Giaches de Wert (
1535 –
May 6,
1596) was a
Franco-Flemish composer active in
Italy. He was one of the leaders in developing the style of the late Renaissance
madrigal.
Life
He was probably born in Weert, near
Antwerp, and went to live in Italy when he was still a child. He was a
choir boy at the chapel of Maria di Cardona in
Naples, and then was a pupil of
Cypriano de Rore at the court of the
Este in
Ferrara (ca. 1550–1555). Subsequently he was briefly engaged at the courts of
Novellara,
Mantua and
Parma.
In 1565, he entered the service of the
Gonzaga in
Mantua and became choir master at the ducal chapel of S. Barbara where he stayed until 1592. He was succeeded by
Gastoldi.
His private life was stormy; his wife deserted him, and he had an ill-fated love affair with
Tarquinia Molza, a singer at the Ferrara court.
Music and influence
De Wert wrote over 230
madrigals and other secular works (published in 16 volumes 1558–1608), as well as over 150 sacred pieces (
motets,
hymns etc.) which demonstrate his
contrapuntal mastery.
Stylistically, his madrigals were among the most advanced of the time: in the
1580s, he was one of the leaders in developing a new, expressive, emotionally intense style, along with
Luzzasco Luzzaschi and
Luca Marenzio, a style which culminated in the work of
Monteverdi and
Gesualdo. He tends to use a
homophonic texture in his madrigals, although never exclusively; passages of
polyphony appear as an animating contrast. In his latest works, in the
1590s, he began experimenting with the new
concertato style, with groups of voices in dialogue.
De Wert stands between
Cypriano de Rore and
Claudio Monteverdi, who worked under him at Mantua and whom he greatly influenced.
He died in Mantua.
References and further reading
- "Giaches de Wert", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4
Recording
- Heavenly Spheres, CBC Records, MVCD 1121, sung by Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. Contains two six-voice motets by Wert, Ascendente Jesu in naviculam and Peccavi super numerum.
15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1500s 1510s 1520s - 1530s - 1540s 1550s 1560s
1532 1533 1534 - 1535 - 1536 1537 1538
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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May 6 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
Events
- 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance.
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1560s 1570s 1580s - 1590s - 1600s 1610s 1620s
1593 1594 1595 - 1596 - 1597 1598 1599
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Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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In music, the Franco-Flemish School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. See Renaissance music for a more detailed description of the musical style, and links to individual composers from this
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AnthemIl Canto degli Italiani(also known as
Fratelli d'Italia)
..... Click the link for more information. A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. The madrigal has its origins in the frottola, and was also influenced by the motet and the French chanson of the Renaissance.
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Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen (help info ) , French: Anvers) is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three
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Treble (or Boy Soprano in colloquial English) is a term applied in music to a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Occasionally boys whose voices have changed can continue to sing in the soprano range for a period of time.
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Comune di Napoli
Flag
Seal
Location of the city of Naples (red dot) within Italy.
Coordinates:
Region Campania
Province Province of Naples
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Cypriano de Rore or Cipriano de Rore (1515 or 1516 – 11 September to 20 September 1565) was a Flemish composer and teacher. He was a central representative of the generation of Franco-Flemish composers after Josquin who went to live and work in Italy, and who were
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House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches: the elder branch is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf, and the younger branch as the House of Fulc-Este or later simply as the House of Este.
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Country Italy
Region Emilia-Romagna
Province Ferrara (FE)
Mayor Gaetano Sateriale (since June 13, 2004)
Area km
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2004)
- Density /km
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Country Italy
Region Emilia Romagna
Province Reggio Emilia (RE)
Mayor Raul Daoli (since June 14, 2004)
Area km
Population
- Total (as of 2004-12-31)
- Density /km
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Country Italy
Region Lombardy
Province Mantua (MN)
Mayor Fiorenza Brioni (since April 18, 2005)
Area km
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2004)
- Density /km
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Country Italy
Region Emilia-Romagna
Province Parma (PR)
Mayor Pietro Vignali
Area km
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2006)
- Density /km
Time zone
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Gonzaga may refer to:
- House of Gonzaga, the family that ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1708
- Gonzaga College High School, a high school in Washington, D.C., U.S.
- Gonzaga Preparatory School, a high school in Spokane, Washington, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. Country Italy
Region Lombardy
Province Mantua (MN)
Mayor Fiorenza Brioni (since April 18, 2005)
Area km
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2004)
- Density /km
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Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi (c.1550 - 1622?), was an Italian composer of the late-Renaissance and early-Baroque periods. He is known for his 1591 publication of balletti for five voices.
Career
Gastoldi was born at Caravaggio, Lombardy.
..... Click the link for more information. Tarquinia Molza (November 1 1542 – August 8 1617) was an Italian singer and poet. She was considered a great virtuosa and many artistic works were dedicated to her; Francesco Patrizi wrote about her singing in his treatise L'amorosa filosofia
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A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. The madrigal has its origins in the frottola, and was also influenced by the motet and the French chanson of the Renaissance.
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In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.
The name comes either from the Latin movere, ("to move") or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance.
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- For other meanings see hymn (disambiguation)
A
hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure.
..... Click the link for more information. In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony. It has most commonly been identified in Western music, developing strongly in the Renaissance, and also dominant in much of the common
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Centuries: 15th century -
16th century - 17th century
1550s 1560s 1570s -
1580s - 1590s 1600s 1610s
1580 1581 1582 1583 1584
1585 1586 1587 1588 1589
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Events and Trends
..... Click the link for more information. Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. 1545 – September 10, 1607) was an Italian composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance. He was born and died in Ferrara, and most likely spent his entire life there.
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Luca Marenzio (also Marentio) (October 18? 1553? – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote perhaps the finest examples of the form in its late stage of development, prior to its
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Carlo Gesualdo, known as Gesualdo da Venosa (?March 8, 1566 – September 8, 1613), Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was an Italian music composer, lutenist and nobleman of the late Renaissance.
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homophony (IPA [ho'mɒfəni], from Greek "homófonos", where ομοιο = the same, and φωνή = a sound, tone) is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the
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polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).
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