Jacob Clemens non Papa
Encyclopedia
Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) ( – 1555 or 1556) was a Flemish
composer of the Renaissance
based for most of his life in Flanders. He was a prolific composer in many of the current styles, and was especially famous for his polyphonic
settings of the psalms in Dutch
known as the Souterliedekens
.
, Zeeland
, though the evidence is contradictory; certainly he was from somewhere in modern Belgium
or the Netherlands
. The first unambiguous reference to him is from the late 1530s, when Pierre Attaingnant
published a collection of his chansons in Paris
. Between March 1544 and June 1545 he worked as succentor
at the cathedral of Bruges, and shortly thereafter he began a business relationship with Tielman Susato
, the publisher in Antwerp, which was to last for the rest of his life. From 1545 until 1549 he was probably choirmaster to Philippe de Croy, Duke of Aerschot, one of Charles V
's greatest generals, where he preceded Nicolas Gombert
. In 1550 he was employed as sanger ende componist ("singer and composer") by the Marian Brotherhood in 's-Hertogenbosch. There is also evidence that he lived and worked in Ypres
and Leiden. It is speculated on slender evidence that he also worked in Dordrecht
.
There are several theories regarding the origin of the epithet "non Papa". One holds that it was jokingly added by his publisher, Susato
, to distinguish him from Pope Clement VII
—"Jacob Clemens—but not the Pope." Another states that it is to distinguish him from Jacobus Papa, a poet also from Ypres. However, considering that Pope Clemens VII died in 1534, before any of Clemens's music was published, and that the confusion with the poet is unlikely in that the surnames were quite distinct, it is likely that the nickname was merely created in jest rather than for practical reasons. Nonetheless, the suffix has remained throughout the ages.
Details about his death are not known, but he probably died in 1555 or 1556. The 1558 text in Jacobus Vaet
's Continuo lacrimas, his deploration on Clemens's death, suggests that he met a violent end, though if true, the circumstances are not given. According to a 1644 source, Clemens was buried at Diksmuide
near Ypres in present-day Belgium.
Clemens was one of the chief representatives of the generation between Josquin
and Palestrina
and Orlandus Lassus. He was primarily a composer of sacred music. In fact, his musical output was roughly 80 percent sacred music, either liturgical or for private use. Of his approximately 233 motets, only three contain secular texts, in the form of hymns of praise of music. However, he did compose just above 100 secular works that encompass the whole gamut of poetic genres that were used by composers in his generation. Considering that his career as a composer lasted for barely two decades, Clemens was an extremely prolific composer, writing:
Of all these works, the Souterliedekens were perhaps the most widely known and influential. The Souterliedekens were published in 1556-7 by Tielman Susato in his Musyck Boexken ("Music Books"), IV-VII and comprised the only Protestant part-music in Dutch during the Renaissance. Based on a preceding volume of Souterliedekens printed by Symon Cock that contained monophonic
settings of the psalms in Dutch, Clemens's Souterliedekens became the first complete polyphonic settings of all 150 psalms in Dutch. Presumably, the original verse translation of the Psalter into the Dutch language was completed by Willem van Nievelt from Wittenberg
. Clemens's part-settings are generally simple, and designed to be sung by people at home. They use the well-known secular tunes that were printed in the Cock edition, including drinking songs, love songs, ballads, and other popular songs of the time, as a cantus firmus
. Most of them were set for 3 parts, and there are 26 different combinations of these voices. Some of the Souterliedekens are based on dance-songs and are frankly homophonic and homorhythmic, while others use imitation. It is notable that these pieces of music survived the ban in 1569 when the government under the Duke of Alba
censured all books that were deemed heretical.
After his death, his works were distributed to Germany, France, Spain, and even among various circles in England. The influence of Clemens was especially prominent in Germany; Lassus in particular knew his music well and incorporated elements of his style.
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
composer of the Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
based for most of his life in Flanders. He was a prolific composer in many of the current styles, and was especially famous for his 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 ....
settings of the psalms in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
known as the Souterliedekens
Souterliedekens
The Souterliedekens is a Dutch metrical psalter, published in 1540 in Antwerp, and which remained very popular throughout the century. The metrical rhyming psalms were - probably - arranged by a Utrecht nobleman: Willem van Zuylen van Nijevelt . For the melodies he used folksongs from the Low...
.
Life
Nothing is known of his early life, and even the details of the years of his artistic maturity are sketchy. He may have been born in MiddelburgMiddelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
, Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, though the evidence is contradictory; certainly he was from somewhere in modern Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
or the 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...
. The first unambiguous reference to him is from the late 1530s, when Pierre Attaingnant
Pierre Attaingnant
Pierre Attaingnant was a French music printer, active in Paris.-Life:Attaingnant is considered to be first large-scale publisher of single-impression movable type for music-printing, thus making it possible to print faster and cheaper than predecessors such as Ottaviano Petrucci...
published a collection of his chansons in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Between March 1544 and June 1545 he worked as succentor
Succentor
The Succentor in an ancient cathedral foundation sings psalms and Preces and Responses after the Precentor. In English cathedrals today the priest responsible for liturgy and music is usually the Precentor, but some cathedrals, such as St Paul's and Durham, retain a Succentor as well. Westminster...
at the cathedral of Bruges, and shortly thereafter he began a business relationship with Tielman Susato
Tielman Susato
Tielman — or Tylman — Susato was a Renaissance composer, instrumentalist and publisher of music in Antwerp.-Biography:...
, the publisher in Antwerp, which was to last for the rest of his life. From 1545 until 1549 he was probably choirmaster to Philippe de Croy, Duke of Aerschot, one of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
's greatest generals, where he preceded Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
. In 1550 he was employed as sanger ende componist ("singer and composer") by the Marian Brotherhood in 's-Hertogenbosch. There is also evidence that he lived and worked in Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
and Leiden. It is speculated on slender evidence that he also worked in Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
.
There are several theories regarding the origin of the epithet "non Papa". One holds that it was jokingly added by his publisher, Susato
Tielman Susato
Tielman — or Tylman — Susato was a Renaissance composer, instrumentalist and publisher of music in Antwerp.-Biography:...
, to distinguish him from Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
—"Jacob Clemens—but not the Pope." Another states that it is to distinguish him from Jacobus Papa, a poet also from Ypres. However, considering that Pope Clemens VII died in 1534, before any of Clemens's music was published, and that the confusion with the poet is unlikely in that the surnames were quite distinct, it is likely that the nickname was merely created in jest rather than for practical reasons. Nonetheless, the suffix has remained throughout the ages.
Details about his death are not known, but he probably died in 1555 or 1556. The 1558 text in Jacobus Vaet
Jacobus Vaet
Jacobus Vaet was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, writing smooth polyphony with pervasive imitation, and he was a friend both of Clemens non Papa and Lassus.-Life:...
's Continuo lacrimas, his deploration on Clemens's death, suggests that he met a violent end, though if true, the circumstances are not given. According to a 1644 source, Clemens was buried at Diksmuide
Diksmuide
Diksmuide is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Diksmuide proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke, Oudekapelle, Pervijze, Sint-Jacobs-Kapelle,...
near Ypres in present-day Belgium.
Works and influence
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Clemens seems never to have traveled to Italy, with the result that Italian influence is absent in his music. He represents the northern European dialect of the Franco-Flemish style.Clemens was one of the chief representatives of the generation between Josquin
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
and Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
and Orlandus Lassus. He was primarily a composer of sacred music. In fact, his musical output was roughly 80 percent sacred music, either liturgical or for private use. Of his approximately 233 motets, only three contain secular texts, in the form of hymns of praise of music. However, he did compose just above 100 secular works that encompass the whole gamut of poetic genres that were used by composers in his generation. Considering that his career as a composer lasted for barely two decades, Clemens was an extremely prolific composer, writing:
- 15 masses, including 14 parody massParody massA parody mass is a musical setting of the mass, typically from the 16th century, that uses multiple voices of another pre-existing piece of music, such as a fragment of a motet or a secular chanson, as part of its melodic material. It is distinguished from the two other most prominent types of...
es and a requiemRequiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
mass (most of which were published 1555-70 by Pierre Phalèse the ElderPierre Phalèse the ElderPierre Phalèse the Elder was an important Flemish music editor and engraver of the sixteenth century....
in LeuvenLeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
); two mass sections (a Kyrie and a Credo) - 15 Magnificats
- c. 233 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...
s - Just over 100 secular pieces, including: 89 chansonChansonA 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 (only 77 of which are considered authentic and are included in the complete edition of his works), 8 Dutch songs, 8 textless pieces, 2 intabulated chansons, and 1 instrumental canon (doubtful) - 159 Souterliedekens, i.e. Dutch settings of the psalms, using popular song melodies as cantus firmusCantus firmusIn music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
.
Of all these works, the Souterliedekens were perhaps the most widely known and influential. The Souterliedekens were published in 1556-7 by Tielman Susato in his Musyck Boexken ("Music Books"), IV-VII and comprised the only Protestant part-music in Dutch during the Renaissance. Based on a preceding volume of Souterliedekens printed by Symon Cock that contained monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
settings of the psalms in Dutch, Clemens's Souterliedekens became the first complete polyphonic settings of all 150 psalms in Dutch. Presumably, the original verse translation of the Psalter into the Dutch language was completed by Willem van Nievelt from Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
. Clemens's part-settings are generally simple, and designed to be sung by people at home. They use the well-known secular tunes that were printed in the Cock edition, including drinking songs, love songs, ballads, and other popular songs of the time, as a cantus firmus
Cantus firmus
In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.The plural of this Latin term is , though the corrupt form canti firmi is also attested...
. Most of them were set for 3 parts, and there are 26 different combinations of these voices. Some of the Souterliedekens are based on dance-songs and are frankly homophonic and homorhythmic, while others use imitation. It is notable that these pieces of music survived the ban in 1569 when the government under the Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
censured all books that were deemed heretical.
After his death, his works were distributed to Germany, France, Spain, and even among various circles in England. The influence of Clemens was especially prominent in Germany; Lassus in particular knew his music well and incorporated elements of his style.
Memorial year
In 2012, Clemens' supposed 500th anniversary is celebrated in several of the towns where he is thought to have worked as a singer and composer: Clemens500.Recording
- Clemens non Papa, Priest And Bon-vivant, Capilla FlamencaCapilla FlamencaCapilla Flamenca is a vocal and instrumental early music consort based in Leuven, Belgium. The group specialises in 14th to 16th Century music from Flanders and takes its name from the choir of the court chapel of Emperor Charles V...
together with La Caccia, Joris Verdin and Jan Van Outryve, 2005 (KTC 1287)
Example
External links
- Website of the memorial year 2012 Clemens500
- Project on the Leiden Choirbooks, by Egidius Quartet and Erik Jas Leidse Koorboeken