David Fallows (born 20 December 1945) is an English musicologist specializing in music of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, as well as the performance practice of music. He is a leader in fifteenth-century music studies, particularly secular song, Guillaume Dufay, and Josquin des Prez, both the subject of landmark biographies Fallows has written.
Fallows was born in Buxton on 20 December 1945. He received his BA from Jesus College, Cambridge, his Masters of Music from King's College, London, and his Ph.D. (1978) from the University of California, Berkeley. [1] [2] He is an early music performer as a viol player and continuo harpsichordist, performing with the Studio der frühen Musik, Musica Mundana, and Musica Reservata. [2]
He taught at the University of Manchester starting in 1976, where he is now Emeritus Professor of Musicology. Visiting appointments include University of Wisconsin, Madison, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, École Normale Supérieure, University of Basel, Harvard University and the University of Vienna. He received the Dent Medal in 1982, [3] became Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1994, a Fellow of the British Academy in 1997, a Corresponding Member of the American Musicological Society in 1999, and an Honorary Member of the Royal Musical Association in 2012. [4] From 2002–2007, he was president of the International Musicological Society.
His contributions were honoured with a Festschrift, Essays on Renaissance Music in Honour of David Fallows: Bon jour, bon mois, et bonne estrenne. [5]
David Fallows's work has been called "pioneering" on the lives of composers and of the ensembles that performed music, [1] and having covered "just about every aspect of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century music." [6] Among Fallows's first publications was, "Ciconia padre e figlio" (Ciconia: father and son; 1976), which theorized that the current biography of Johannes Ciconia was primarily that of his father, and that the composer himself was born about thirty-five years later. [7] This theory has become the accepted biography of the composer. Also during his doctoral studies he reconstructed the origins of the important fourteenth-century polyphonic manuscripts in Cambrai ("L'origine du MS. 1328 de Cambrai"). His 1978 dissertation, "Robert Morton's Songs" was among Fallows's first works on English Renaissance music and fifteenth-century song, repertories that have concerned him throughout his life (including in his 2014 Musica Britannica volume on English song, 1380–1480). These studies formed the basis for his comprehensive A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs, 1415–1480 (Oxford 1999). A major article on the life of Johannes Regis (1989) also had a transformative impact on the understanding of the composer. His 2009 study of the life and works of Josquin des Prez (Brepols) has been praised for understanding the conflicting information recently unearthed about the composer as well as presenting new hypotheses and understanding of the composer's music in light of new discoveries. [8]
Fallows's 1982 monograph Dufay is the principal reference work on the life and works of the composer Guillaume Dufay. He has edited and introduced facsimile publications of the Songbook of Henry VIII, [9] the manuscript Oxford, Canon. Misc 213, the Chansonnier Cordiforme, and others. As senior consulting editor for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Fallows contributed many major articles along with many small articles on musical diacritics (tempo and expression marks) and miscellany such as "Spoof Articles." [10]
Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the Franco-Flemish School and had a profound influence on the music of 16th-century Europe. Building on the work of his predecessors Guillaume Du Fay and Johannes Ockeghem, he developed a complex style of expressive—and often imitative—movement between independent voices (polyphony) which informs much of his work. He further emphasized the relationship between text and music, and departed from the early Renaissance tendency towards lengthy melismatic lines on a single syllable, preferring to use shorter, repeated motifs between voices. Josquin was a singer, and his compositions are mainly vocal. They include masses, motets and secular chansons.
Johannes Ockeghem was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was the most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colleague Antoine Busnois—the leading European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School.
Guillaume Du Fay was a composer and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered the leading European composer of his time, his music was widely performed and reproduced. Du Fay was well-associated with composers of the Burgundian School, particularly his colleague Gilles Binchois, but was never a regular member of the Burgundian chapel himself.
Ars nova refers to a musical style which flourished in the Kingdom of France and its surroundings during the Late Middle Ages. More particularly, it refers to the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel (1310s) and the death of composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377. The term is sometimes used more generally to refer to all European polyphonic music of the fourteenth century. For instance, the term "Italian ars nova" is sometimes used to denote the music of Francesco Landini and his compatriots, although Trecento music is the more common term for the contemporary 14th-century music in Italy. The "ars" in "ars nova" can be read as "technique", or "style". The term was first used in two musical treatises, titled Ars novae musicae by Johannes de Muris, and a collection of writings attributed to Philippe de Vitry often simply called "Ars nova" today. Musicologist Johannes Wolf first applied to the term as description of an entire era in 1904.
The Burgundian School was a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The school inaugurated the music of Burgundy.
Antoine Busnois 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.
Gustave Reese was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages (1940) and Music in the Renaissance (1954); these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras, with complete and precise bibliographical material, allowing for almost every piece of music mentioned to be traced back to a primary source.
Gaspar van Weerbeke 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 Dufay.
Franchinus Gaffurius was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance.
Johannes Regis was a Netherlandish 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.
Baude Cordier was a French composer in the ars subtilior style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier's life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in Rheims and had a Master of Arts. Some scholars identify him with Baude Fresnel, a harpist and organist in the court of Philip the Bold, though other scholars have rejected this.
The first decade of the 16th century marked the creation of some significant compositions. These were to become some of the most famous compositions of the century.
Richard Loqueville was a French composer active during the transition between Medieval and Renaissance music. A musician at Cambrai Cathedral, Loqueville was a harpist and teacher, whose students included Edward III, Duke of Bar and the influential composer Guillaume Du Fay.
The American Institute of Musicology (AIM) is a musicological organization that researches, promotes and produces publications on early music. Founded in 1944 by Armen Carapetyan, the AIM's chief objective is the publication of modern editions of medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque compositions and works of music theory. The breadth and quality of publications produced by the AIM constitutes a central contribution to the study, practice and performance of early music.
El Grillo is a frottola by Josquin des Prez. Possibly written in the late 15th to early 16th century, it is regarded as one of Josquin's most popular works.
Josquin Dor was a Franco-Flemish singer and composer of Renaissance music.
The Casanatense chansonnier was a major collection of Renaissance vocal music made in Ferrara c. 1480, including compositions from Europe's leading composers.
Jeremy Noble was an English musicologist and music critic who specialized in classical music. His career comprised two fields, musicological scholarship and music criticism. In the former, he focused on early English music, Venetian music and particularly the life and work of Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez. His colleague Stanley Sadie noted that "Although only a fraction of his research has been published, the breadth and depth of his knowledge and his generosity towards fellow scholars have made him an important participant in late 20th-century musicology."
| Motets | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
