Chigi codex
Encyclopedia
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
originating in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. According to Herbert Kellman, it was created sometime between 1498 and 1503, probably at the behest of Philip I of Castile
Philip I of Castile
Philip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
. It is currently housed in the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
under the call number Chigiana, C. VIII. 234.
The Chigi codex is notable not only for its vivid and colorful illuminations, which were probably done in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
in the workshop of the Master of the Hortulus Animae, but also for its very clear and legible musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
. It contains a nearly complete catalogue of the polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
masses by Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most...
and a collection of five relatively early L'homme armé
L'homme armé
L'homme armé was a French secular song from the time of the Renaissance. It was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L'homme armé survive from the period....
mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
settings, including Ockeghem's.
Several folia, comprising eight works, were added to the original codex
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
at some point after the manuscript's original creation. These are indicated as such in the list below.
The manuscript contains the following works (this list is distilled from that found in Kellman's article):
- Alexander AgricolaAlexander AgricolaAlexander Agricola was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A prominent member of the Grande chapelle, the Habsburg musical establishment, he was a renowned composer in the years around 1500, and his music was widely distributed throughout Europe...
- Missa In myne zyn (without Kyrie)
- Antoine BrumelAntoine BrumelAntoine Brumel was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of the most influential composers of his generation....
- Missa L'homme armé
- Antoine BusnoisAntoine BusnoisAntoine Busnois was a French composer and poet of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motets, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chansons...
- Missa L'homme armé
- Antoine de FévinAntoine de FévinAntoine de Févin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary.-Life:...
- Sancta Trinitas unus Deus (addition)
- Gaspar van WeerbekeGaspar van WeerbekeGaspar van Weerbeke was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, but unique in his blending of the contemporary Italian style with the older Burgundian style of Dufay.- Life :...
- Stabat mater
- Heinrich IsaacHeinrich IsaacHeinrich Isaac was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs , and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany...
- Angeli archangeli
- Jacobus BarbireauJacobus BarbireauJacobus Barbireau was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer from Antwerp. He was considered to be a superlative composer both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars; however, his surviving output is small, and he died young.-Life:Until the 1960s he was confused with another somewhat older...
- Missa Virgo parens Christi (without Agnus Dei)
- Jean MoutonJean MoutonJean Mouton was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School....
- Quis dabit oculis (addition; no attribution)
- Johannes OckeghemJohannes OckeghemJohannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most...
- Ave Maria (addition)
- Intemerata Dei Mater
- Missa Mi-mi
- Missa Ecce ancilla Domini
- Missa L'homme armé
- Missa Fors seulement (Kyrie, Gloria and Credo only)
- Missa sine nomine (Kyrie, Gloria and Credo only)
- Missa Ma maistresse (Kyrie and Gloria)
- Missa Caput
- Missa De plus en plus
- Missa Au travail suis
- Missa cuiusvis toni
- Missa Prolationum
- Missa quinti toni
- Missa pro defunctis
- Johannes RegisJohannes RegisJohannes Regis was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay.-Life:...
- Celsi tonantis
- Clangat plebs
- Lauda Sion Salvatorem
- Lux solempnis (no attribution)
- O admirabile commercium
- Josquin des PrezJosquin Des PrezJosquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
- Missa L'homme armé sexti toni (Kyrie, Gloria and Credo only)
- Stabat mater
- Loyset CompèreLoyset CompèreLoyset Compère was a French composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France.-Life:His exact place of...
- Ave Maria (addition)
- Missa L'homme armé
- Sancte Michael ora pro nobis (addition; no attribution)
- Sile frago ac rerum (no attribution)
- Pierre de la RuePierre de La RuePierre de la Rue , called Piersson, was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. A member of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, and a long associate of the Habsburg-Burgundian musical chapel, he ranks with Agricola, Brumel, Compère, Isaac, Obrecht, and Weerbeke as one of the...
- Credo Sine nomine
- Missa Almana
- Anonymous works
- Ave rosa speciosa
- Regina coeli (addition)
- Vidi aquam (addition)
- one untexted motetMotetIn classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...