Johannes Martini
Encyclopedia
Johannes Martini was a Franco-Flemish composer
of the Renaissance
.
around 1440, but information about his early life is scanty. He probably received his early training in Flanders
, as did most of the composers of his generation. Sometime before 1473 he became associated with the ducal chapel in Ferrara
, Italy
, where Ercole I d'Este was attempting to build a musical establishment on the par of some of the other aristocratic centers in Italy.
He was a member of the famous Milan
chapel of the Sforza family in July 1474, along with Loyset Compère
, Gaspar van Weerbeke
, and some of the other composers from northern Europe who were part of the first wave of Franco-Flemish influence in Italy. In November he returned to Ferrara. What prompted him to leave and return is not known, but since the Milanese chapel was then the most renowned in Europe, it is possible he went to investigate the competition for his employer as much as to improve his own singing and compositional skill. However he must have returned to Milan, since he is listed along with Jean Japart
, Colinet de Lannoy
, and Loyset Compère
, to be given a safe pass for exit from Milan on 6 February 1477, following the 1476 assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza
.
Martini was well-rewarded by his employer, receiving not only an unusually large salary for his position in the chapel, but his own house in Ferrara.
In 1486 he traveled to Hungary
as part of the group from Ferrara involved in the installation of a d'Este as Archbishop
of Esztergom
, and in 1487 and 1488 he made two separate trips to Rome to negotiate the benefices given to him by Duke Ercole.
es, motet
s, psalms, hymn
s, and some secular songs, including chanson
s. His style is conservative, sometimes referring back to the music of the Burgundian School
, especially in the masses. Some stylistic similarity to Obrecht
suggests that the two may have known each other, or at the very least Martini may have seen Obrecht's music. Obrecht was a guest in Ferrara in 1487, and his music is known to have circulated in Italy in the early 1480s.
Some of the earliest examples of the paraphrase mass
are by Martini. His Missa domenicalis and Missa ferialis, which have been tentatively dated to the 1470s at the earliest, use paraphrase technique in the tenor voice – the normal voice for carrying the cantus firmus – but also include the same melodic material in other voices at the start of points of imitation. The paraphrase technique was to become one of the predominant methods of mass composition in the early 16th century.
In addition to his mostly conservative output of masses, he is the first composer known to have set psalms for double choir singing antiphon
ally. This style, which was to become famous in Venice
under the direction of Adrian Willaert
seventy years later, seems to have had no influence at the time: yet it was a striking innovation.
His secular music is in both French
and Italian
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of the 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
He was born in BrabantDuchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
around 1440, but information about his early life is scanty. He probably received his early training in Flanders
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...
, as did most of the composers of his generation. Sometime before 1473 he became associated with the ducal chapel in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where Ercole I d'Este was attempting to build a musical establishment on the par of some of the other aristocratic centers in Italy.
He was a member of the famous Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
chapel of the Sforza family in July 1474, along with Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère was a French composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France.-Life:His exact place of...
, Gaspar van Weerbeke
Gaspar van Weerbeke
Gaspar van Weerbeke was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, but unique in his blending of the contemporary Italian style with the older Burgundian style of Dufay.- Life :...
, and some of the other composers from northern Europe who were part of the first wave of Franco-Flemish influence in Italy. In November he returned to Ferrara. What prompted him to leave and return is not known, but since the Milanese chapel was then the most renowned in Europe, it is possible he went to investigate the competition for his employer as much as to improve his own singing and compositional skill. However he must have returned to Milan, since he is listed along with Jean Japart
Jean Japart
Jean Japart was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. He was a popular composer of chansons, and may have been a friend of Josquin des Prez.-Life and work:...
, Colinet de Lannoy
Colinet de Lannoy
Colinet de Lannoy was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers/singers working at the Milan chapel at the time of the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, and he possibly also worked in France.-Life:Little is known for certain about his life, and some...
, and Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère was a French composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France.-Life:His exact place of...
, to be given a safe pass for exit from Milan on 6 February 1477, following the 1476 assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical....
.
Martini was well-rewarded by his employer, receiving not only an unusually large salary for his position in the chapel, but his own house in Ferrara.
In 1486 he traveled to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
as part of the group from Ferrara involved in the installation of a d'Este as Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, and in 1487 and 1488 he made two separate trips to Rome to negotiate the benefices given to him by Duke Ercole.
Music and influence
Martini wrote massMass (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, 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 some secular songs, including chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s. His style is conservative, sometimes referring back to the music of the Burgundian School
Burgundian School
The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The main names associated with this school are Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois,...
, especially in the masses. Some stylistic similarity to Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin des Prez after his death.-Life:...
suggests that the two may have known each other, or at the very least Martini may have seen Obrecht's music. Obrecht was a guest in Ferrara in 1487, and his music is known to have circulated in Italy in the early 1480s.
Some of the earliest examples of the paraphrase mass
Paraphrase mass
A paraphrase mass is a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass, using as its basis an elaborated version of a cantus firmus, typically chosen from plainsong or some other sacred source...
are by Martini. His Missa domenicalis and Missa ferialis, which have been tentatively dated to the 1470s at the earliest, use paraphrase technique in the tenor voice – the normal voice for carrying the cantus firmus – but also include the same melodic material in other voices at the start of points of imitation. The paraphrase technique was to become one of the predominant methods of mass composition in the early 16th century.
In addition to his mostly conservative output of masses, he is the first composer known to have set psalms for double choir singing antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
ally. This style, which was to become famous 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...
under the direction of 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....
seventy years later, seems to have had no influence at the time: yet it was a striking innovation.
His secular music is in both French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.