Antoine Busnois, classical music composer

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Antoine Busnois

Biography

Antoine Busnois (also Busnoys) (c. 1430 – November 6, 1492) was a Netherlandish composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of motets and other sacred music, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons. He was the leading figure of the late Burgundian school after the death of Guillaume Dufay.

While details of his early life are largely conjectural, he was probably from the vicinity of Béthune in the Pas-de-Calais, possibly the hamlet of Busnes, to which his name seems to refer. He may have been related to the aristocratic family of Busnes; in particular, a Philippe de Busnes, canon of Notre-Dame in Lens, could have been a relative. He clearly received an excellent musical education, probably at a church choir school somewhere in northern or central France. An aristocratic origin may explain his early association with the French royal court: as early as the 1450s references to him appear there, and in 1461 he was a chaplain at Tours. That he was not entirely a man of peace is indicated by a petition for absolution he filed in Tours, dated February 28, 1461, in which he admitted to being part of a group that beat up a priest "to the point of bloodshed", not once but five times. While in a state of anathema he was foolhardy enough to celebrate Mass although he was not an ordained priest, an act which got him excommunicated until Pope Pius II pardoned him.

He moved from the cathedral to the collegiate church of St. Martin, also in Tours, where he became a subdeacon in 1465. Johannes Ockeghem was treasurer at that institution, and the two composers seem to have known each other well. Later in 1465 Busnois moved to Poitiers, where he not only became master of the choirboys but managed to attract a flood of talented singers from the entire region; by this time his reputation as singing teacher, scholar and composer seems to have spread widely. But he departed in 1466 just as suddenly as he came for no known reason, and the former maîtrise was given his old job back. He then moved to Burgundy.

Busnois was at the Burgundian court by 1467. His first compositions there appeared immediately before the accession of Charles as Duke on June 15, since one of his motets — In hydraulis — contains a dedication to Charles calling him Count. On becoming Duke of Burgundy, he quickly became known as Charles the Bold for his fierce and sometimes reckless military adventurism (which indeed led to his death in battle ten years later). But Charles loved not only war but music, appreciating and rewarding Busnois for works composed while in his service, who was also listed along with Hayne van Ghizeghem and Adrien Basin as "chantre et valet de chambre" to Charles in 1467.

In addition to serving Charles as singer and composer, Busnois accompanied the Duke on his military campaigns, as did Hayne van Ghizeghem. Busnois was at the siege of Neuss in Germany in 1475, and survived (or missed) the disastrous Battle of Nancy in 1477 at which Charles was killed and Burgundian expansion was ended forthwith and forever.

Busnois remained in the employ of the Burgundian court until 1482, but nothing exact is known about his exploits between then and the year of his death, 1492, while working at the church of St. Sauveur in Bruges. He was one of the most renowned composers of his time, whose music circulated widely.

Composer Title Date Action
Antoine Busnois Alleluia, Verbum caro factum est 06/21/2014 Play Add to playlist
Antoine Busnois Fortuna desperata 06/21/2014 Play Add to playlist
Antoine Busnois Amours nous traitte honnestement 06/21/2014 Play Add to playlist