Josquin as a crucial figure of the Renaissance

Josquin des Prés, princeps musicorum, was born around 1440 in Condé, in Northern France.  Never had any composer or musician found fame like Josquin.  Although he made his home in Italy, in his earlier years he traveled extensively.   He was employed by King Louis XII of France and by the king of Austria.  He held many posts:  He sang in the Milan Cathedral, served the Sforza court, sang in the Papal Chapel, was Choirmaster in Cambrai, served the Este court, and was Provost of Condé.  The octogenarian composer may have composed during as many as sixty years. He was the most famous musician of the Renaissance, his name and his music were known all over Europe. His fame lasted for over a hundred years. 

The immense popularity of Josquin is reflected through the editions of the early sixteenth century Italian printers.  Ottaviano Dei Petrucci published six of Josquin's chansons in the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton A, the first printing of polyphonic music.  Petrucci later published three volumes of Josquin's masses.  No other early sixteenth century composer had entire volumes dedicated to the publication of his work, and it is important to note that Josquin was writing for approximately forty years before the first volume was printed.  During his sixty year career, Josquin composed over thirty masses, more than fifty motets, and more than seventy chansons.  Josquin often employed imitation, momentary division of choir into contrasting groups and more expressive treatment of words than his contemporaries.  His music is a refinement of early Renaissance polyphony. While in the early Renaissance functional harmony was important, imitative polyphony was tantamount in the High Renaissance.  The cantus firmus decreased in importance, from an integral melody to a palate of harmonic possibilities.

In Josquin's compositions every line of text often had its own section of music; each section beginning a new group of imitation.  The turn away from homophonic settings toward imitative polyphonic settings caused the voices to be regarded as equals. This was important because previously composers wrote one line at a time, and this new form had to be written chord by chord.  This method of composition made it easier for composers to see the possible harmonic progressions.

Vocal declamation was very important to Josquin, and he lead the  composers of this time period in connecting the text and music because he carefully chose his texts and set them to music in a way that they were beautifully represented and still understandable.  One of his contemporaries said, "Suiting the music to the meaning of the words, expressing the power of each different emotion, making the things of the text so vivid that they seem to stand actually before our eyes…this kind of music is called musica reservata."  Josquin is the originator of musica reservata, in which the composer uses chromaticism, ornamentation, and rhythmic contrasts to create a mood which reflects the emotions in the text.  Josquin even developed a method to draw notation from the alphabetical characters used in the text he set.  He used this technique in several mass movements and motets.

Josquin wrote chansons, motets and Masses.  His chansons were not composed using the formes fixes.  His chansons were through composed (perhaps with odd repetition patterns) or based on a cantus firmus. They were written for three or four synchronized voices.  He used a lot of motivic imitation. Josquin's motets were often written over plainchant, although many were new-composed.  His masses often relied upon imitation as their primary harmonic interest:  even in a cantus firmus mass he would often inject imitative sections.  Josquin also wrote examples of the imitation mass, using a phrase of someone else's work to begin his own movement.

Josquin died as Provost of Condé in 1521.After his death, printers continued to promote his music, and on several occasions printers placed Josquin's name on another composer's work hoping to increase the public interest in the song.

Josquin influenced many composers, but especially Adrian Willaert, Clemens non Papa and Crecquillon.  Martin Luther said of Josquin:  ”  Josquin is master of the notes, which must express what he desires;  on the other hand, other choral composers must do what the notes dictate."  Josquin's contemporaries proclaimed him "the best of the composers of our time" and "The Father of Musicians."  He is the link between ancient and modern music, much like Beethoven was the link between the classical and romantic periods.