Jacobus de Kerle
Encyclopedia
Jacobus de Kerle was a Flemish
composer and organist of the late Renaissance
.
, and held positions as a singer in Cambrai
and choirmaster in Orvieto
, where he also became organist and carillon
neur. After entering the priesthood, he began having his music printed, including a 1561 collection of psalms and Magnificat
settings in Venice
. He was commissioned to write Preces Speciales set to texts by the Dominican Pedro de Soto
for the Council of Trent
, which he completed by 1562, and visited the city during the time of the Council in his travels with Cardinal Otto. Although he did not take part in their discussions, the performance of the Preces Speciales reportedly influenced the deliberations of the Council Fathers on sacred music.
In 1565, he was appointed director of music at Ypres Cathedral, though he would lose this position after being excommunicated
in 1567 due to a dispute with another priest. From there he moved to Rome and then to Augsburg
, where he was offered a position in 1568 as vicar-choral and organist at the Augsburg Cathedral by Cardinal Otto. He stayed there until 1574, when was passed over for the open Kapellmeister
position at Augsburg. After leaving Augsburg in 1575, his whereabouts are unknown until 1579, when he appears in the registers of the Cambrai Cathedral; he continued to move often late in his life, accepting positions in Mons
, Cologne
, Augsburg again, Vienna
, and finally Prague
, where he lived from 1583 until his death in 1591.
of the generation after Josquin (exemplified by composers such as Adrian Willaert
and Nicolas Gombert
) with that of late Renaissance Italian composers such as Palestrina
. Kerle did not make as much use of simple homophony
and direct text-setting as did many of his post-Tridentine
contemporaries, such as Palestrina and Vincenzo Ruffo
, nor did he often employ the heavy chromaticism of the late 16th-century madrigal
, and his compositions display a measure of restraint and clarity that mark them as heavily indebted to Northern contrapuntal
practice.
His surviving works include mass
es for four and five voices (he is known to have composed six-voice masses, but these have been lost), motet
s, psalms, hymn
s, and sacred songs. Very little of his secular vocal music has survived; a print of madrigals and one of settings of Petrarch
are both lost, though one book of six-voice secular songs is extant, as well as a number of pieces in surviving print and manuscript collections.
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
composer and organist of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
.
Life
Kerle was trained at the monastery of St. Martin in YpresYpres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, and held positions as a singer in Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
and choirmaster in Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
, where he also became organist and carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
neur. After entering the priesthood, he began having his music printed, including a 1561 collection of psalms and Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
settings in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He was commissioned to write Preces Speciales set to texts by the Dominican Pedro de Soto
Pedro de Soto
Pedro de Soto was a Spanish Dominican.De Soto was confessor to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Later, for six years, he served as senior chair of theology at the University of Dillingen, where he disputed with Protestants and worked with the Bishop of Augsburg to establish a Catholic academic...
for the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
, which he completed by 1562, and visited the city during the time of the Council in his travels with Cardinal Otto. Although he did not take part in their discussions, the performance of the Preces Speciales reportedly influenced the deliberations of the Council Fathers on sacred music.
In 1565, he was appointed director of music at Ypres Cathedral, though he would lose this position after being excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
in 1567 due to a dispute with another priest. From there he moved to Rome and then to Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, where he was offered a position in 1568 as vicar-choral and organist at the Augsburg Cathedral by Cardinal Otto. He stayed there until 1574, when was passed over for the open Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
position at Augsburg. After leaving Augsburg in 1575, his whereabouts are unknown until 1579, when he appears in the registers of the Cambrai Cathedral; he continued to move often late in his life, accepting positions in Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Augsburg again, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and finally Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he lived from 1583 until his death in 1591.
Works
All of Kerle's extant music is vocal polyphony, and it combines the stylistic elements of the Franco-Flemish schoolFranco-Flemish School
In music, the Franco-Flemish School or more precisely the Netherlandish School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, and to the composers who wrote it...
of the generation after Josquin (exemplified by composers such as Adrian Willaert
Adrian Willaert
Adrian Willaert was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance and founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers who moved to Italy and transplanted the polyphonic Franco-Flemish style there....
and Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
) with that of late Renaissance Italian composers such as Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
. Kerle did not make as much use of simple homophony
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
and direct text-setting as did many of his post-Tridentine
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
contemporaries, such as Palestrina and Vincenzo Ruffo
Vincenzo Ruffo
Vincenzo Ruffo was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers most responsive to the musical reforms suggested by the Council of Trent, especially in his composition of masses, and as such was an influential member of the Counter-Reformation.Vincenzo Ruffo was born at...
, nor did he often employ the heavy chromaticism of the late 16th-century madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
, and his compositions display a measure of restraint and clarity that mark them as heavily indebted to Northern contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
practice.
His surviving works include mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
es for four and five voices (he is known to have composed six-voice masses, but these have been lost), motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, psalms, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, and sacred songs. Very little of his secular vocal music has survived; a print of madrigals and one of settings of Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
are both lost, though one book of six-voice secular songs is extant, as well as a number of pieces in surviving print and manuscript collections.
Recording
- Kerle, Jacobus de. Vocal music. Paul Van NevelPaul Van NevelPaul Van Nevel is a Belgian conductor, musicologist and art historian. In 1971 he founded the Huelgas Ensemble, a choir dedicated to polyphony from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Van Nevel is known for hunting out little known polyphonic medieval works to perform.He grew up in a musical...
/Huelgas EnsembleHuelgas EnsembleThe Huelgas Ensemble is a Belgian early music group formed by the Flemish conductor Paul Van Nevel in 1971. The group's performance and extensive discography focuses on renaissance polyphony...
. Harmonia Mundi 901866