External links
- Free scores by Mathieu Gascongne at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Free scores by Mathieu Gascongne in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
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Mathieu Gascongne (first name also Matthieu or Matthias; last name also Gascogne, Gascongus, Gascone, Gasconia, and Guascogna; fl. early 16th century) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Contemporaries, such as Adrian Willaert (as quoted by the renowned Venetian theorist Zarlino) grouped him with Josquin, Ockeghem, and Jean Mouton as among the finest composers of the time. Compared with those others, however, little of his output has survived.
Little is known for certain about his life, and there are two principal theories regarding where he lived and worked. The first is that he was associated with the French royal court, for he wrote several motets for official occasions (such as the coronation of King Francis I in 1515); this would have put him there at the same time as Jean Mouton and just after Antoine de Févin. In addition, one document describes him as a priest of the Meaux diocese, and also associates him with the cathedral in Tours; it also names him as a singer in the royal chapel in 1517–1518. A second theory is that he was associated with a group of composers active at Cambrai, since his music appears in manuscripts there. Possibly both theories are correct, and he was active in Paris in the first decades of the 16th century, and at Cambrai later.
Gascongne wrote masses, motets and chansons. Nine masses have been attributed to him, but not all survive complete. Of his motets, two are settings of the Magnificat. The chansons were famous, and Gascongne has been called the inventor, along with Antoine de Févin, of the Parisian chanson rustique . Adrian Willaert, the founder of the Venetian school, also held Gascongne in high regard, stating that he was on the level of Josquin, Ockeghem, and his own teacher Jean Mouton.
Most of his sacred music is for four a cappella voices; he uses as source material chansons by Pierre de la Rue, Jean Mouton and Josquin des Prez. His chansons are mostly for three voices, but there are numerous works which are attributed to him in one source but to another composer in other sources (Mouton is a common competitor for attribution). Stylistically his music is typical of French music of the early 16th century, with smooth, balanced polyphony and pervasive imitation.
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Josquin des Prez was a French composer of High Renaissance music. A central figure of the Franco-Flemish School, Josquin is considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance and had a profound influence on the music of 16th-century Europe. He built on the work of his predecessors Du Fay and Binchois, and his elder contemporaries Ockeghem and Busnois, to develop a complex style of expressive—and often imitative—polyphony which informs much of his work. In addition, he pioneered the development of word painting and gradually departed from the early Renaissance emphasis on melismatic lines, preferring to use shorter, repeated motifs between voices. A singer himself, Josquin's compositions are chiefly vocal, including masses, motets and a variety of secular chansons. His better-known compositions include the masses Missa Pange lingua, Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae, Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales and Missa L'homme armé sexti toni; the motets Ave Maria ... Virgo serena, Inviolata, integra et casta es Maria and Miserere mei, Deus; as well as the chanson Adieu mes amours, the frottola-inspired El Grillo and Nymphes des bois, a lament for Ockeghem.
Johannes Ockeghem was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. The most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, Ockeghem was an important proponent of the Franco-Flemish School and among the greatest composers of 15th-century Europe. He was well associated with other leading composers of the time, and spent most of his career serving the French royal court under Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. Numerous poets and musicians lamented Ockeghem's death, including Erasmus, Guillaume Crétin, Jean Molinet and Josquin, who composed the well known Nymphes des bois for him.
The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition originating from France and from the Burgundian Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as to the composers who wrote it. The spread of their technique, especially after the revolutionary development of printing, produced the first true international style since the unification of Gregorian chant in the 9th century. Franco-Flemish composers mainly wrote sacred music, primarily masses, motets, and hymns.
Adrian Willaert was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance and founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers who moved to Italy and transplanted the polyphonic Franco-Flemish style there.
Cipriano de Rore was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. Not only was he a central representative of the generation of Franco-Flemish composers after Josquin des Prez who went to live and work in Italy, but he was one of the most prominent composers of madrigals in the middle of the 16th century. His experimental, chromatic, and highly expressive style had a decisive influence on the subsequent development of that secular music form.
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.
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.
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.
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.
Jean Richafort was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance, a member of the third generation of the Franco-Flemish School.
Antoine de Févin was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary.
Robert de Févin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was the brother of Antoine de Févin, a considerably more famous composer at the court of Louis XII of France. Whether he was older or younger than Antoine is not known.
Jean Mouton was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School.
Pierre Certon was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation after Josquin and Mouton, and was influential in the late development of the French chanson.
Pierre Moulu was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance who was active in France, probably in Paris.
Jean Leleu, most commonly known by the latinized version of his name, Johannes Lupi, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A representative of the generation after Josquin, he was a minor but skilled composer of polyphony who was mainly active in Cambrai.
Ninot le Petit was a French composer of the Renaissance, probably associated with the French royal chapel. Although a substantial amount of his music has survived in several sources, his actual name is not known with certainty.
France has a rich music history that was already prominent in Europe as far back as the 10th century. French music originated as a unified style in medieval times, focusing around the Notre-Dame school of composers. This group developed the motet, a specific musical composition. Notable in the high Middle Ages were the troubadours and trouvères soon began touring France, composing and performing many original songs. The styles of ars nova and ars subtilior sprung up in the 14th century, both of which focused on secular songs. As Europe moved into the Renaissance age, the music of France evolved in sophistication. The popularity of French music in the rest of Europe declined slightly, yet the popular chanson and the old motet were further developed during this time. The epicenter of French music moved from Paris to Burgundy, as it followed the Burgundian School of composers. During the Baroque period, music was simplified and restricted due to Calvinist influence. The air de cour then became the primary style of French music, as it was secular and preferred by the royal court.
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.
Andrea Antico was a music printer, editor, publisher and composer of the Renaissance born in the Republic of Venice, of Istrian birth, active in Rome and in Venice. He was the first printer of sacred music in Rome, and the earliest competitor of Venetian Ottaviano Petrucci, who is regarded as the first significant music printer.
