Johannes Martini (composer)

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Johannes Martini (* between 1430 and 1440 in Leuze , Brabant ; † October 23, 1497 in Ferrara ) was a Franco-Flemish composer , singer and cleric of the early Renaissance .

Live and act

The place of birth of Johannes Martini results from a petition for a canonical which the composer personally signed with “Johannes Martinus Luce” (or “Lute”). The path of his apprenticeship years and his early stages in life cannot be clearly traced due to the sometimes contradicting name additions, so that reliable information is very sparse. Like most composers of his generation, he probably got his education in Flanders . In any case, he was a member of the cathedral choir in Constance at the beginning of the 1470s . The local cultural environment of the Innsbrucker Hof probably led to his friendly relations with Nikolaus Kronsdorffer, Paul Hofhaimer and maybe even Heinrich Isaac .

Ercole I. d'Este , Duke of Ferrara (term of office 1471–1505) asked in a letter to the Bishop of Constance on December 10, 1471 that the singer “D. Martinus de Alemania ”,“ quod in arte Musica plurimum valet ”(which is of the highest value in the musical art). The first evidence of Martini's work at the court of Ferrara on January 27, 1473 represents the beginning of a lifelong relationship that had only a few interruptions. In 1474, probably from February to October, he was active in the competing court orchestra of the Sforza family in Milan , where, together with Loyset Compère , Gaspar van Weerbeke and others, he formed part of the first wave of Franco-Flemish influence in Italy. From Milan he made a trip to Mantua in the spring of 1474 . The reasons for his subsequent return to Ferrara from Milan are not known; it is possible that he was out researching his employer, or that he wanted to improve his singing or composing skills.

In Ferrara, his outstanding position is visible through above-average pay, beneficiaries and benefices, and owning his own house. In 1486 Martini was on his way to Hungary in the wake of the young Ippolito d'Este , Archbishop-designate of Gran . A trip to Rome in February 1487 also took him to Florence , where he presumably met Heinrich Isaac. Another trip to Rome took place in November 1488 to ensure the sources of his income from Duke Ercole. Towards the end of 1489, Johannes Martini tried to mediate for the intended employment of Paul Hofhaimer at the Hungarian court, but without success. From an exchange of letters in the early 1490s with Isabella Gonzaga, the daughter of Duke Ercole, it emerges that Martini also worked as a music teacher and musical advisor to the ruling family. On October 21, 1497, the duke complained about the poor health of his singer and feared that he would end soon. Johannes Martini died two days later in Ferrara.

meaning

Martini was best known throughout his life; after his death his fame soon faded. An anonymous music treatise from Spain from 1480 names him alongside Guillaume Dufay , John Dunstable , Johannes Ockeghem , Gilles Binchois and Guillermus Faugues . The Italian music theorist Franchinus Gaffurius (1451–1522) praises him and his mass “Io ne tengo quanto a te” in the Tractatus practicabilium proportionorum .

The style and quality of Johannes Martini's works are heavily dependent on the respective musical genre. Eleven masses from him have survived, more than half of which are based on polyphonic songs. Of these, the “In Feuers Hitz” mass is one of the first of this genre, based on a German tenor song . In the masses, the melodies in all parts are paraphrased excerpts . In contrast to his contemporaries, his motets are of much less importance. The composition of liturgical music for everyday use resulted from the needs and musical practice of the court and originated more in Ferrara earlier. It is more conservative and partly influenced by Guillaume Dufay . Some of the four-part hymns , however, point to the 16th century in their style, as does some of the Magnificat compositions.

Martini's secular works, mostly three-part and without text, some as a counterfacture with a foreign language incipit , are often instrumentally inspired, but their form belongs to traditional chanson models and are based on French or Italian texts. In these pieces his strengths are best seen. Overall, Martini's style is more conservative in many respects, particularly in his sacred music, while his secular music shows forward-looking features. Martini can be assessed as a composer who has mastered his craft with aplomb, but who did not reach an outstanding level in his artistic level.

Works

  • measure up
    • Missa “Cela sans plus” with four voices
    • Missa “Coda di pavon” with four voices
    • Missa “Cucu” with four voices
    • Missa “Dio te salvi Gotterello” with four voices
    • Missa dominicalis to four voices
    • Missa ferialis to four voices
    • Missa “In Feuers Hitz” with three voices
    • Missa “Io ne tengo quanto a te” with four voices
    • Missa La martinella to four voices
    • Missa “Ma bouche rit” with four voices
    • Missa “Or sus, or sus” with four voices
  • Psalms (summary)
    • 35 psalm settings for two voices
    • 33 psalm settings for three voices
  • Hymns
    • “Audi benigne conditor” to three voices
    • “Aures ad nostras” with three votes
    • “Ave maris stella” to four voices
    • “Ave decus virginale” to four voices
    • “Deus tuorum militum” to three votes
    • “Exultet celum laudibus” to three voices
    • “Festum nunc celebre” with four voices
    • "Hymnorum Lib. Primus Io. Martini "(lost)
    • "Iste confessor" to three votes (incomplete)
    • "Jesu corona virginum" to three votes (incomplete)
    • “Sanctorum meritis” with three votes
    • “Vexilla regis prodeunt” with three votes
  • Magnificat
    • Magnificat tertii toni to four votes
    • Magnificat tertii toni fauxbourdon to four votes
    • Magnificat quarti toni to four votes
    • Magnificat sexti toni to four voices
    • Magnificat octavi toni (I) to four voices
    • Magnificat octavi toni (II) for four voices (incomplete)
  • Passions
    • "Jesum Nazarenum" (St. John Passion) with one to four voices
    • “Ut quid perditio” (St. Matthew Passion) with one to eight voices
  • Motets
    • “Da pacem Domine” to four votes
    • “Domine non secundam peccata nostra” with three voices
    • “Levata capite vestra” with four voices
    • “O beate Sebastiane” to four voices
    • "O intemerata" (= "The newe Pawir tail") to three voices
    • “Salve regina” to four voices
  • Secular and instrumental works
    • “Biaulx parle tousjours” with three votes
    • “De la bonne chiere” to three votes
    • "Des biens d'amours" (= "Ave amator"; = "Omnes habet finem") to three voices
    • “Fault il que heur soy” to four votes
    • “Fortuna disperata” to four voices
    • “Fortuna d'un gran tempo” with four voices
    • Fugue to four votes
    • “La morie” (= “Groen vint”), fugue for three voices
    • “Helas coment avés” with three votes
    • “Il est tel” to three votes
    • “Il est tousjours” with three votes
    • “J'ay pris amours” to three votes
    • “Je remerchie Dieu” (= “Se mai il cielo”) with three voices
    • “La fleur de biaulté” with four votes
    • "La martinella" for three voices (in tablature, attributed to Heinrich Isaac)
    • “La martinella pittzulo” to three votes
    • “Le pouverté” to three votes
    • “L'espoir mieulx” to three voices
    • “Nenciozza mia” to four votes
    • “Non per la” to three voices
    • “Non seul uno” to four voices
    • “Per faire tousjours” (= “O di prudenza fonte”) to three votes
    • “Que je fasoye” to three voices
    • “Sans fin (siens) du mal” to three votes
    • “Tant que Dieu voldra” to three voices
    • “Tousjours bien” to three votes
    • “Tousjours me souviendra” with three voices
    • “Tout joyeulx” to three votes
    • “Tres doulx regart” to three votes
    • "Vive, vive" (= "Gardés vous donc"; = Martinella) to three voices
    • Four works without title and text with three parts each
    • A work without title and text with four voices
    • si-placet voice for "Cela sans plus" by Collinet de Lannoy

There is also a group of works of dubious authorship

Literature (selection)

  • W. Stephan: The Burgundian-Dutch motet at the time of Ockeghem , Kassel 1937 (= Heidelberg Studies in Musicology No. 6)
  • Gustav Reese: Music in the Renaissance , New York 1954, 1959
  • JM Llorens: El Códice Casanatense 2856 identificado come el Cancionero de Isabella d'Este (Ferrara) esposa de Francesco Gonzaga (Mantua). In: Anuario musical No. 20, 1965, pp. 161–178
  • M. Kanazawa: Polyphonic Music for Vespers in the Fifteenth Century , Dissertation at Harvard University 1966 (University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor / Michigan, No. 7506981)
  • T. Karp, The Secular Works of Johannes Martini. In: Festschrift for Gustav Reese, edited by J. LaRue, New York 1966, 1978, pages 455–473
  • TL Noblitt: The Magnificats of Johannes Martini. In: Festschrift for PA Pisk, edited by J. Glowacki, Austin 1966, pp. 10-24
  • JG Brawley: The Magnificats, Hymns, Motets, and Secular Compositions of Johannes Martini , dissertation at Yale University, New Haven 1968 (University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor / Michigan, No. 6908321)
  • L. Lockwood: Music at Ferrara in the Period of Ercole I. d'Este. In: Studi musicali No. 1, 1972, pages 101-131
  • M. Schuler: Relationship between the Constance cathedral choir and the court chapel of Duke Ercole I of Ferrara. In: Analecta musicologica No. 15, 1975, pages 15-20
  • JP Burkholder: Johannes Martini and the Imitation Mass of the Late Fifteenth Century. In: Journal of the American Musicological Society No. 38, 1985, pages 470-523
  • M. Steib: Imitation and Elaboration: the Use of Borrowed Material in Masses from the Late Fifteenth Century , Dissertation at the University of Chicago 1992
  • Same thing: A Composer Looks at his Model. Polyphonic Borrowing in Masses from the Late Fifteenth Century. In: Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor nederlandse muziekgeschiedenis No. 46, 1996, pages 5-41
  • David Fallows: A Catalog of Polyphonic Songs, 1415-1480 , Oxford 1999

Web links

swell

  1. ^ The Music in Past and Present (MGG), Person Part Volume 11, Bärenreiter Verlag Kassel and Basel 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1121-7
  2. ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London 1980, ISBN 1-56159-174-2
  3. ↑ Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): The great lexicon of music. Volume 5: Köth - Mystical Chord. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1981, ISBN 3-451-18055-3 .
personal data
SURNAME Martini, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Franco-Flemish composer, singer and cleric of the early Renaissance
DATE OF BIRTH between 1430 and 1440
PLACE OF BIRTH Leuze , Brabant
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 1497
Place of death Ferrara