Jacobus Barbireau (also Jacques or Jacob; also Barbirianus) (1455 – 7 August 1491) was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer from Antwerp. He was considered to be a superlative composer both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars; however, his surviving output is small, and he died young.
Until the 1960s, he was confused with another somewhat older composer named Barbingant. Barbireau was probably born in Antwerp, and both of his parents were citizens there. By 1482, he had attained the title of Master of Arts, so he likely went to university in the 1470s. He wanted to study with the humanist and musician Rodolphus Agricola, who was active at Ferrara in the 1470s and later Heidelberg, and several letters written by Agricola to Barbireau have survived; one of them gives useful clues about Barbireau's life. According to it, Barbireau was already active as a composer by 1484, and implies that his fame had not yet spread outside of his native Antwerp.
Barbireau may have been attached to the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp since childhood. Since 1482, the church was the center of his life. It is also probably the reason why it was impossible for him to study with Agricola. In 1484, succeeding Antoine de Vigne, he became Kapellmeister, a position he held until his death. Although Barbireau was registered in the account books of the church as singing master or magister choralum from 1487, he had probably held the post from as early as 1484. In 1485 as a schoolmaster, he paid a contribution to the Capellanía Our Lady of Nieuwwerk, a foundation created for singing teachers. At that time, the choir led by Barbireau consisted of twelve singers. Emperor Maximilian I evidently held him in high regard, and when Barbireau went to Buda in Hungary in 1490, Queen Beatrix also spoke highly of him.
Evidently his health was poor for about the last nine years of his life. He died in Antwerp, not long after returning from Hungary, on 7 August 1491. In his will, he designated as heirs the woman he married after 1487 and the daughter he had with her, Jacomyne Barbireau (born after 1487, died after 1525).
The death of the composer inspired the humanist Judocus Beyssel to write three epitaphs, in which he described Barbireau as "notabilissimus modulator" and laments the composer's untimely death.
The library of the cathedral in Antwerp was destroyed by religious fanatics in 1556, including probably most of Barbireau's music. Some, however, has survived, in sources such as the Chigi Codex. What has survived is of outstanding quality. "Barbireau shows a degree of contrapuntal polish and melodic-harmonic resourcefulness that puts him firmly on a par with such composers as Isaac and Obrecht." [1]
Two masses have survived as well as a Kyrie for the Easter season, and a motet on texts from the Song of Songs, Osculetur me, for four voices. The mass for five voices, Missa virgo parens Christi, is a cantus firmus mass and has an unusual arrangement where the voices have divisi parts, indicating that at least ten actual voices would be required to sing it. In this composition the textural contrasts are high, with striking homophonic passages alternating dynamically with polyphonic, and with fast-moving parts weaving around the slower-moving parts. Also featured in this mass are alternating duos (bicinia) in a call-response fashion. The motet Osculetur me uses low voice tessituras reminiscent of Ockeghem.
Of his secular music, the song Een vroylic wesen, for three voices, became a 'hit' song all over Europe, appearing in numerous arrangements from places as far apart as Spain, Italy and England; Heinrich Isaac used it as the basis for his own Missa Frölich wesen. Three of his surviving secular songs were used as the basis for masses, both by Isaac and Jacob Obrecht.
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.
Heinrich Isaac was a Netherlandish composer of south Netherlandish origin during the Renaissance era. He wrote masses, motets, songs, and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany. Several variants exist of his name: Ysaac, Ysaak, Henricus, Arrigo d'Ugo, and Arrigo il Tedesco among them.
Johannes Ockeghem was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was a significant European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colleague Antoine Busnois—a prominent European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School.
John Taverner was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas and The Western Wynde Mass, and Missa Corona Spinea is also often viewed as a masterwork.
Antoine Brumel was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of the most influential composers of his generation.
Jehan le Taintenier or Jean Teinturier was a Renaissance music theorist and composer from the Low Countries. Up to his time, he is perhaps the most significant European writer on music since Guido of Arezzo.
Jacob Obrecht was a Flemish composer of masses, motets and songs. He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe of the late 15th century and was only eclipsed after his death by Josquin des Prez.
Alexander Agricola was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance writing in the Franco-Flemish style. A prominent member of the Grande chapelle, the Habsburg musical establishment, he was a renowned composer in the years around 1500, and his music was widely distributed throughout Europe. He composed music in all of the important sacred and secular styles of the time.
Pierre de la Rue was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vico. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the most famous and influential composers in the Netherlands polyphonic style in the decades around 1500.
Loyset Compère was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France.
Walter Frye was an English composer of the early Renaissance.
Pierre Moulu was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance who was active in France, probably in Paris.
Johannes Martini was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance.
The Chigi codex is a music manuscript originating in Flanders. According to Herbert Kellman, it was created sometime between 1498 and 1503, probably at the behest of Philip I of Castile. It is currently housed in the Vatican Library under the call number Chigiana, C. VIII. 234.
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.
Jean L'Héritier was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was mainly famous as a composer of motets, and is representative of the generation of composers active in the early to middle 16th century who anticipated the style of Palestrina.
Marbrianus de Orto was a Dutch composer of the Renaissance. He was a contemporary, close associate, and possible friend of Josquin des Prez, and was one of the first composers to write a completely canonic setting of the Ordinary of the Mass.
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.
Jehan Fresneau was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers in the renowned Milan chapel in the mid-1470s, which was disbanded after the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza.
Jheronimus de Clibano was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. He was a member of the Habsburg Grande chapelle, the distinguished choir of Philip I of Castile, at the same time as Pierre de La Rue.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(March 2013) |
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