Obrecht, Jakob

Obrecht, Jakob
born Nov. 22, 1452, Bergen-op-Zoom, Brabant
died 1505, Ferrara

Flemish composer.

Little is known of his origins or education, but in 1484 he was appointed instructor of choirboys at Cambrai cathedral and then held a position in Brugge. His compositional style is notable for its warm, graceful melodies and clear harmonies. Most outstanding are his 29 masses; he also wrote about 30 motets and some secular music. Despite his contemporary renown, he had little influence on later composers, since his works were not widely distributed and his intellectual but exuberant music came to seem old-fashioned with the advent of Josquin des Prez.

* * *

▪ Dutch composer
Obrecht also spelled  Hobrecht  
born Nov. 22, 1452, Bergen-op-Zoom, Brabant [now in The Netherlands]
died 1505, Ferrara [Italy]

      composer who, with Jean d'Ockeghem and Josquin des Prez, was one of the leading composers in the preeminently vocal and contrapuntal Franco-Flemish, or Franco-Netherlandish, style that dominated Renaissance music.

      He was the son of Willem Obrecht, a trumpeter. His first known appointment was in 1484 as instructor of choirboys at Cambrai cathedral, where he was criticized for negligence in caring for the boys. In 1485 he became assistant choirmaster of the cathedral at Brugge. According to Henricus Glareanus, Desiderius Erasmus was among the choirboys at one of Obrecht's positions. In 1487 Obrecht visited Italy, where he met Ercole I, Duke of Ferrara, an admirer of his music. The duke installed Obrecht in Ferrara and sought a papal appointment for him there. The appointment was not forthcoming, and Obrecht returned to Bergen-op-Zoom in 1488. In 1504 he again traveled to Ferrara, where he died of plague.

      Obrecht's compositional style is notable for its warm, graceful melodies and its clear harmonies that approach a modern feeling for tonality. His surviving works include 27 masses (mass), 19 motets, and 31 secular pieces.

      His masses are largely for four voices. Most employ a cantus firmus taken from plainchant or from a secular song. His use of the cantus firmus varies from the customary statement of it in the tenor to fragments of it in each movement and in voices other than the tenor. Some of his late masses employ parody technique—using all voices of a preexistent chanson or motet, rather than a single borrowed melody, as a unifying device.

      His motets are largely to texts in honour of the Virgin Mary (e.g., Salve Regina; Alma Redemptoris Mater). They characteristically have the cantus firmus melody placed in the tenor in long notes. Some of the motets are polytextual, a rather outdated practice. More progressive is his use of melodic imitation and his frequent consecutive tenths.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jakob — (as used in expressions) Johann Jakob Astor Böhme Jakob Creutzfeldt Jakob disease Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer Obrecht Jakob Raskob John Jakob Wassermann Jakob Wolf Hugo Filipp Jakob * * * …   Universalium

  • Jakob Obrecht — Jacob Obrecht Jacob Obrecht Jacob Obrecht à 38 ans Naissance 1457 ou 1458 Gand …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hermann Obrecht — (* 26. März 1882 in Grenchen; † 21. August 1940 in Bern, heimatberechtigt und lange wohnhaft in Grenchen) war ein Schweizer Politiker (FDP). Ausbildung als Notar. Von 1913 bis 1917 war Obrecht Regierungspräsident des Kantons Solothurn. Dann T …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • music, Western — Introduction       history of Western music from ancient times to the present.       All ancient civilizations entered historical times with a flourishing musical culture. That the earliest writers explained it in terms of legend and myth is… …   Universalium

  • Compère, Loyset — ▪ Flemish composer born c. 1445, Hainaut? [now in Belgium] died Aug. 16, 1518, Saint Quentin, France       important composer of the Franco Netherlandish school, best known for his motets (motet) and chansons (chanson). Compère was among the… …   Universalium

  • Franco-Netherlandish school — ▪ musical composition style       designation for several generations of major northern composers, who from about 1440 to 1550 dominated the European musical scene by virtue of their craftsmanship and scope. Because of the difficulty of balancing …   Universalium

  • Glareanus, Henricus — ▪ Swiss music theorist German   Heinrich Glarean , original name  Heinrich Loris   born June 1488, Mollis, Swiss Confederation died March 27/28, 1563, Freiburg im Breisgau, Breisgau       Swiss Humanist, poet, teacher, and music theorist, known… …   Universalium

  • Liste der Mitglieder des Schweizerischen Bundesrates — Diese Tabelle listet die Mitglieder des Schweizerischen Bundesrates seit 1848 auf. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Amtszeiten 2 Statistiken 2.1 Parteien der Bundesräte 2.2 Bundesräte pro Kanton …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste Des Conseillers Fédéraux De Suisse — Sommaire 1 Chronologique par jour d élection 2 Chronologique global 3 Statistiques 3.1 Partis des conseillers fédéraux …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des conseillers federaux de Suisse — Liste des conseillers fédéraux de Suisse Sommaire 1 Chronologique par jour d élection 2 Chronologique global 3 Statistiques 3.1 Partis des conseillers fédéraux …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”