Jacob Obrecht, 2014

Jacob Obrecht, 2014

October 13, 2014.  Jacob Obrecht.  We’ve never written about Jacob Obrecht, which is quite an omission, as he was one of the most famous composers of his time.  Obrecht was born in 1457 or 1458, which makes him an almost exact contemporary of Josquin des Prez.  Obrech was born in Ghent, one of most important cities in Flanders, which were then ruled by the Dukes of Jacob ObrechtBurgundy (Josquin, on the other hand, was born in the county of Hainaut, about 100 miles south of Ghent.   Hainaut was also ruled by the Burgundians but was a French-speaking county, whereas in Ghent  Flemish was spoken).  Obrecht’s father was the city trumpeter who also played at the court.  It seems that Jacob was close to his father: upon his death he wrote a motet, Mille Quingentis, in his honor (here, performed by The Clerks' Group).  It’s likely that Jacob also played the trumpet and that his father introduced him to the court, where he would’ve met Antoine Busnois, the favorite composer of Charles the Bold (some musicologists discern the influence of Bunois in Obrecht’s masses).  Obrecht achieved fame early in his life: in the treaties published in mid-1480s, Johannes Tinctoris, a composer and music theorist, mentions him among the most renowned composer of the century; at that time Obrecht wasn’t even 30 years old.  In 1484 Obrecht assumed the position of choirmaster at the Cambrai cathedral (famous at its time, the cathedral was destroyed during the French Revolution, the same fate asso many other old churches).  He didn’t stay there for long, however: just one year later he was accused of embezzling money from the cathedral and had to leave.  He went to Bruges, where he found a similar position.  Two years later, in 1487, Duke Ercole d'Este I of Ferrara invited him to his court, and he stayed for almost a year.  Obrecht was dismissed from his post in Bruges in 1490 (the reason for which we don’t know) and for the following 14 years he moved from one city in Flanders to another – Antwerp, Bergen, then Bruges again – working in the cathedrals and composing.  In 1504 he returned to Ferrara, hired by his enthusiastic patron, Duke Ercole.  In Ferrara he replaced Josquin, who left the city probably to escape an outbreak of the plague.  Obrecht’s stay in Ferrara wasn’t long.  In June of 1505 the Duke died.  Obrecht tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain a position in Mantua where the ruler, Francesco II Gonzaga, was married to Isabella d'Este, the daughter of Ercole and whose court was famous as a cultural and music center.  Obrecht remained in Ferrara and a couple of months later yet another outbreak of the plague caught up with him; he died on August 1st of 1505.  He wasn’t even 50 years old.

It is usually assumed that the more famous Josquin had influenced the music of Obrecht.  It’s probably not so: much of Josquin’s mature work was written after 1505 (Josquin lived till 1521).  The music of Johannes Ockeghem, on the other hand, did affect Obrecht’s compositional style.  You can listen to three more pieces by Obrecht.  The first one is Kyrie from his Missa Fortuna Desperata.  It’s performed by the Anglo-German ensemble The Sound and the Fury (here).  The second and the third pieces are the identically named motets, Salve regina.  The first one is for four voices (here), and the second, an absolutely magnificent one – for six voices (here).  Both are performed by the Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly conducting.