Leonel Power
Encyclopedia
Leonel Power was an English
composer of the late Medieval
and early Renaissance
eras. Along with John Dunstaple, he was one of the major figures in English music in the early 15th century.
Very little is known about Power's life. Documents dating from early 1440s refer to him as a native of Kent
. Stylistic analysis of his music, as well as his probable age during his known appointments, show that he may have been born between 1370 and 1385. A suggestion that Power was of Irish
origin, which appeared in W.H.G. Flood's 1905 A History of Irish Music, is usually discounted by modern scholars, since Flood is not known to have had any other sources on Power's life than are currently available.
The earliest dated reference to Power refers to him as instructor to the choristers of the household chapel of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
. The duke died in 1421; the next reference to Power is from 1423: on 14 May he joined the fraternity of Christ Church, Canterbury
. He almost certainly served as choirmaster of the cathedral, and may also have been employed by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
. He died at Canterbury on 5 June 1445 and was buried the next day; several notices of his death survive.
, one of the only undamaged sources of English music from the early 15th century (most manuscripts were destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
under Henry VIII
).
Power was one of the first composers to set separate movements of the Ordinary of the Mass
which were thematically unified and intended for contiguous performance. The Old Hall Manuscript contains his mass based on the Marian antiphon, Alma Redemptoris Mater
, in which the antiphon is stated literally in the tenor in each movement, unornamented. This is the only cyclic setting of the mass Ordinary which can be attributed to him.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer of the late Medieval
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
and early 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...
eras. Along with John Dunstaple, he was one of the major figures in English music in the early 15th century.
Life
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Stylistic analysis of his music, as well as his probable age during his known appointments, show that he may have been born between 1370 and 1385. A suggestion that Power was of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
origin, which appeared in W.H.G. Flood's 1905 A History of Irish Music, is usually discounted by modern scholars, since Flood is not known to have had any other sources on Power's life than are currently available.
The earliest dated reference to Power refers to him as instructor to the choristers of the household chapel of Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, KG , also known as Thomas Plantagenet, was the second son of King Henry IV of England and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. He was born before 25 November 1387 as on that date his father's accounts note a payment made to a woman described as his nurse...
. The duke died in 1421; the next reference to Power is from 1423: on 14 May he joined the fraternity of Christ Church, Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. He almost certainly served as choirmaster of the cathedral, and may also have been employed by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....
. He died at Canterbury on 5 June 1445 and was buried the next day; several notices of his death survive.
Music and influence
While Power's output was slightly less than Dunstaple's (only 40 extant pieces can be definitely attributed to him), his influence was similar. He is the composer best-represented in the Old Hall ManuscriptOld Hall Manuscript
The Old Hall Manuscript is the largest, most complete, and most significant source of English sacred music of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and as such represents the best source for late Medieval English music. The manuscript somehow survived the Reformation, and until 1873 belonged to St...
, one of the only undamaged sources of English music from the early 15th century (most manuscripts were destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
under Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
).
Power was one of the first composers to set separate movements of the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
which were thematically unified and intended for contiguous performance. The Old Hall Manuscript contains his mass based on the Marian antiphon, Alma Redemptoris Mater
Alma Redemptoris Mater
Alma Redemptoris Mater is a Marian hymn and one of four liturgical Marian antiphons , and sung at the end of the office of Compline. Hermannus Contractus is said to have authored the hymn based on the writings of Ss. Fulgentius, Epiphanius, and Irenaeus of Lyon...
, in which the antiphon is stated literally in the tenor in each movement, unornamented. This is the only cyclic setting of the mass Ordinary which can be attributed to him.
Mass cycles, interrelated mass fragments, and single movements
- Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus, for 3vv (on Rex seculorum; possibly by Dunstable)
- Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus, for 3vv (Sine nomine; possibly by Dunstable or Benet)
- Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus, for 3vv (on Alma redemptoris mater)
- Gloria, Credo, for 4–5vv
- Gloria, Credo, for 3vv (on lauds antiphons for St. Thomas of Canterbury)
- Sanctus, Agnus, for 3vv (on Sarum Sanctus II, Agnus VII)
- Sanctus, Agnus, for 4vv (on Sarum Sanctus III, Agnus XII)
- 2 Kyrie settings, 6 Gloria settings, 3 Credo settings, 5 Sanctus settings, and 3 Agnus settings; some fragmentary and/or of questionable attribution
Other works
- Alma redemptoris mater, 2 versions for 3vv (possibly by Dunstaple)
- Anima mea liquefacta est (Christus resurgens), for 2/3vv
- Anima mea liquefacta est, for 3vv
- Ave regina celorum, ave, for 3vv
- Ave regina celorum, ave, for 4vv
- Beata progenies, for 3vv
- Beata viscera, for 3vv
- Gloriose virginis, for 4vv
- Ibo michi ad montem, for 3vv
- Mater ora filium, for 3vv
- Quam pulchra es, for 3vv
- Regina celi, for 3vv
- Salve mater Salvatoris, for 3vv (possibly by Dunstaple)
- Salve regina, for 3vv (paraphrase of plainchant Alma redemptoris)
- Salve regina, for 3vv
- Salve sancta parens (Virgo prudentissima), for 3vv