Josquin and Art

Donald Macleod and Andrew Graham-Dixon build a picture of music
and art in Josquin's time


The humanist Cosimo Bartoli described Josquin as the Michelangelo
of Music. A master of polyphonic choral writing, Josquin was as
widely admired in his own lifetime as posthumously. While Josquin
was a dominant force in music, the Franco-Flemish area with which
he’s associated, also produced some remarkable painters, who,
like Josquin and his fellow composers, exported their style,
technical accomplishments and influence across Europe. This week,
to mark the 500th anniversary of Josquin’s death, Donald Macleod
visits the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with art
historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, to build a picture of Josquin’s
music and the places he lived and worked, which also stimulated
painters to produce equally outstanding Art. To accompany the
series the paintings they discuss can be viewed on the Radio 3
website.


Considering his standing, it’s surprisingly difficult to map
Josquin’s life. His birthdate was possibly 1450 or perhaps 1455
and it’s thought he was a choirboy at the collegiate church of
St. Géry in Cambrai. Documents show he died in 1521, by which
time he was probably in his seventies. He spent his last years as
provost of the Collegiate church of Notre Dame in Condé sur
l’Escaut, a town near Saint Quentin, right on the border with
what’s now Belgium. In between times, Josquin may have had an
association with the royal courts of King René in Aix-en Provence
and Louis XI of France, before working for the influential Sforza
family in Milan and becoming the first maestro di cappella for
Ercole d’Este in Ferrara.


Music Featured:


Ave Maria …virgo Serena Missa l’ami Baudichon (Credo) Adieu mes
amours Nymphes des Bois, arr. Ariel Abramovich, Anna Maria
Friman, John Potter, Lee Santana Pater noster La Bernardina
Guillaume se va chaufer O bone et dulcissime Jesu Illibata dei
virgo nutrix Memor esto verbi tui, “Psalm 118” Que vous madame
Petite camusette Baises moy ma doulce’amye Adieu mes amours Tu
solus qui facis mirabilia Fama malum Vultum tuum deprecabuntur
(Intermerata virgo; Ora pro nobis virgo) Qui velatus facie fuisti
Missa L’homme arme super voces musicales (Sanctus) Missa fortuna
Alma Redemptoris mater / Ave regina Missa l’homme armé sexti toni
(Gloria) Missa La sol fa re mi (Credo) Domine non secundum
peccata Stabat Mater a 5 El grillo Inviolata, integra et casta es
Virgo salutiferi genitrix a 5 Missa Hercules Dux Ferriae
(Sanctus; Benedictus) Praeter rerum serium Miserere mei Deus
secundum


Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith


For full track listings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page for Josquin and Art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000z63f


And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z