June 23, 2014.Busnois and Gounod.This week we’ll look back at the early years of modern Western music and commemorate a composer who made a very significant contribution to its development.We’ve never writtenabout Antoine Busnois, even though he was one of the most famous composers of the generation following Guillaume Dufay.Busnois was born around 1430, probably in or around the town of Béthune in what is now the northeastern corner of France, but back then part of the county of Artois.In the first part of the 15th century Artois, sandwiched between Picardy and Flandres, was a Burgundian possession.Busnois may have come from an aristocratic family, which would explain why his name was mentioned at the French Royal court in 1550.Ten years later he was employed in Tours, first at the cathedral, and later at the church of St. Martin.Apparently he was a rather rambunctious fellow: a complaint filed against him and his five companions states that they beat up a priest “not once but five times.”This was not his only brush with the law: he got excommunicated for celebrating the Mass without being an ordained priest.The pope Pius II, himself an adventurer and author of erotic writings, later pardoned Busnois.While at St. Martin’s he befriended another composer, Johannes Ockeghem, who at the time served as the church’s treasurer.In 1465 Busnois went to Poitiers, where he became a choirmaster, but just a year later he moved to Burgundy were he was hired by the court of Charles the Bold as a singer and composer.Charles fought many wars (and eventually was killed at the Battle of Nancy), and it seems Busnois accompanied him on many of his military campaigns.After Charles’s death in 1477, Busnois stayed with the court for another five years and then retired.Not much in known about the last 10 years of his life; he died in Bruges on November 6th, 1492.
Busnois wrote a number of masses of which three survive, one being one of the earliest renditions of Missa L'homme armé.He also wrote a number of motets.Here’s his very short motet Alleluia,Verbum caro factum est, performed by the ensemble Capilla Flamenca.But it was not church music that Busnoise was mostly famous for; it was his chansons, of which more than 60 are extant.Here’s a tune he made popular all over Europe – many composers reworked it either as chansons or used it as cantus firmus in their masses.It’s called Fortuna desperata, and is sung by Musica Antiqua of London.And here’s another chanson, called Amours nous traitte honnestement; it’s for four voices and is performed by the ensemble Capella Sancti Michaelis.
On a very different note, we missed a recent birthday of the French composer Charles Gounod, who was born on June 17th of 1818, the same day as Igor Stravinksy, about whom we wrote last week.Gounod’s success can be attributed to just one major composition, the opera Faust, and his Ave Maria, an instrumental piece based on Prelude no. 1 in C Major from Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.Still, this is much more than many composers have ever achieved, and Gounod’s melodic gift was very influential during the second half of the 19th century.Faust was premiered in 1859 at the Théatre-Lyrique (the Paris Opera rejected it) and was not well received, but when revived at the Opera three years later, it became an immediate hit.Here’s Maria Callas singing the famous Jewel Song from Act 3.Georges Prêtre conducts the Orchestre de la Société Des Concerts du Conservatoire.The recording was made in 1963, at the end of Callas’s career.
Busnois and Gounod 2014
June 23, 2014. Busnois and Gounod. This week we’ll look back at the early years of modern Western music and commemorate a composer who made a very significant contribution to its development. We’ve never writtenabout Antoine Busnois, even though he was one of the most famous composers of the generation following Guillaume Dufay. Busnois was born
around 1430, probably in or around the town of Béthune in what is now the northeastern corner of France, but back then part of the county of Artois. In the first part of the 15th century Artois, sandwiched between Picardy and Flandres, was a Burgundian possession. Busnois may have come from an aristocratic family, which would explain why his name was mentioned at the French Royal court in 1550. Ten years later he was employed in Tours, first at the cathedral, and later at the church of St. Martin. Apparently he was a rather rambunctious fellow: a complaint filed against him and his five companions states that they beat up a priest “not once but five times.” This was not his only brush with the law: he got excommunicated for celebrating the Mass without being an ordained priest. The pope Pius II, himself an adventurer and author of erotic writings, later pardoned Busnois. While at St. Martin’s he befriended another composer, Johannes Ockeghem, who at the time served as the church’s treasurer. In 1465 Busnois went to Poitiers, where he became a choirmaster, but just a year later he moved to Burgundy were he was hired by the court of Charles the Bold as a singer and composer. Charles fought many wars (and eventually was killed at the Battle of Nancy), and it seems Busnois accompanied him on many of his military campaigns. After Charles’s death in 1477, Busnois stayed with the court for another five years and then retired. Not much in known about the last 10 years of his life; he died in Bruges on November 6th, 1492.
Busnois wrote a number of masses of which three survive, one being one of the earliest renditions of Missa L'homme armé. He also wrote a number of motets. Here’s his very short motet Alleluia, Verbum caro factum est, performed by the ensemble Capilla Flamenca. But it was not church music that Busnoise was mostly famous for; it was his chansons, of which more than 60 are extant. Here’s a tune he made popular all over Europe – many composers reworked it either as chansons or used it as cantus firmus in their masses. It’s called Fortuna desperata, and is sung by Musica Antiqua of London. And here’s another chanson, called Amours nous traitte honnestement; it’s for four voices and is performed by the ensemble Capella Sancti Michaelis.
On a very different note, we missed a recent birthday of the French composer Charles Gounod, who was born on June 17th of 1818, the same day as Igor Stravinksy, about whom we wrote last week. Gounod’s success can be attributed to just one major composition, the opera Faust, and his Ave Maria, an instrumental piece based on Prelude no. 1 in C Major from Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Still, this is much more than many composers have ever achieved, and Gounod’s melodic gift was very influential during the second half of the 19th century. Faust was premiered in 1859 at the Théatre-Lyrique (the Paris Opera rejected it) and was not well received, but when revived at the Opera three years later, it became an immediate hit. Here’s Maria Callas singing the famous Jewel Song from Act 3. Georges Prêtre conducts the Orchestre de la Société Des Concerts du Conservatoire. The recording was made in 1963, at the end of Callas’s career.