Orlande de Lassus (also Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, or Roland Delattre) (1532 (possibly 1530) – June 14, 1594) was a Franco-Flemish composer of late Renaissance music. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 Along with Palestrina (of the Roman School), he is today considered to be the chief representative of the mature polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish School, and he was the most famous and influential musician in Europe at the end of the 16th century. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526 - 2 February 1594 was an Italian Composer of the Renaissance. The Roman school is the education system of the Ancient Rome. In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony In Music, the Franco-Flemish School refers somewhat imprecisely to the style of polyphonic Vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th
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Life
He was born in Mons in the province of Hainaut, in what is today Belgium. Mons ( Dutch: Bergen, Picard: Mont) is a Walloon City and municipality located in the Belgian This article deals with the historical county of Hainaut for other meanings see Hainaut. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Information about his early years is scanty, although some uncorroborated stories have survived, the most famous of which is that he was kidnapped three times because of the singular beauty of his singing voice. At the age of twelve he left the Low Countries with Ferrante Gonzaga and went to Mantua, Sicily, and later Milan (from 1547 to 1549). The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Ferrante I Gonzaga (Italian Ferdinando I 28 January 1507 - 15 November 1557) was an Italian Condottiero, a member of Mantua (Màntova in the local dialect of Lombard language Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. While in Milan he made the acquaintance of the madrigalist Spirito l'Hoste da Reggio, an influence which was formative on his early musical style.
He then worked as a singer and a composer for Costantino Castrioto in Naples in the early 1550s, and his first works are presumed to date from this time. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Next he moved to Rome, where he worked for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who maintained a household there; and in 1553, he became maestro di cappella of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, a spectacularly prestigious post for a man only twenty-one years old, but he stayed there only for a year (Palestrina took this post a year later, in 1555). Cosimo I de' Medici (June 12 1519 &ndash April 21 1574 was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574 reigning as the first Grand Kapellmeister (kəˈpɛlˌmaɪstər is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making The Basilica of St John Lateran ( Italian: Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) is the Cathedral of the church of Rome and the official Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2
No solid evidence survives for his whereabouts in 1554, but there are contemporary claims that he traveled in France and England. In 1555 he returned to the Low Countries and had his early works published in Antwerp (1555-1556). The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the In 1556 he joined the court of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, who was consciously attempting to create a musical establishment on a par with the major courts in Italy; Lassus was one of several Netherlanders to work there, and by far the most famous. Albert V Duke of Bavaria (German Albrecht V Herzog von Bayern) ( 29 February 1528 &ndash 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria He evidently was happy in Munich and decided to settle there. In 1558 he married Regina Wäckinger, the daughter of a maid of honor of the Duchess; they had two sons, both of whom became composers. By 1563 Lassus had been appointed maestro di cappella, succeeding Ludwig Daser in the post. Lassus remained in the service of Albrecht V and his heir, Wilhelm V, for the rest of his life. William V Duke of Bavaria ( 29 September 1548 - 7 February 1626) called the Pious, (German Wilhelm V
By the 1560s Lassus had become quite famous, and composers began to go to Munich to study with him. Andrea Gabrieli went there in 1562, and possibly remained in the chapel for a year; Giovanni Gabrieli also possibly studied with him in the 1570s. Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533? – August 30, 1585) was an Italian Composer and Organist of the late Renaissance. Giovanni Gabrieli (c 1554/1557 &ndash August 12 1612 was an Italian Composer and organist. His renown had spread outside of strictly musical circles, for in 1570 Emperor Maximilian II conferred nobility upon him, a rare circumstance for a composer; Pope Gregory XIII knighted him; and in 1571, and again in 1573, the king of France, Charles IX, invited him to visit. Maximilian II ( July 31, 1527 &ndash October 12, 1576) was king of Bohemia from 1562 king of Hungary and Croatia Pope Gregory XIII (January 7 1502 &ndash April 10 1585 born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585 Charles IX (27 June 1550 &ndash 30 May 1574 born Charles-Maximilien, was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death Some of these kings and aristocrats attempted to woo him away from Munich with more attractive offers, but Lassus was evidently more interested in the stability of his position, and the splendid performance opportunities of Albrecht's court, than in financial gain. "I do not want to leave my house, my garden, and the other good things in Munich," he wrote to the Duke of Saxony in 1580, upon receiving an offer for a position in Dresden. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German
In the late 1570s and 1580s Lassus made several visits to Italy, where he encountered the most modern styles and trends. In Ferrara, the center of avant-garde activity, he doubtless heard the madrigals being composed for the d'Este court; however his own style remained conservative, indeed becoming more simple and more refined as he aged. Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. A madrigal is a type of Secular vocal music composition written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras "Este" redirects here For the city see Este Italy. For Tolkien's fictional character see Estë. In the 1590s his health began to decline, and he went to a doctor named Thomas Mermann for treatment of what was called "melancholia hypocondriaca"; however he still was able to compose as well as travel occasionally. His final work was one of his best pieces: an exquisite set of twenty-one madrigali spirituali known as the Lagrime di San Pietro ("Tears of St. A madrigale spirituale (Italian pl madrigali spirituali) is a madrigal, or madrigal-like piece of music with a sacred rather than a secular text The Lagrime di San Pietro is a cycle of 21 madrigals by the late Renaissance composer Orlande de Lassus. Peter"), which he dedicated to Pope Clement VIII, and which was published posthumously in 1595. Not to be confused with Antipope Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII ( February 24, 1536 &ndash March 3, 1605 Lassus died in Munich, on June 14, 1594, the same day that his employer decided to dismiss him for economic reasons; he never saw the letter.
Music and influence
One of the most prolific, versatile, and universal composers of the late Renaissance, Lassus wrote over 2,000 works in all Latin, French, Italian and German vocal genres known in his time. These include 530 motets, 175 Italian madrigals and villanellas, 150 French chansons, and 90 German lieder. In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions A madrigal is a type of Secular vocal music composition written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras In music a villanella (plural villanelle &mdash not to be confused with the French poetic form Villanelle) is a form of light Italian secular A chanson ( French for " Song " from Latin cantio) is in general any lyric -driven French songs usually Polyphonic de Lied (plural de Lieder) (liːt plural) is a German word meaning literally " Song " among English speakers however the word No strictly instrumental music by Lassus is known to survive, or ever to have existed: an interesting omission for a composer otherwise so wide-ranging and prolific, during an age when instrumental music was becoming an ever-more prominent means of expression, all over Europe.
Sacred music
Lassus remained Catholic during this age of religious discord, although not dogmatically so, as may be seen from his more worldly secular songs as well as his parody Masses and Magnificats based on secular compositions. Nevertheless the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which under Jesuit influence was reaching a peak in Bavaria in the late sixteenth century, had a demonstrable impact on Lassus' late work, including the liturgical music for the Roman Rite, the burgeoning number of Magnificats, the settings of the Catholic Ulenberg Psalter (1588), and especially the great penitential cycle of spiritual madrigals, the 'Lagrime di San Pietro' (1594). The Counter-Reformation (also Catholic Reformation denotes the period of Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order
Masses
Almost 60 masses have survived complete; most of them are parody masses based on secular works written by himself or other composers. A parody mass is a musical setting of the mass, typically from the 16th century that uses multiple voices of another pre-existing piece of music such as a fragment of a Technically impressive, they are nevertheless the most conservative part of his output. He usually conformed the style of the mass to the style of the source material, which ranged from Gregorian chant to contemporary madrigals, but always maintained an expressive and reverent character in the final product. History Gregorian chant was organized codified and notated mainly in the Frankish lands of western and central Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries with later additions Some of his masses are based on extremely secular French chansons, some of which are frankly obscene (Entre vous filles de quinze ans, "Oh you fifteen-year old girls", by Clemens non Papa, gave him source material for his 1581 Missa entre vous filles, probably the most scandalous of the lot). Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) (c That this practice was not only accepted but encouraged by his employer is confirmed by evidence from their correspondence, much of which has survived.
In addition to his traditional parody masses, he wrote a considerable quantity of missae breves, "brief masses," syllablic short masses meant for brief services (for example, on days when Duke Albrecht went hunting: evidently he did not want to be detained by long-winded polyphonic music). In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony The most extreme of these is a work actually known as the Jäger Mass (Missa venatorum)—the "Hunter's Mass. "
Some of his masses show influence from the Venetian School, particularly in their use of polychoral techniques (for example, in the eight-voice Missa osculetur me, based on his own motet). In music history the Venetian School is a term used to describe the Composers working in Venice from about 1550 to around 1610; it also describes The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate Choirs singing in alternation Three of his masses are for double choir, and they may have been influential on the Venetians themselves; after all, Andrea Gabrieli visited Lassus in Munich in 1562, and many of Lassus's works were published in Venice. Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533? – August 30, 1585) was an Italian Composer and Organist of the late Renaissance. Even though Lassus used the contemporary, sonorous Venetian style, his harmonic language remained conservative in these works: he adapted the texture of the Venetians to his own artistic ends.
Motets and other sacred music
Lassus is one of the composers of a style known as musica reservata—a term which has survived in many contemporary references, many of them seemingly contradictory. In Music history, musica reservata (also musica secreta) is either a style or a performance practice in A cappella vocal music of The exact meaning of the term is a matter of fierce debate, though a rough consensus among musicologists is that it involves intensely expressive setting of text, chromaticism, and that it may have referred to music specifically written for connoisseurs. In Music, chromaticism is a Compositional technique interspersing the primary Diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the Chromatic A famous example of a composition by Lassus which is a representative of this style is his series of 12 motets entitled Prophetiae Sibyllarum, which is in a wildly chromatic style reminiscent of Gesualdo; some of his chord progressions in this piece were not to be heard again until the 20th century. This article is about the composer for the Italian town see Gesualdo (town. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on
Lassus wrote four settings of the Passion, one for each of the Evangelists, St. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Passion music are musical compositions reflecting the suffering of Jesus leading up to the Crucifixion. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon All are for a cappella voices. A cappella (Italian or Latin "From the chapel/choir" Music is Vocal music or Singing without instrumental Accompaniment He sets the words of Christ and the narration of the Evangelist as chant, while setting the passages for groups polyphonically. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed "
As a composer of motets, Lassus was one of the most diverse and prodigious of the entire Renaissance. His output varies from the sublime to the ridiculous, and he showed a sense of humor not often associated with sacred music: for example, one of his motets satirizes poor singers (super flumina Babylonis) which includes stuttering, stopping and starting, and general confusion; it is related in concept if not in style to Mozart's A Musical Joke. A Musical Joke (in German Ein Musikalischer Spaß) K 522 ( Divertimento for two horns and strings is a composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Many of his motets were composed for ceremonial occasions, as could be expected of a court composer who was required to provide music for visits of dignitaries, weddings, treaties and other events of state. But it was as a composer of religious motets that Lassus achieved his widest and lasting fame.
Lassus's setting of the seven Penitential Psalms of David (Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales) is one of the most famous collections of psalm settings of the entire Renaissance. The Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession is a name designation dating from the sixth century A The counterpoint is free, avoiding the pervasive imitation of the Netherlanders such as Gombert, and occasionally using expressive devices foreign to Palestrina. In music imitation is when a musical gesture is repeated later in a different form but retaining its original character Nicolas Gombert (c 1495 &ndash c 1560 was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. As elsewhere, Lassus strives for emotional impact, and uses a variety of texture and care in text setting towards that end. The final piece in the collection, his setting of the De profundis (Psalm 129/130), is considered by many scholars to be one of the high-water marks of Renaissance polyphony, ranking alongside the two settings of the same text by Josquin des Prez. Psalm 130 ( Greek numbering Psalm 129 traditionally referred to as De profundis, after its Latin incipit is one of the penitential psalms. Josquin des Prez (c 1450 to 1455 &ndash August 27 1521 often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance.
Among his other liturgical compositions are hymns, canticles (including over 100 Magnificats), responsories for Holy Week, Passions, Lamentations, and some independent pieces for major feasts. A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song is a Hymn (strictly excluding the Psalms taken from the Bible The Magnificat (also known as the Song of Mary) is a Canticle frequently sung (or spoken liturgically in Christian church services Holy Week ( Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, "Greater Week" in Christianity is the last week before Easter. The Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet have been set by various composers
Secular music
Lassus wrote in all the prominent secular forms of the time, including Italian madrigal, French chanson and German lied: he is probably the only Renaissance composer to write prolifically in four languages (Latin, Italian, French and German), and he wrote with equal fluency in each. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Many of his songs became hugely popular, circulating widely in Europe. In these various secular songs, he conforms to the manner of the country of origin while still showing his characteristic originality, wit, and terseness of statement.
Madrigals
In his madrigals, many of which he wrote during his stay in Rome, his style is clear and concise, and he wrote tunes which were easily memorable; he also "signed" his work by frequently using the word 'lasso' (and often setting with the sol-fege syllables la-sol, i. e. A-G in the key of C). His choice of poetry varied widely, from Petrarch for his more serious work to the lightest verse for some of his amusing canzonettas. Francesco Petrarca ( July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar In music a canzonetta (pl canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) was a popular Italian secular vocal composition which originated around 1560
Lassus often preferred cyclic madrigals, i. e. settings of multiple poems in a group as a set of related pieces of music. For example, his fourth book of madrigals for five voices begins with a complete sestina by Petrarch, continues with two-part sonnets, and concludes with another sestina: therefore the entire book can be heard as a unified composition with each madrigal a subsidiary part. A sestina (also sextina, sestine, or sextain) is a highly structured Poem consisting of six six-line Stanzas followed by a Tercet The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe.
Chansons
Another form which Lassus cultivated was the French chanson, of which he wrote about 150. Most of them date from the 1550s, but he continued to write them even after he was in Germany: his last productions in this genre come from the 1580s. They were enormously popular in Europe, and of all his works, they were the most widely arranged for instruments such as lute and keyboard. Most were collected in the 1570s and 1580s in three publications: one by Pierre Phalèse the Elder in 1571, and two by Le Roy and Ballard in 1576 and 1584. Pierre Phalèse the Elder (alias Petrus Phalesius, circa 1510-circa 1575 was an important Flemish music editor and engraver of the sixteenth century Stylistically, they ranged from the dignified and serious, to playful, bawdy, and amorous compositions, as well as drinking songs suited to taverns. Lassus followed the polished, lyrical style of Sermisy rather than the programmatic style of Clément Janequin for his writing. Claudin de Sermisy (c 1490 &ndash October 13, 1562) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Clément Janequin (c 1485 in Châtellerault, near Poitiers &ndash 1558 in Paris) was a French composer of the Renaissance.
One of the most famous of Lassus's drinking songs was used by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part II. William Shakespeare ( baptised Henry IV Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599 English words are fitted to Un jour vis un foulon qui fouloit (as Monsieur Mingo) and sung by the drunken Justice Silence, in Act V, Scene iii.
German lieder
A third type of secular composition by Lassus was the German lied. de Lied (plural de Lieder) (liːt plural) is a German word meaning literally " Song " among English speakers however the word Most of these he evidently intended for a different audience, since they are considerably different in tone and style from either the chansons or madrigals; in addition, he wrote them later in life, with none appearing until 1567, when he was already well-established at Munich. Many are on religious subjects, although light and comic verse are represented as well. He also wrote drinking songs in German, and contrasting with his parallel work in the genre of the chanson, he also wrote songs on the unfortunate aspects of overindulgence.
Coat of arms
di Lasso bore the following arms:
Azure, a pile and a pile reversed Argent, on each a crosslet Or; on a fess Argent a sharp, flat and natural, over all a bordure Or
Media
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- Listen to free recordings of songs from Umeå Akademiska Kör.
References and further reading
- Article "Orlande de Lassus", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. , 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- James Haar: "Orlande de Lassus", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed March 1, 2006), Grove Music Online
- Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. Gustave Reese ( November 29 1899, New York City – – September 7 1977, Berkeley California) was an American New York, W. W. Norton & Co. , 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
- Harold Gleason and Warren Becker, Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Music Literature Outlines Series I). Bloomington, Indiana. Frangipani Press, 1986. ISBN 0-89917-034-X
External links
- Orlande de Lassus free scores in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Free scores by Orlande de Lassus in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
- Orlande de Lassus was listed in the International Music Score Library Project
- Homepage for Orlando di Lasso www.orlandodilasso.org
"Orlandus de Lassus". The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL is a Sheet music archive which focuses on choral and vocal Music in the Public domain. The Werner Icking Music Archive, often abbreviated WIMA, is a web archive of Public domain Sheet music. The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. - Listen to free recordings of songs from Umeå Akademiska Kör
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