Cypriano de Rore or Cipriano de Rore (1515 or 1516 – 11 September to 20 September 1565) was a Flemish composer and teacher. He was a central representative of the generation of Franco-Flemish composers after Josquin who went to live and work in Italy, and who were formative in the development of the late Renaissance styles there, and he was also one of the most prominent mid-century composers of madrigals. 1515 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events March - With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson Charles of Ghent becomes King of Spain as Carlos I. July - Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mameluks and invades Syria. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... // Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded. ... The geographical region and former county of Flanders contains not only the two Belgian provinces but also the present-day French département of Nord, in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority, and the southern part of the Dutch province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen... In music, the Dutch School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. ... Josquin des Prez Josquin Des Prez (French rendering of Dutch Josken, diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis, alternatively Jodocus Pratensis) (c. ... Renaissance music is European classical music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... A madrigal is a setting for 3–6 voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ...

Life

Current research has established his birthplace as Ronse (Renaix), a town in Flanders right on the linguistic boundary between the French- and Flemish-speaking areas, and he seems to have been born to a wealthy family. Little is known about his early musical training, though some research has suggested a connection with Margaret of Parma, who went to Naples in 1533 to marry into the Medici family. Rore may have accompanied her, receiving some education in Italy; alternatively, he may have received his early musical education at Antwerp. It has long been claimed that he studied in Venice with Adrian Willaert, and sang in the chapel there, but there is little evidence to support this; then again, a singer in that early period at St. Mark's would not necessarily have left much evidence. In 1542 he was at Brescia, where he probably remained until 1546; during this period he began to acquire fame as a composer, publishing a book of madrigals and two books of motets, which were highly regarded. Ronse (French: Renaix) is a municipality located in the province of East Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium. ... Margaret of Parma (28 December 1522 - 18 January 1586), duchess of Parma and regent of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V. Her mother, Johanna Maria von der Gheest, a servant of Charles de Lalaing, Seigneur de Montigny, was a Fleming. ... The Bay of Naples Naples (Italian: , Neapolitan: Nàpule, from Greek Νεάπολη < Νέα Πόλις Néa Pólis New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of the Campania region and the Province of Naples. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... The Medici coat of arms The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family from the 13th to 17th century. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Venice, (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) is the capital of the region of Veneto and the province of the same name in Italy. ... Adrian Willaert (c. ... San Marco di Venezia, as seen from the Piazza San Marco St Marks Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco) is the most famous of the churches of Venice and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... Country Italy Region Lombardy Province Brescia (BS) Mayor Paolo Corsini (since June 10, 2003) Elevation 150 m Area 90 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 192,165  - Density 2,087/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Bresciani Dialing code 030 Postal code 25100 Frazioni Fornaci, Sant... // Events Spanish conquest of Yucatan Peace between England and France Foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge by Henry VIII of England Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg Science Architecture Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ...

In 1547, he entered in the service of duke Ercole II d'Este in Ferrara as choir master. Giaches de Wert was one of his pupils there, as was Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the leading member of what was to be one of the most avant-garde musical establishments in late Renaissance Italy. Events January 16 - Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia. ... Ercole II dEste (April 5, 1508 - October 3, 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. ... Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, capital city of the province of Ferrara. ... Giaches de Wert (1535 – May 6, 1596) was a Franco-Flemish composer active in Italy. ... Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. ...

When Ercole died in 1559, Rore offered his services to his successor Alfonso, but the new duke refused and appointed Francesco dalla Viola instead. Events January 15 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey. ...

From 1560 until 1563, Rore worked for Margaret of Parma in Brussels and for her husband Ottavio Farnese in Parma. In 1562 he was appointed choir master of St. Mark's in Venice, but he resigned in 1564 and returned to Parma, where he died. Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Margaret of Parma (28 December 1522 - 18 January 1586), duchess of Parma and regent of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V. Her mother, Johanna Maria von der Gheest, a servant of Charles de Lalaing, Seigneur de Montigny, was a Fleming. ... Nickname: The Capital Of Europe, Comic City City of a 100 Museums Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 797 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989 Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area    - City 162 (Region) km²  (62. ... Parma is a medieval city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with splendid architecture and a fine countryside around it. ... Events Earliest English slave-trading expedition under John Hawkins. ... Events March 27 — Naples bans kissing in public under the penalty of death June 22 — Fort Caroline, the first French attempt at colonizing the New World September 10 — The Battle of Kawanakajima Ottoman Turks invade Malta Modern pencil becomes common in England Conquistadors crossed the Pacific Spanish founded a colony...

Works and influence

While Rore is best known for his Italian madrigals, he was also a prolific composer of sacred music, both masses and motets. Josquin was his point of departure, and he developed many of his techniques from the older composer's style. In addition to five masses, he wrote around 80 motets, many psalms, secular motets, and a setting of the St. John Passion. The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the fixed portions of the Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, generally known in the US as the Episcopal Church, and also the Lutheran Church) to music. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ...

It was as a composer of madrigals, however, that Rore achieved enduring fame. He was by far the most influential madrigalist in the middle of the 16th century. He wrote over 120, in a total of ten separate books, published between 1542 and 1565; other madrigals were published separately. They are mostly for four or five voices, with one for six and another for eight; the tone of his writing tends toward the serious, especially as contrasted with the light character of the work of the early madrigalists such as Jacques Arcadelt and Philippe Verdelot. Jacques Arcadelt (also Jacob Arcadelt) (1504 or 1505 – October 14, 1568) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the middle to late Renaissance, principally of madrigals and chansons. ... Philippe Verdelot was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent most of his life in Italy. ...

In addition, Rore experimented with chromaticism, which was to become a mid-century trend. He was a sophisticated contrapuntist, and used canonical techniques, imitation, and indeed all the resources of polyphony as they had developed in the early 16th century in the service of setting secular texts. The influence of Rore's style is evident in the work of Lassus, Palestrina, Philippe de Monte, and even as late as Claudio Monteverdi. According to Alfred Einstein, writing in The Italian Madrigal (1949): In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ... In music, counterpoint is a texture involving the simultaneous sounding of separate melodies or lines against each other, as in polyphony. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... Imitation is when a musical gesture is repeated later in a different form, but retaining its original character. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... Composer Orlande de Lassus 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 the late Renaissance. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c 1525–2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of Renaissance music. ... Philippe de Monte (1521 – July 4, 1603) was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. ... Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi in Venice, 1640, by Bernardo Strozzi. ... Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880–February 13, 1952), was a German-American musicologist and music editor. ...

Rore's true spiritual successor was Monteverdi. Rore holds the key to the whole development of the Italian madrigal after 1550.

Rore also composed secular Latin motets, a relatively unusual "cross-over" form in the mid-16th century, which paralleled the sacred madrigal, the madrigale spirituale. Stylistically these motets are similar to his madrigals. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... A madrigale spirituale (Italian; pl. ...

External links

• Free scores by Cipriano de Rore in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Free scores by Cypriano de Rore in the Werner Icking Music Archive

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. ...

References and further reading

• Alvin H. Johnson, "Cipriano de Rore," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
• Alfred Einstein, The Italian Madrigal. Princeton, N.J., 1949.
• Patrick Macey, Bonfire Songs: Savonarola's Musical Legacy. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1998. ISBN 0-19-816669-9
• Allan W. Atlas, Renaissance Music. New York, Norton, 1998. ISBN 0-393-97169-4