Martinus Fabri

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Martinus Fabri (* in the 14th century in the Netherlands , † in May 1400 in the Netherlands) was a Dutch composer and minstrel of the late Middle Ages .

Live and act

Music historical research has so far only been able to determine a few data about the life of Martinus Fabri. It is certain that in October 1395 he was employed as a singer at the court of the Wittelsbach Count Albrecht IV of Holland, Zealand and Hainaut in The Hague (“cantor and clericus capelle”). This court in the Hague (Netherlands) and in Le Quesnoy ( Hainaut ) was allied with the Dukes of Burgundy and a foster home of music and other arts. There are documents in which Fabri's affiliation to this court is mentioned in the years 1396 and 1397 as well. Fabri had the title of Magister (academic degree after studying the "seven liberal arts" of antiquity). His death in May 1400 is documented by the fact that Count Albrecht von Fabris Erben bought manuscripts with polyphonic music (“boeken van discant”) for use in his chapel. Fabri had a son who was baptized in April 1396.

meaning

Due to his musical style and his lifetime, Martinus Fabri, together with Johannes Ciconia , Hugo Boy monachus and others, is one of the forerunners and pioneers of Franco-Flemish music . Three ballads and a rondeau by him have come down to us.

Works

The handwritten works of Martinus Fabri are all to be found, together with the compositions by Hugo Boy monachus, in the source collection of the University Library in Leiden (document designation NL-Lu 2720). The following four pieces from it are attributed to Martinus Fabri:

  • "Een cleyn parabel" (ballad with Dutch text)
  • "Eer ende lof" (ballad with Dutch text)
  • "[N] ay je cause d'estre liés et joyeux" (ballad with French text)
  • "Or se depart li doulz tamps gracieulx" (Rondeau refrain with French text).

The ballads in both languages ​​(three-part with contratenor) are courtly minne songs in which mythological figures appear (Venus, Pygmalion, Orpheus) and perhaps also depict allegories . The mixture of French and Dutch poetry in the pieces from this source is typical of chansons from this era and region. The two pieces with French text are kept in the refined musical style of the Ars subtilior , with the text only notated for the highest voice. The other two pieces with Dutch text have text notation for all parts.

Literature (selection)

  • H. Wagenaar-Nolthenius: De Leidse fragments. Nederlandse poifonie uit het einde de 14de eeuw in: Renaissance-Muziek 1400–1600. Donum natalicium RB Lenaerts, edited by J. Robijns, Löwen 1969, pages 303 to 315
  • G. Reaney: Martinus Fabri , in
  • A. Janse: Het muziekleven an et hof van Albrecht van Baieren (1358−1404) in The Hague , in: Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor nederlandse muziekgeschiedenis No. 36, 1986, pages 136 to 157
  • RC Wegman: New Light on Secular Polyphony at the Court of Holland in the Early Fifteenth Century: the Amsterdam Fragments , in: Journal of the Royal Musical Association 117/2, 1992, pp. 181 to 207
  • Reinhard Strohm: The Rise of European Music, 1380-1500 , Cambridge 1993, pages 69 to 74, 120 and following, 195
  • Ders .: Song Composition in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries: Old and New Questions , in: Yearbook of the Oswald von Wolkenstein Society No. 9, 1996/97, pages 523 to 550

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ The Music in Past and Present (MGG), Person Part Volume 6, Bärenreiter Verlag Kassel and Basel 2001, ISBN 3-7618-1116-0
personal data
SURNAME Fabri, Martinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch composer
DATE OF BIRTH 14th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH May 1400
Place of death Netherlands