Josquin Des Prez

Josquin Des Prez

Biography

Born: 1450/55? - 1521

Genres: Choral Music, Vocal Music

Period: Renaissance

Josquin Des Prez was regarded by his contemperaries as the greatest of his age. He was in Milan, from 1459 to 1479, and he sang in the papal choir from 1486 to 1494. After service under the duke of ferrara he ended his days as provost of the collegiate church of Conde. His earlier works showcase his contrapuntal skills, while his later works are more chordal. He wrote masses and miscellaneous italian pieces, but he was particularly noted for his chansons and motets.

There are references to Josquin having served at several courts in Italy and France, and at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Among his surviving works are more than a dozen masses, a hundred motets, and a good deal of secular music. The first music printer, Ottavio Pettruci , devoted and entire volume to Josquins' works, an honor not awarded to any other composer. His reputation, as given by Martin Luther and others, was the greatest of any composer up to this time, and his works were Closely imitated throughout the 16th century.

The serene, almost otherworldy choral sound of the flemish (Belgium/Dutch Descent) schools style can be heard in the Gloria from Josquins' Missa L'homme Arme. Flemish composers of the time often based the cantus firmus on a popular melody of the day, composing new music for the other voices in the counterpoint to the tune. The simultaneous interweaving of several melodic lines in a musical composition is known as polophony. Polyphonic music of the Renaissance could be bery complex and intricate, often obscuring the words and the meaning of the text to which it has been set.