Josquin des Prez and His Musical Legacy: An Introductory Guide

by William Elders

Overview

Josquin des Prez and His Musical Legacy is the most up-to-date contribution to the research on one of the most important and internationally famous composers of the Renaissance. This book offers factual information on the composer as well as insights into his 16th-century and modern reception, a survey of the sources of his music, and a discussion of the thorny issue of authorship. Willem Elders, one of the most distinguished scholars of Josquin's music, also discusses the influence of Gregorian chant as a source of inspiration and explains the various aspects of Josquin's symbolic language. Each individual work, including some of those in the old Josquin edition now considered inauthentic) receives a short discussion of relevant contextual aspects and interesting musical features. Ranges and lengths are given for each work. The style is adapted to the professional musicologist as well as to the music lover and performer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789462702851
Publisher:	Leuven University Press
Publication date:	07/15/2021
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.40(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Willem Elders is Professor Emeritus of Music History before 1600 at Utrecht University and General Editor of the New Josquin Edition.

Table of Contents

Preface 11

Bibliographical abbreviations and manuscript sigla 13

Part I Josquin and his cultural environment

1 Biography 17

Josquin's personality 21

Josquin's patrons 22

Portraits 27

2 Josquin in the eyes of his admirers 29

Writers 31

Poets 33

Music theorists 36

Music publishers 39

Music historians 40

Composers 42

3 The sources of Josquin's music 46

Manuscripts 46

Printed editions 50

Instrumental arrangements 53

Music theory treatises 55

4 Issues of authenticity and chronology 57

Doubtful works 60

Chronology 63

5 Gregorian chant as a source of inspiration 65

6 Aspects of Josquin's symbolic language 73

Cantus prius factus 73

Soggetto ostinato 75

Special forms of notation 76

Mode and musica ficta 76

Canon 78

Number symbolism 83

Part II Josquin's musical legacy

7 Masses and Mass movements 97

Masses based on Gregorian chants 98

Masses based on secular monophonic songs 104

Masses based on secular polyphonic songs 110

Mass based on a sacred polyphonic song 117

Masses based on solmisation themes 117

Canonic Masses 121

Single Mass movements 123

8 Motets 128

Motets on texts from the Old Testament 128

a) Genesis, Samuel, Job, Ecclesiasticus, The Song of Songs 128

b) The psalms 131

Motets on texts from the New Testament 147

Motets on non-biblical texts in honour of Jesus Christ 155

Motets on non-biblical texts in honour of the Virgin Mary 163

Antiphons 163

Sequences 167

Hymns 174

The Proper of the Mass 175

Books of Hours 175

Contemporaneous poems 179

Texts of unknown origin 183

Motets on other non-biblical texts 185

9 Secular works 187

Secular works for three and four voices 188

Chansons from the courtly song tradition 188

Chansons from the folk song tradition 191

The Virgil Motets 199

The Frottole 201

Secular works with reconstructed texts 202

Chansons with no known text 205

Secular works for five and six voices 207

Chansons from the courtly song tradition 208

Chansons from the folk song tradition 215

Instrumental works 219

Epilogue 127

Bibliography 231

Appendix A New Josquin Edition: summary of volumes and editors 235

Appendix B List of authentic and doubtful works byJosquin 237

Index of names 243

What People are Saying About This

Ignace Bossuyt

This book is indispensable in the libraries of musicologists, music lovers and musicians and they should keep it close at hand! With every performance or listening to a work of Josquin, they will want to spontaneously grab this publication.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is indispensable in the libraries of musicologists, music lovers and musicians and they should keep it close at hand! With every performance or listening to a work of Josquin, they will want to spontaneously grab this publication."

Ignace Bossuyt

"This book is indispensable in the libraries of musicologists, music lovers and musicians and they should keep it close at hand! With every performance or listening to a work of Josquin, they will want to spontaneously grab this publication."—Ignace Bossuyt, University of Leuven

From the Publisher