Géry de Ghersem
Encyclopedia
Géry de Ghersem (1573 to 1575 – 25 May 1630) was a Franco-Flemish
composer of the late Renaissance
, active both in Spain
at the court of Philip II
and Philip III
, and in his native Netherlands
. He was a prolific and highly regarded composer at the time, but little of his work survives, almost all having been destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755.
, and received his boyhood musical training there, possibly under the direction of composer George de La Hèle
. While still young, "between the ages of 7 and 12" according to the Habsburg
chapel records, he was one of 14 boys brought to Spain to sing in the imperial chapel choir, the capilla flamenca
. During this period, as during the previous two hundred years, the Low Countries
provided a dependable source of talented young musicians for the choirs of kings and aristocrats in other parts of Europe. This practice was shortly to come to an end, as the last known group of choirboys from Flanders went to Spain in 1594.
After coming to Spain, Ghersem may have worked again with La Hèle briefly, since he directed the choir in Madrid
, but La Hèle died in 1586. Ghersem rose in the ranks in the chapel, becoming cantor in 1593 and assistant director in 1598. In the 1590s he worked with prolific composer Philippe Rogier
, who was then the director of the chapel choir; when Rogier died young in 1596 (he was 35) he asked Ghersem to assist in publication of a group of masses he wrote; Ghersem added one of his own to this collection, which was fortunate, since that is the only work of Ghersem which survives complete.
In 1604, Ghersem left Spain and returned home, perhaps seeking a position as a music director, a position which was denied him in Madrid. In Brussels
he found such employment in the chapel of Albert and Isabella
, a position he kept for the rest of his career. He also became chaplain of the oratory, also in Brussels, and became a priest. During this time the court in Brussels was one of the leading artistic centers in Europe; this was the beginning of the "Golden Age" in the southern Netherlands. Some of his distinguished musical colleagues in Brussels in the early 17th century included Peter Phillips
and John Bull
. Ghersem died in Tournai, the place of his birth.
, which listed only about a third of the contents of that colossal collection, one of the largest libraries of the age, gives well over 200 works, all of which were destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755. Ghersem's sacred vocal music included mass
es, motet
s, settings of the Lamentations, Magnificat
s, psalms, and 170 villancico
s; he also wrote some secular music which John archived there, including chanson
s in French and a few songs in Spanish. Some of the villancicos were antiphonal compositions for Christmas, which had exchanges between voices and groups of instruments. Not enough is known of his music to determine if he adopted the Baroque
style, the seconda pratica, for any of this work. Also no music for instruments only is known from the catalogue.
His solitary surviving complete work is a mass for seven voices, in the polyphonic
style of the Renaissance. It makes use of canon
, and is based on a motet
by Francisco Guerrero.
Ghersem's music was loved by both Philips of Spain as well as John IV of Portugal, and Italian music theorist and writer Pietro Cerone
praised him effusively in his massive and chaotic work El melopeo y maestro of 1613.
Franco-Flemish School
In music, the Franco-Flemish School or more precisely the Netherlandish School refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, and to the composers who wrote it...
composer of the late Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, active both in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
at the court of Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
and Philip III
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
, and in his native Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He was a prolific and highly regarded composer at the time, but little of his work survives, almost all having been destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755.
Life
Ghersem was born in TournaiTournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, and received his boyhood musical training there, possibly under the direction of composer George de La Hèle
George de La Hèle
George de La Hèle was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, mainly active in the Habsburg chapels of Spain and the Low Countries. Among his surviving music is a book of eight masses, some for as many as eight voices...
. While still young, "between the ages of 7 and 12" according to the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
chapel records, he was one of 14 boys brought to Spain to sing in the imperial chapel choir, the capilla flamenca
Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca)
The Flemish chapel was one of two choirs employed by Philip II of Spain, the other being the Spanish chapel .- La Grande Chapelle :...
. During this period, as during the previous two hundred years, the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
provided a dependable source of talented young musicians for the choirs of kings and aristocrats in other parts of Europe. This practice was shortly to come to an end, as the last known group of choirboys from Flanders went to Spain in 1594.
After coming to Spain, Ghersem may have worked again with La Hèle briefly, since he directed the choir in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but La Hèle died in 1586. Ghersem rose in the ranks in the chapel, becoming cantor in 1593 and assistant director in 1598. In the 1590s he worked with prolific composer Philippe Rogier
Philippe Rogier
Philippe Rogier was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at the Habsburg court of Philip II in Spain...
, who was then the director of the chapel choir; when Rogier died young in 1596 (he was 35) he asked Ghersem to assist in publication of a group of masses he wrote; Ghersem added one of his own to this collection, which was fortunate, since that is the only work of Ghersem which survives complete.
In 1604, Ghersem left Spain and returned home, perhaps seeking a position as a music director, a position which was denied him in Madrid. In Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
he found such employment in the chapel of Albert and Isabella
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...
, a position he kept for the rest of his career. He also became chaplain of the oratory, also in Brussels, and became a priest. During this time the court in Brussels was one of the leading artistic centers in Europe; this was the beginning of the "Golden Age" in the southern Netherlands. Some of his distinguished musical colleagues in Brussels in the early 17th century included Peter Phillips
Peter Philips
Peter Philips was an eminent English composer, organist, and Catholic priest exiled to Flanders...
and John Bull
John Bull (composer)
John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:...
. Ghersem died in Tournai, the place of his birth.
Music and influence
Ghersem seems to have written most of his music in Spain, and he wrote quite a lot. The catalogue of the library of John IV of PortugalJohn IV of Portugal
|-|John IV was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1640 to his death. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, who had in 1580 claimed the Portuguese crown and sparked the struggle for the throne of Portugal. John was nicknamed John the Restorer...
, which listed only about a third of the contents of that colossal collection, one of the largest libraries of the age, gives well over 200 works, all of which were destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake and fire of 1755. Ghersem's sacred vocal music included mass
Mass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
es, motet
Motet
In 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...
s, settings of the Lamentations, Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
s, psalms, and 170 villancico
Villancico
The villancico was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol"...
s; he also wrote some secular music which John archived there, including chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
s in French and a few songs in Spanish. Some of the villancicos were antiphonal compositions for Christmas, which had exchanges between voices and groups of instruments. Not enough is known of his music to determine if he adopted the Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
style, the seconda pratica, for any of this work. Also no music for instruments only is known from the catalogue.
His solitary surviving complete work is a mass for seven voices, in 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 ....
style of the Renaissance. It makes use of canon
Canon (music)
In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
, and is based on a motet
Motet
In 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...
by Francisco Guerrero.
Ghersem's music was loved by both Philips of Spain as well as John IV of Portugal, and Italian music theorist and writer Pietro Cerone
Pietro Cerone
Pietro Cerone was an Italian music theorist, singer and priest of the late Renaissance. He is most famous for an enormous music treatise he wrote in 1613, which is useful in the studying compositional practices of the 16th century.-Life:...
praised him effusively in his massive and chaotic work El melopeo y maestro of 1613.
Works, editions and recordings
Recordings- Missa Ave Virgo Sanctissima, with motets by Francisco GuerreroFrancisco GuerreroFrancisco Guerrero was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born and died in Seville.Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for at the age of 17 he was already appointed maestro de capilla at Jaén Cathedral...
, Pieter Cornet, Philippe RogierPhilippe RogierPhilippe Rogier was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at the Habsburg court of Philip II in Spain...
, Peter PhilipsPeter PhilipsPeter Philips was an eminent English composer, organist, and Catholic priest exiled to Flanders...
. Currende dir. Erik van NevelErik Van NevelErik Van Nevel is a Belgian conductor. He is the nephew of Paul Van Nevel.He pursued instrumental and vocal studies at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven and at the Koninklijk Conservatorium and the Koninklijk Conservatorium ....
. Accent 2011