Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495 – c. 1560)^[1] was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance.^[2] He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin Desprez and Palestrina,^[3] and best represents the fully-developed, complex polyphonic style of this transitional period in music history. 1495 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 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. ... In music, the Dutch School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... Josquin Des Prez Josquin Des Prez (diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis) (c. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526[1] - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. ... 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). ...

Life

Details of his early life are sketchy, but he was likely born around 1495 in southern Flanders, probably between Lille and St. Omer, possibly in the town of La Gorgue. German writer and music theorist Hermann Finck wrote that he studied with Josquin;^[4] this would have been during the renowned composer's retirement in Condé-sur-l'Escaut, sometime between 1515 and 1521.^[5] 1495 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Lille (disambiguation). ... Saint-Omer, a town and commune of Artois in northern France, sous-préfecture of the Pas-de-Calais département, 42 miles west-north-west of Lille on the railway to Calais. ... Hermann Finck (21 March 1527 - 28 December 1558) was a German composer. ... 1611 woodcut of Josquin des Prez, copied from a now-lost oil painting done during his lifetime. ... Condé-sur-lEscaut is a commune of France, in the Nord départment of the region Nord-Pas de Calais, in northeast France, along the border with Belgium. ... 1515 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. ...

Gombert was employed by the emperor Charles V as a singer in his court chapel in 1526 and possibly as a composer as well. Most likely he was taken on while Charles was passing through Flanders, for the emperor traveled often, bringing his retinue with him, and picking up new members as he went. In 1529 Gombert is mentioned as magister puerorum ("master of the boys") for the royal chapel.^[6] He and the singers certainly traveled with the emperor, since there are records of their appearances in various cities of the empire throughout the period. Also, while Charles and his entourage traveled all over Spain, Charles usually held court in many different cities which later benefited from Gombert’s musical talents.^[7] At some point in the 1530s Gombert became a cleric and probably a priest; he received benefices at several cathedrals, including Courtrai, Lens, Metz, and Béthune.^[8] He remained in the Imperial Cathedral as maitre des enfants ("master of the children) until some time between 1537 and 1540, being succeeded by Thomas Crecquillon and later Cornelius Canis. Even though he held the position of maitre des enfants at the Imperial Cathedral, he never officially received the title of maitre de chapelle, or the music director, which was a title given to both Adrien Thibaut and the previously mentioned Thomas Crecquillon, two nearly forgotten composers.^[9] While serving in this position, he likewise unofficially held the position of court composer, arranging numerous works commemorating the key happenings during Charles V's life.^[10] For the Carlist claimant King Carlos V, see Infante Carlos, Count of Molina. ... January 14 - Treaty of Madrid. ... Events April 22 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297. ... Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century Decades: 1480s 1490s 1500s 1510s 1520s - 1530s - 1540s 1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s Years: 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 Events and Trends Spanish conquest of Peru Beginning of colonization of Brazil Categories: 1530s ... This article is about religious workers. ... Kortrijk (French: Courtrai) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... Lens is commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Si paix dedans, paix dehors (French: If peace inside, peace outside) Cathedral St. ... Béthune is a city and commune of northern France, sous-préfecture of the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Thomas Crecquillon (c. ... Cornelius Canis (also de Hondt, dHondt) (between 1500 and 1510 – February 16, 1561) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and choir director of the Renaissance, active for much of his life in the Grande Chapelle, the imperial Habsburg music establishment during the reign of Emperor Charles V. He brought... Thomas Crecquillon (c. ... For the Carlist claimant King Carlos V, see Infante Carlos, Count of Molina. ...

In 1540 during the height of his career, he all of a sudden disappeared from chapel records.^[11] According to contemporary physician and mathematician Jerome Cardan, writing in Theonoston (1560), in 1540 Gombert was convicted of gross indecency with a boy in his care and was sentenced to hard labor in the galleys. The exact duration of his service in the galleys is not known, but he was able to continue composing for at least part of the time.^[12] Most likely he was pardoned sometime in or before 1547, the date he sent a letter along with a motet from Tournai to Charles' gran capitano Ferrante I Gonzaga.^[13] The Magnificat settings preserved uniquely in manuscript in Madrid are often held to have been the "swansongs" that according to Cardan won his pardon because Charles was so moved by those pieces composed especially for him, though an alternative hypothesis (Lewis 1994) is that Cardan was referring to the highly penitential First Book of four-part motets.^[14] Of all his compositions, both sacred and secular, by far one of his finest achievements would have to be the eight previously-mentioned Magnificat settings, each written with one of the church modes.^[15] It is unclear how long Gombert lived after his pardon or what positions, if any, he held; his career faded into relative obscurity after being freed. He may have retired to Tournai, and spent his last years as a canon at the cathedral there.^[16] In 1556, Hermann Finck mentioned that he was still living, and in 1561 Cardan wrote that he was dead. Gerolamo Cardano or Jerome Cardan (September 24, 1501 - September 21, 1576) was a celebrated Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer, and gambler. ... Year 1547 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Tournai (in Dutch: Doornik in Latin: Tornacum) is a municipality located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt (in French: Escaut, in Dutch: Schelde), in the Belgian province of Hainaut. ... Ferrante I Gonzaga (Italian: Ferdinando I, January 28, 1507 - November 15, 1557) was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the first of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla. ... The Visitation in the Book of Hours of the Duc of Berry For the David and the Giants album, see Magnificat (album) The Magnificat (also known as the Song of Mary) is a canticle frequently sung (or said) liturgically in Christian church services. ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... Gerolamo Cardano or Jerome Cardan (September 24, 1501 - September 21, 1576) was a celebrated Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer, and gambler. ... The Visitation in the Book of Hours of the Duc of Berry For the David and the Giants album, see Magnificat (album) The Magnificat (also known as the Song of Mary) is a canticle frequently sung (or said) liturgically in Christian church services. ... Tournai (in Dutch: Doornik in Latin: Tornacum) is a municipality located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt (in French: Escaut, in Dutch: Schelde), in the Belgian province of Hainaut. ... Hermann Finck (21 March 1527 - 28 December 1558) was a German composer. ... Gerolamo Cardano or Jerome Cardan (September 24, 1501 - September 21, 1576) was a celebrated Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer, and gambler. ...

Music and style

Gombert is perhaps the most representative composer of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, especially in the area of sacred music. He brought the polyphonic style to its highest state of perfection; if imitation is a common device in Josquin, it is pervasive in Gombert.^[17] Josquin along with Gombert’s predecessors helped introduce the concept of contrapuntal skill and allowed it to blossom before he embraced it as a part of his musical philosophy.^[18] Extended homophonic passages are rare in his sacred works, and he is particularly fond of imitation at very close time intervals, a technically very difficult feat (although he only rarely wrote strict canon).^[19] Musically, he preferred the lower voice ranges, and instead of four voices which was considered appropriate at this time, he arranged compositions with five to six voice parts.^[20] Gombert, unlike his predecessor and mentor, Josquin Desprez, used irregular number of voice entries and avoided precise divisions of phrases. ^[21] The uniqueness of Gombert's phrasing during this time period consisted of overlapping voice parts as well as minimally-timed rests for each.^[22] His particular melodic styles dates back to the Plainsong, or Gregorian Chant, tradition. ^[23] Rhythmically, Gombert plays it safe making them very simplistic, but he deviates somewhat from that by using syncopations and cross-accents.^[24], and harmonically, Gombert's compositions stressed the tradational modal framework. Musica ficta, a term that refers to chromatically altering pitches, was very prominent in his musical stylings.^[25] His music is notable for its use of suspended dissonance, as well as featuring many false relations.^[26] Dissonance he uses for expressive effect, for example as an expression of grief in his six-voice motet on the death of Josquin, Musae Jovis, with its clashing semitones, and occasional root-position triads a tritone apart.^[27] In music, the word texture is often used in a rather vague way in reference to the overall sound of a piece of music. ... Imitation is when a musical gesture is repeated later in a different form, but retaining its original character. ... In music, the word texture is often used in a rather vague way in reference to the overall sound of a piece of music. ... Look up canon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Josquin Des Prez Josquin Des Prez (diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis) (c. ... Broadly speaking, plainsong is the name given to the body of traditional songs used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. ... Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. ... In European music prior to about 1600, musica ficta (from Latin, false or feigned music) referred to chromatically altered pitches, not notated in the music, which were to be supplied by singers. ... A semitone (also known in the USA as a half step) is a musical interval. ... In music or music theory, a triad is a tonal or diatonic tertian trichord. ... For other uses, see Tritone (disambiguation). ...

Out of the ten masses that Gombert composed, nine of them survived in complete form.^[28] Chronologically, the mass sequence is not specified, but one can assume that they were some of his earlier works due to the fact that stylistically, they were very rudimentary in comparison with his later works.^[29] Two musical characteristics, sequence and ostinato, that were rare in Gombert’s later works, are present in his earlier masses Quam pulchra es and Tempore paschali.^[30]

Out of Gombert’s entire repertoire of compositions, motets represent his musical philosophy the most.^[31] which is why during the second quarter of the sixteenth century, he, along with Adrian Willaert and Jacobus Clemens non Papa, stood out among the rest of the Flemish motet composers.^[32] Familiar characteristics found in motets of the preceding generation, ostinato, canon, cantus firmus, and double texts, were extremely rare in Gombert’s compositions, but two of his best-known works use some of the previously-mentioned techniques.^[33] When considering texts for his motets, Gombert obtained his inspiration from scripture as opposed to the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church^[34], and as important as textual clarity was for listeners, he valued the musical design an expressive sonority of the music and could care less about the actual placement of the text.^[35] In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... Adrian Willaert (c. ... Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) (c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: stubborn, compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch. ... 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. ... In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... A liturgy is the customary public worship of a religious group, according to their particular traditions. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ...

Not only did Gombert successfully compose and publish masses and motets, he also delved into the multi-voice genre leaving behind a number of works including an eight-voice Credo, the 12-voice Agnus from the Missa Tempore paschali, and 10- and 12- voice settings of the Regina caeli.^[36] In comparison with the northern Italian cori spezzati style, Gombert’s multi-voice works were not antiphonal.^[37] Instead of dividing forces consistently, Gombert frequently changed the combinations of voice groups.^[38] These vocal pieces contained more direct repetition, sequence and ostinato than his other music due to the technical demands of it.^[39] Masses may refer to: Mass (music) Mass Mass (liturgy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... A genre [], (French: kind or sort from Greek: γένος (genos)) is a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of art or utterance. ... The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate choirs singing in alternation. ... This article is about the musical term. ...

His secular compositions – mostly chansons – are less contrapuntally complex than his motets and masses, but nonetheless more so than the majority of contemporary secular pieces, especially the 'Parisian' chanson. Gombert during the middle of the sixteenth century received credit for several of the Parisian chansons, but later studies have discovered that he was not the sole 'Nicolas' of those secular pieces but in fact found that they belonged to either Nicolas de la Grotte or Guillaume Nicolas.^[40] Authors of the texts used in many chansons, a genre that Gombert excelled in, were unknown for the most part. His textual focus usually turned to older verse, often of a folkish type,^[41] and thematically, his plots, textually, focused on unhappy love, caught in farewells, separations, infidelities and the like.^[42] In response to instrumental accompaniment, many of these chansons appeared in lute and vihuela arrangements with a wide geographical distribution, showing their immense popularity. Chanson is a French word for song, and in English-language contexts is often applied to any song with French words, particularly a cabaret song. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. ... A medieval era lute. ... Orpheus playing a vihuela. ...

His surviving works include 10 masses, about 140 motets, about 70 chansons, a canción (probably written when he was in Spain), a madrigal, and a handful of instrumental pieces.^[43] This article discusses the Mass as a standard form of classical music composition. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... Chanson is a French word for song, and in English-language contexts is often applied to any song with French words, particularly a cabaret song. ... Canción is a genre of Latin American music that was popular in the first half of the 20th century. ... A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ...

Influence

Gombert was one of the most renowned composers in Europe after the death of Josquin Desprez, as can be seen by the wide distribution of his music, the use of his music as source material for compositions by others, and the singular attention that printers paid to him (issuing, for example, editions of his works – most print editions at the time were anthologies of music by several composers).^[44] Highly admired by his contemporaries, Gombert was solely a composer’s composer.^[45] Even though it is uncertain if audiences reacted to Gombert’s music favorably or not, we do know that many composers respected his musical ability and tried to continue his legacy for generations to come but found it difficult to do so^[46] because in spite of his fame and the availability of his music, the next generation of Franco-Flemish composers mostly wrote in a more simplified style. Part of this was an inevitable stylistic reaction to a contrapuntal idiom which had reached an extreme, and part of this was due to the specific dictates of the Council of Trent, which required that text be clearly understandable in sacred, especially liturgical, music – something which is next to impossible for a composer to achieve in a dense imitative texture.^[47] Josquin Des Prez Josquin Des Prez (diminutive of Joseph; latinized Josquinus Pratensis) (c. ... For other uses, see Counterpoint (disambiguation). ... The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

While vocal music of the next generation did not continue Gombert's method of pervasive imitation in a dense texture, the instrumental music did. Forms such as the canzona and ricercar are directly descended from the vocal style of Gombert, and eventually they transformed into the fugue by the time of the Baroque era. Gombert's music represents one of the extremes of contrapuntal complexity ever attained in purely vocal music. Canzona (also canzone) is a poetic form, and a type of musical composition. ... A ricercar (or ricercare; the terms are interchangeable) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. ...

Sources and Further Reading

• Atlas, Allan W. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600. New York: Norton, 1998.
• Brown, Howard Mayer and Stein, Louise K. Music in the Renaissance. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999.
• Nugent, George and Jas, Eric “Nicolas Gombert”. Grove Music Online. ed. L. Macy (accessed 19 November 2007), <http://www.grovemusic.com>.
• Reese, Gustave Music In the Renaissance. New York, Norton, 1954.
• Taruskin, Richard The Oxford History of Western Music: Volume 1-The Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Notes

Scores

• Gombert's music at ChoralWiki
• Free scores by Nicolas Gombert in the Werner Icking Music Archive

The Werner Icking Music Archive, often abbreviated WIMA, is a web archive of public domain sheet music. ...

Recordings

• Nicolas Gombert, Music from the Court of Charles V, Huelgas Ensemble, Sony Vivarte SK 48249
• Nicolas Gombert, Missa media vita, etc., Hilliard Ensemble, ECM New Series 1884
• Nicolas Gombert, Magnificat 1, etc., Oxford Camerata, Naxos 8.557732
• Nicolas Gombert, Magnificats 1-4, Tallis Scholars, CD Gimell CDGIM 037
• Nicolas Gombert, Magnificats 5-8, Tallis Scholars, CD Gimell CDGIM 038
• Nicolas Gombert, Eight-part Credo, etc., Henry's Eight: Hyperion CDA 66828
• Nicolas Gombert, Missa Tempore paschali, etc., Henry's Eight, Hyperion CDA 66943
• Heavenly Spheres, CBC Records, MVCD 1121, sung by Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. Contains two motets by Gombert, including his elegy for Josquin, Musae Jovis.
• Flemish Masters, Virginia Arts Recordings, VA-04413, performed by Zephyrus. Includes Gombert's motet, Lugebat David Absalon, the Obrecht Missa Sub tuum presidium, as well as motets by Willaert, Clemens non Papa, Ockeghem, Des Prez, and Mouton.
• Christmas to Candlemas, Ensemble Gombert, Tall Poppies TP192. Includes Gombert's motet "Hodie nobis caelorum" and seasonal works by Mouton, Josquin, de Silva, Clemens non Papa, Tallis, Victoria, Lassus, Sheppard and Palestrina.
• Josquin to Martin, Ensemble Gombert, Move Records MCD 277. Includes Gombert's motet "Regina caeli laaetare" and works by Josquin, de Monte, Byrd, Brahms ("Drei Motetten," op. 110) and Frank Martin (Mass for Double Choir).
• Nicolas Gombert, Nicolas Gombert 1, The Sound and the Fury, ORF CD 463. Includes Missa Quam Pulchra Es, Ave Maria, Salve Maria, Sancta Maria, Da Pacem, Inviolata.
• Nicolas Gombert, Tribulatio et angustia, Brabant Ensemble, Stephen Rice, Hyperion CDA67614
• Listen to free recordings of songs from Umeå Akademiska Kör.

Related sites

• Ensemble Gombert (external site: Ensemble Gombert)