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