, France, and Italy. Born in French-speaking Flanders (today’s Belgium), … Read more
Ingegneri, Tenebrae factae sunt We have now entered the season of Lent, a perfect time to feature sacred works of a more introspective nature. The text of this responsory by Marc’Antoine Ingegneri (c. 1535 or 1536-1592) takes us deeper into Lent, in fact all the … Read more
Obrecht, Laudes Christo Redemptori We know that Jacob Obrecht was born in the Netherlands on St. Cecelia’s Day, November 22, but there is no record of the year. Historians offer dates ranging from 1450 to 1458. The earliest date of 1450 is derived from the … Read more