Ludwig Senfl

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Ludwig Senfl (c. 1490–1543); Medal from Friedrich Hagenauer (1526)

Ludwig Senfl ; also Senfli , Sennfel and numerous other forms and spellings of names; (* around 1490 in Basel or Zurich ; † between January and March 1543 in Munich ), was a composer , singer, writer and editor. He was married twice: The first marriage took place around 1527 with the daughter of the Passau master shipper and Mautner Ambros Neuburger, the second marriage Senfl concluded in 1535 with Maria Halbhyrn; this marriage had a daughter.

The discussion about Senfl's origin is still ongoing due to missing documents, but definitive information will no longer be available. The St. Gallen Vadian calls him in De poetica et carminis ratione “Turegiensem conterraneum nostrum” (“our compatriot from Zurich”). The designation "Helvetius" or "Schweytzer" by contemporaries and especially by Senfl may indicate an orientation towards Swiss humanism ( Vadian , Heinrich Glarean , Ulrich Zwingli ). The earliest surviving reference to the composer could be the note on a “Ludwig Sennfli von Zürich” in the Glückshafen toboggan from 1504.

Life

Senfl was recruited as a choirboy for the court orchestra of King Maximilian I , where, according to his own statements (based on his autobiographical song Lust hab ich g'habt zur Musica ), he received his training as a singer, writer and composer from the court composer Heinrich Isaac . He was a member of the band, which regularly accompanied the king and later emperor on his travels (including to Augsburg , Vienna and Constance ), with brief interruptions for more than 20 years. As is customary with choirboys at the imperial court, he is likely to have financed his studies at the University of Vienna after his change of voice , although he does not appear in their matriculations. Since Isaac's final leave of absence and retreat to Florence (1515), but at the latest after his death (1517), Senfl may also have been employed as a composer for the musical arrangement of the liturgical ceremonies and other celebrations. Although he was never made the official successor of Isaac, he tried several times (in vain) to assert the money he had promised Maximilian I.

After the emperor's death (1519), his grandson Charles V dissolved the court chapel in the following year (1520). After this dissolution, Senfl met in various places of the German Empire: For example in Augsburg, as editor of the Liber Selectarum Cantionum ( Grimm and Wirsung , 1520), the first motet print north of the Alps in choir book format, which is dedicated to Cardinal Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg and in the mustard in addition to own works u. a. also recorded motets by Pierre de La Rue , Heinrich Isaac , Josquin des Prés , Jacob Obrecht and Jean Mouton , which reflect the repertoire of the imperial court orchestra. In addition, he also appeared at the Reichstag in 1521 , and various songs with acrostic stitches , which could be related to several princely weddings in these years, indicate that Senfl applied for a position on various occasions.

In 1523 Senfl entered the service of Duke Wilhelm IV in Munich. His main task was to build up and expand the court orchestra in terms of staff and repertoire based on the model of the imperial institution. He was not only able to bring numerous works from his time at the imperial court, but also several members of the former imperial band with him to Munich, including his fellow singer Lukas Wagenrieder, who in later years also repeatedly took on copywriting services for Senfl. Senfl established the excellent reputation of the Munich court orchestra, which he presided over as "musicus intonator" until his death (1543).

Senfl corresponded with important figures of the early Reformation especially since the 1520s, above all Martin Luther , who praised the outstanding quality of the Munich court orchestra, as well as Duke Albrecht of Prussia . Senfl composed works for both personalities, both on request and out of his own need, which has repeatedly led to speculation about Senfl's beliefs. Since Senfl never made a clear statement on this question (probably also out of fear of persecution), no final statement will have to be made here either.

A large part of his songs has come down to us in the Hundred and Twenty-One New Songs Collection .

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Senfl's compositional oeuvre encompasses all genres of the time: masses , motets , polyphonic proprian settings , an 8- piece magnificat cycle , songs, odes and individual instrumental movements; His German songs (with over 250 movements), his Proprien for Mass and Hours of the Hours (about 80 preserved cycles with about 240 individual movements, plus at least 10 lost cycles) and his motets (about 140 works including 12 lost movements) make up the main component of his oeuvre, which has come down to us in around 360 sources (manuscripts and prints).

Senfl's liturgical music (masses, proprien), which was composed mainly in Munich, is chorale-based and follows the compositional conventions of his time with the setting of a given cantus firmus . It forms the tonal, motivic and structural basis of the polyphonic movement and is mostly performed in a main part, while the other parts relate to this melody. The core repertoire of this liturgical music consists of Senfl's Proprien, the majority of which is written down in four extensive choir books, completed in 1531 and dedicated to the Duke of Munich, and entitled En opus musicum . They are kept in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The choir books Mus.ms. 38 and 36 convey proprien for the main festivals of the winter and summer months, the holy festivals are in the Mus.ms. 37 and 35 recorded. This repertoire is supplemented by settings for the Sundays after Trinity (Mus.ms. 25; only 11 cycles preserved), movements for the Officium (Mus.ms. 52) and individual movements. These new compositions served as additions to the proprian settings by Senfl's teacher Heinrich Isaac, which Senfl had brought to Munich from the holdings of the disbanded imperial court orchestra and integrated into the repertoire of the Munich court orchestra. Together with five settings for the Ordinarium Missae, they were composed for the liturgy of the Munich court and - like the motets in the choir books Mus.ms. 10 and Mus.ms. 12 - exclusive repertoire ( musica reservata ) for Duke Wilhelm IV.

With his Missa dominicalis L'homme armé , which may have been composed for Charles V's visit to Munich (1530), Senfl places himself in the tradition of the L'homme armé mass, which has been going on since the mid-15th century. At the same time, he processes the L'homme armé melody and the Gregorian cantus firmus of the mass. The Missa super Nisi dominus , which has been handed down mainly in Protestant sources, is a parody mass of its own motet of the same name.

His extremely extensive, but little-known, motet oeuvre shows a varied picture: He is very familiar with a wide variety of techniques and types of movements, especially the canon, and his motets reflect his teaching with Heinrich Isaac as well (e.g. in the early works up to 1520) as well the acquisition and further development of compositional methods of his self-chosen role model Josquin Desprez , in whose sustainable reception in the German-speaking area Senfl played a decisive role.

Senfl's more than 250 existing song settings are usually set for four parts, but also five or six parts. A pre-existing melody or a melody that has been newly composed for the setting can usually be found in the tenor part, with larger ensembles often in an additional part. In the song lyrics, the theme of love dominates in numerous facets alongside complaints about the course of the world, luck and misfortune, simple drinking and mocking songs as well as spiritual songs.

At the suggestion of the humanist Minervius, Senfl also set several classical and humanistic odes to music. The homophonic four-part movements served the acquisition and practice of the texts and above all the ancient verse meters.

expenditure

Although Senfl's importance for the music of the Renaissance was recognized early on, only two incomplete editions can be used to this day.

  • Ludwig Senfl: Complete Works , ed. from the Swiss Music Research Society in conjunction with the State Institute for German Music Research and the Swiss Tonkünstlerverband, 11 volumes, Wolfenbüttel 1937-74 also remained a fragment and only reveals Senfl's masses and his songs in an almost complete manner:
    • Vol. 1: Seven masses with four to six voices, ed. by Edwin Löhrer and Otto Ursprung, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1962 (= unchanged reprint of the first edition published in 1937 as volume 5 of the series Das Erbe deutscher Musik )
    • Vol. 2: German songs I (songs from handwritten sources), ed. by Arnold Geering and Wilhelm Altwegg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1962 (= unchanged reprint of the first edition published in 1937 as volume 10 of the series Das Erbe deutscher Musik )
    • Vol. 3: Motets I (occasional motets and psalm settings), ed. by Walter Gerstenberg , Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1962 (= unchanged reprint of the first edition published in 1939 as volume 13 of the series Das Erbe deutscher Musik )
    • Vol. 4: German songs II (songs from Johannes Otts songbook from 1534), ed. by Arnold Geering and Wilhelm Altwegg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1962 (= unchanged reprint of the first edition published in 1940 as vol. 15 of the series Das Erbe deutscher Musik )
    • Vol. 5: Deutsche Lieder III (songs from the printed song books by Egenolff 1535, Finck 1536, Schöffer and Apiarius 1536, Forster 1539–1540, Salblinger 1540 and Ott 1544), ed. by Arnold Geering and Wilhelm Altwegg, Wolfenbüttel 1949
    • Vol. 6: German songs IV (songs from the printed song books by Rhaw 1544, Forster 1549 and 1556 - individual voices - songs possibly originating from Ludwig Senfl); Italian, French and Latin songs and chants; Latin odes from the prints by Formschneider 1534, Petreius 1539 and Egenolf 1552, ed. by Arnold Geering and Wilhelm Altwegg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1961
    • Vol. 7: Instrumental Carmina from handwritten and printed sources (songs in arrangements for violins, organ and lute by Kleber , Safe , Judenkünig , Gerle , Hans and Melchior Neusidler , Heckel , Ochsenkuhn , Ammerbach , Waissel and Paix ), ed. by Arnold Geering and Wilhelm Altwegg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1960
    • Vol. 8: Motets II (Part: Compositions of the Proprium Missae 1: Holy Feasts), ed. by Walter Gerstenberg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1964
    • Vol. 9: Motets III (compositions of the Proprium Missae 2: Sundays after Trinity), ed. by Walter Gerstenberg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich
    • Vol. 10: Motets IV (compositions of the Proprium Missae 3: Heiligenfeste), ed. by Walter Gerstenberg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1972
    • Vol. 11: Motets V (liturgical and general spiritual motets 1), ed. by Walter Gerstenberg, Wolfenbüttel / Zurich 1974

Further editions of motets can be found in

  • Georg Rhau, music prints from the years 1538 to 1545 in a practical new edition , Vol. 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12
  • The manuscript of Jobst Schalreuter (Ratsbibliothek Zwickau Mus. 73) , ed. by Martin Just and Bettina Schwemer, 4 vols., Wiesbaden 2004–2006 (Das Erbe deutscher Musik 115/116)
  • Motetter af / Motets by / Motets by Ludwig Senfl , ed. by Ole Kongsted, Copenhagen 2001 (Capella Hafniensis Editions A / 1)

as well as in numerous scattered individual editions. A systematic indexing of the works of Ludwig Senfl took place in the Vienna research project Ludwig Senfl - Directory of all works and sources .

A new edition of the works of Ludwig Senfl is currently being prepared at the Institute for Musicology at the University of Vienna by Stefan Gasch, Scott Edwards and Sonja Tröster.

Pictorial evidence

Only four foam coins, each marked with Senfl's motto Psallam Deo meo quamdiu fuero , can be regarded as secure image certificates . They come from Hans Schwarz (1519) and Friedrich Hagenauer (1526, 1529, undated) and were probably commissioned by Senfl as a "visiting card" or for representational purposes. For a picture of all the medals see Ludwig Senfl, Samples Works , Vol. 1, p. VIII. The charcoal drawing by Hans Schwarz, around 1519/20 (Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferkabinett, KdZ 6045), which is commonly regarded as Senfl's picture does not represent mustard, but an unknown man.

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Ludwig Senfl  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 1518; Critical edition with German translation and commentary by Peter Schäffer, Munich 1973, Vol. 2, German translation, p. 38
  2. ↑ 1518; Critical edition with German translation and commentary by Peter Schäffer, Munich 1973, vol. 1, Latin text, p. 31
  3. ^ Ludwig Senfl - directory of all works and sources (see "database"); here also the current compilation of the research literature (PDF; 148 kB).
  4. ↑ Fig. In: Ludwig Senfl, Complete Works , Vol. 2, p. [V]
  5. ^ Richard Kastenholz: Hans Schwarz: An Augsburg sculptor and medalist of the Renaissance (= art studies. 126), Munich a. a. 2005, p. 298 f. (Cat.-No. 206).
personal data
SURNAME Senfl, Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sennfel, Ludwig; Senfli, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss composer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1490
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel or Zurich
DATE OF DEATH between January 1543 and March 1543
Place of death Munich