Jacques Brunel
Encyclopedia
Jacques Brunel (died 1564) was a French
organist
and composer
, active mostly in Italy
. It is not known whether he was related to the more known composer Antoine Brumel
.
He may have been organist at the Rouen Cathedral
until December 1524, when a certain Jacques Brunel left the post. From 1532 until 1564 a Brunel, probably the same person, worked as organist at the Este
chapel in Ferrara
, where in 1547–1558 he served under the famous composer Cipriano de Rore
. Between 1543 and 1559 Brunel received money for the keep of a horse, which he needed to travel to oversee the Este chapels at Modena
and Reggio nell'Emilia. At the request of Guidobaldo II della Rovere
, Duke of Urbino, Brumel also stayed in Pesaro
and Urbino
in the summer of 1534, and later in 1561–63. The last references to him in the archives are from early 1564: he was last paid in March, and had died by May. He was succeeded by his son Virginio Brunel, who later became organist at the Basilica of San Vitale
. He served there from August 1572 until some time after 1580.
, Cinciarino, Jacopo Corfini and Luigi Dentice
, praised his skills. Bartoli wrote that Brunel played "with more grace, with more art and more musically than any other, whoever he may be." However, few of his works survive. The most important pieces, a number of ricercar
s from the so-called Bourdeney Codex, were attributed to Brunel by Anthony Newcomb
in 1987. These works are of considerable importance in the evolution of the genre: there are frequent instances of advanced contrapuntal
techniques such as inversion
and augmentation
, hexachord
transpositions (inganno
) of the subjects; some of the pieces even employ countersubjects. Two ricercares also appear in another mansucript: one imitative, structured like a motet
, and the other completely devoid of any imitative passages.
One other piece was attributed to Brunel by Knud Jeppesen
: an organ mass
discovered in the 1940s in manuscripts that were kept in the main church of Castell'Arquato
. The mass, subtitled Messa de la dominica, is signed Jaches at the end of the last Kyrie verset. It is a typical Italian organ mass, consisting of many short pieces for the alternation practice
. All of the pieces are in four voices, but the texture is frequently interrupted either by passages in three voices, or with chordal passages which include chords of five, six, or even seven notes.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
organist
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, active mostly in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is not known whether he was related to the more known composer Antoine Brumel
Antoine Brumel
Antoine 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....
.
Life
Rouen Cathedral
Rouen Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy.-History:...
until December 1524, when a certain Jacques Brunel left the post. From 1532 until 1564 a Brunel, probably the same person, worked as organist at the Este
Este
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
chapel in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, where in 1547–1558 he served under the famous composer Cipriano de Rore
Cipriano de Rore
Cipriano de Rore was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy...
. Between 1543 and 1559 Brunel received money for the keep of a horse, which he needed to travel to oversee the Este chapels at Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
and Reggio nell'Emilia. At the request of Guidobaldo II della Rovere
Guidobaldo II della Rovere
Guidobaldo II della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1538 until his death.- Biography :...
, Duke of Urbino, Brumel also stayed in Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
and Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
in the summer of 1534, and later in 1561–63. The last references to him in the archives are from early 1564: he was last paid in March, and had died by May. He was succeeded by his son Virginio Brunel, who later became organist at the Basilica of San Vitale
Basilica of San Vitale
The Church of San Vitale — styled an "ecclesiastical basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it is not of architectural basilica form — is a church in Ravenna, Italy, one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe...
. He served there from August 1572 until some time after 1580.
Works
Brunel enjoyed an exceptionally high reputation during his lifetime. Numerous writers, including Cosimo BartoliCosimo Bartoli
Cosimo Bartoli was an Italian diplomat, mathematician, philologist, and humanist. He worked and lived in Rome and Florence and took minor orders...
, Cinciarino, Jacopo Corfini and Luigi Dentice
Luigi Dentice
Luigi Dentice was an Italian composer, musical theorist, singer and lutenist who served the powerful Sanseverino family, and was father of Fabrizio Dentice , also a composer and lutenist. He was grandfather of Scipione Dentice .Dentice came from a noble family. When his father died in 1561 he...
, praised his skills. Bartoli wrote that Brunel played "with more grace, with more art and more musically than any other, whoever he may be." However, few of his works survive. The most important pieces, a number of ricercar
Ricercar
A ricercar is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term means to search out, and many ricercars serve a preludial function to "search out" the key or mode of a following piece...
s from the so-called Bourdeney Codex, were attributed to Brunel by Anthony Newcomb
Anthony Newcomb
Anthony Newcomb is an American musicologist. He was born in New York and studied at the University of California, Berkeley where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962. He then studied with Gustav Leonhardt in Holland while on a Fulbright Scholarship...
in 1987. These works are of considerable importance in the evolution of the genre: there are frequent instances of advanced contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
techniques such as inversion
Inversion (music)
In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...
and augmentation
Augmentation (music)
In Western music and music theory, the word augmentation has three distinct meanings. Augmentation is a compositional device where a melody, theme or motif is presented in longer note-values than were previously used...
, hexachord
Hexachord
In music, a hexachord is a collection of six pitch classes including six-note segments of a scale or tone row. The term was adopted in the Middle Ages and adapted in the twentieth-century in Milton Babbitt's serial theory.-Middle Ages:...
transpositions (inganno
Inganno
Inganno is a 1952 Italian film directed by Guido Brignone. It stars Gabriele Ferzetti and Nadia Gray....
) of the subjects; some of the pieces even employ countersubjects. Two ricercares also appear in another mansucript: one imitative, structured like 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...
, and the other completely devoid of any imitative passages.
One other piece was attributed to Brunel by Knud Jeppesen
Knud Jeppesen
Knud Jeppesen was a Danish musicologist, composer, and writer on the history of music....
: an organ 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...
discovered in the 1940s in manuscripts that were kept in the main church of Castell'Arquato
Castell'Arquato
Castell'Arquato is an Italian town located on the first hills of Val D’Arda in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna, approximately 30 km from Piacenza and 35 km from Parma...
. The mass, subtitled Messa de la dominica, is signed Jaches at the end of the last Kyrie verset. It is a typical Italian organ mass, consisting of many short pieces for the alternation practice
Alternatim
Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance. A specific part of the ordinary of the Mass would be divided into versets. Each verset would be performed antiphonally by two groups of singers, giving rise to polyphonic settings of half of the text. One of these groups may...
. All of the pieces are in four voices, but the texture is frequently interrupted either by passages in three voices, or with chordal passages which include chords of five, six, or even seven notes.
List of works
- Messa de la dominica
- Ricercare di Jaches (in F)
- Ricercare di Jaches (in d)
- Recercare del nono tuono
- Ricercar sopra la sol fa re mi
- Ricercar del terzo tono
- Ricercar del nono tono
- Ricercar del quinto tono
- Ricercar del duodicesimo tono
- Ricercare del primo tono
- Ricercare del primo tono
- Ricercare del secondo tono
- Ricercare del seconto tono
- Ricercare del terzo tono
- Ricercare del quarto tono
- Ricercare del duodecimo tono
- Ricercare sopra Cantai mentre ch'i arsi [di] Cypriano [de Rore]
Further reading
- Jeppesen, Knud. 1955. Eine frühe Orgelmesse aus Castell'Arquato, AMw, xii (1955), 187–205.
- Newcomb, Anthony. 1987. The Anonymous Ricercars of the Bourdeney Codex. Frescobaldi Studies, ed. A. Silbiger (Durham, NC, 1987), 97–123.