Background
Nycasius probably was born in the south Netherlands, and he seems to have spent his entire career in "s-Hertogenbosch.
Nycasius probably was born in the south Netherlands, and he seems to have spent his entire career in "s-Hertogenbosch.
He was the father of the slightly better-known composer Jheronimus de Clibano, as well as January de Clibano, who is known only to have been a singer, not a composer. He first appears in the records there in 1457, when he was brought in as a singer at the Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady (Illustre Lieve Vrouwe Broederschap). Among his duties was recruiting new singers from other cities.
A trip to Cambrai and Antwerp is documented during which he sought to find new members for the choir.
In 1493 or 1494 he became the choirmaster. The last record of his life comes from 1497, and in 1498 Matthaeus Pipelare took over his duties at the Brotherhood, presumably because he had died, though the event is not recorded.
Only one work is known to be by Nycasius with reasonable certainty, a Credo Vilayge, which exists in multiple sources, although even this attribution has been questioned.