Background
Ockeghem is believed to have been born in Saint-Ghislain, (near Hainaut) Netherlands (now Belgium). His birthdate is unknown; dates as early as 1410 and as late as 1430 have been proposed.
(Ensemble Nusmido grapples with 600-year-old music and att...)
Ensemble Nusmido grapples with 600-year-old music and attempts in four-voice a cappella and instrumental settings to come as close as possible to the sonic ideals of early polyphony. The chanson Lhomme armé (The Armed Man) was one of the most popular songs of the Middle Ages. The brave knights presented in this song, its certain victories and bloody battles, played a central role in the minds of 15th c. people: as soon as the Hundred Years War had come to a close, the Turks conquered Constantinople and threatened to attack Europe. The seemingly simple melody of Lhomme armé functioned as the basis of over thirty Mass settings in the 15th and 16th c., including this albums work by Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem. Ensemble Nusmido, who have dedicated their work to the music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, have combined the individual movements of this Mass with instrumental compositions with much care and deliberation some of these works are by Ockeghem himself, others by his contemporaries.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TZ94QMK/?tag=2022091-20
(Virgin Classics is proud to present a new batch of five t...)
Virgin Classics is proud to present a new batch of five titles from the Veritas x2 series. From 11th-century polyphony to Bruckner, these exclusive 2-CD sets focus on baroque and early music performed only on period instruments. Award-winning performances, Veritas x2 is the finest collection of period instrument recordings available today.
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(Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410-1497) stands as perhaps the gr...)
Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410-1497) stands as perhaps the greatest of the Franco-Flemish composers of the 15th century. Digitally recorded in 1992, this disc presents a world-premiere release of his two surviving 3-voice masses; Missa Sine Nomine and Missa Quinti Toni. They are presumably early works by the composer and are among his most masterful creations. Complete program notes on the works and general issues of performance practice, along with the mass texts and translations, are enclosed. Produced by Gerald Gold.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000022B4/?tag=2022091-20
Ockeghem is believed to have been born in Saint-Ghislain, (near Hainaut) Netherlands (now Belgium). His birthdate is unknown; dates as early as 1410 and as late as 1430 have been proposed.
Nothing is known about his early years, although he undoubtedly studied music in one of the cathedral schools for which his homeland was justly famous.
The earliest document concerning his activity places him among the more than 50 singers in the choir of the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp in 1443/1444. This is also the only reference to his activity in the Netherlands. In 1448 Ockeghem appeared on the list of 13 singers employed by Charles, Duke of Bourbon, then residing in Moulin.
By 1452 Ockeghem's name was first in the list of singers in the chapel of Charles VII of France. He was to serve the French kings for more than 40 years. By 1454 he was premier chappelain and dedicated a book of music, presumably his own, to the king. Records of gifts from the king for this collection and for a single chanson are preserved.
References to his activity at court are preserved, unfortunately with little or no mention of particular compositions. Thus, the chronology of his output remains a problem. The high esteem in which the kings of France held Ockeghem is demonstrated by the positions they secured for him. He became treasurer of the Abbey of St. Martin of Tours, one of the richest abbeys of the time, whose abbots had historically been the kings of France. He was not required to reside there, possibly because of the desire for his musical services at court. In 1465 he also received the title maistre de la chappelle de chant du roy.
During the remainder of his life he left France only for a short journey to Spain in 1470 and Flanders in 1484. Ockeghem's fame was not limited to the country of his patrons. Sometime before 1467 his contemporary Antoine Busnois composed the motet In hydraulis, which praises Ockeghem.
Johannes Tinctoris, leading theorist of the time and active in Naples, dedicated his Liber de natura et proprietate tonorum (1476) to Ockeghem and Busnois and named Ockeghem as the most famous musician of his time in the prologue to his Liber de arte contrapuncti (1477). Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote a lament on Ockeghem's death.
Although his works are now seen in a more accurate light, Ockeghem's reputation was formerly based on the knowledge of only a few, atypical works which emphasized complex compositional procedures. Ockeghem's output is better characterized by other works, which demonstrate his rhapsodical, asymmetrical melodic style and a general avoidance of pervading imitation. All voices are of equal importance and of similar and eminently vocal character. In contrast to his contemporary Jacob Obrecht, with whom his name is often linked, Ockeghem seemed to consciously avoid clear cadences and their articulating effect.
(Ensemble Nusmido grapples with 600-year-old music and att...)
(Virgin Classics is proud to present a new batch of five t...)
(Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410-1497) stands as perhaps the gr...)
Quotes from others about the person
The comment by the poet Guillaume Crétin, in the lament he wrote on Ockeghem's death in 1497, "it was a great shame that a composer of his talents should die before 100 years old".