Jehan Fresneau
Encyclopedia
Jehan Fresneau (fl. ca. 1468 – 1505) was a French
composer of the Renaissance
. He was one of the composers in the renowned Milan
chapel in the mid-1470s, which was disbanded after the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza
.
Fresneau was from Cambrai
, and was probably a priest. A "Jo. Fremniau" active at Cambrai Cathedral from 1468 to 1469 has tentatively been identified as the same person. He was employed by the French royal chapel between 1469 and 1475, at which time he went to Milan; however, he did not stay there long, for in December 1476 Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza was assassinated, and the many singers and composers of the chapel scattered. Fresneau was among those listed on a safe pass for exit from Milan on 6 February 1477, along with Loyset Compère
, Johannes Martini
, Colinet de Lannoy
, and others. It is not known where he went immediately; his next documented appearance is at the church of St. Martin in Tours
in 1486, where he was also in the employ of Louis XII
. Between 1494 and 1505 he was at the singing school attached to Chartres Cathedral, where he held various positions, including canon, provost, notary, and procurator. No records documenting his life after 1505 have yet been found.
He is mentioned in Guillaume Crétin
's elegy on the death of Johannes Ockeghem
(6 February 1497) as one of the living composers; however, Crétin does not list him with the most prominent, which included Alexander Agricola
, Johannes Ghiselin
, Johannes Prioris
, Josquin des Prez
, Gaspar van Weerbeke
, Antoine Brumel
, and Loyset Compère
. The term "nostre maistre" in Crétin's Déploration has been taken to suggest that all of these composers, including Fresnau, were students of Ockeghem.
s and a setting of the mass
. The mass, Missa quarti toni, is for four voices. The chansons, probably written in the 1470s, all use the formes fixes
; all are in French, and all are for three voices. Several are preserved in the Florentine chansonnier
I-Fr 2794, which contains 60 chansons and 8 pieces in Latin.
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 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...
. He was one of the composers in the renowned Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
chapel in the mid-1470s, which was disbanded after the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical....
.
Life
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
, and was probably a priest. A "Jo. Fremniau" active at Cambrai Cathedral from 1468 to 1469 has tentatively been identified as the same person. He was employed by the French royal chapel between 1469 and 1475, at which time he went to Milan; however, he did not stay there long, for in December 1476 Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza was assassinated, and the many singers and composers of the chapel scattered. Fresneau was among those listed on a safe pass for exit from Milan on 6 February 1477, along with Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère
Loyset 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...
, Johannes Martini
Johannes Martini
Johannes Martini was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance.-Life:He was born in Brabant around 1440, but information about his early life is scanty. He probably received his early training in Flanders, as did most of the composers of his generation...
, Colinet de Lannoy
Colinet de Lannoy
Colinet de Lannoy was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers/singers working at the Milan chapel at the time of the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, and he possibly also worked in France.-Life:Little is known for certain about his life, and some...
, and others. It is not known where he went immediately; his next documented appearance is at the church of St. Martin in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
in 1486, where he was also in the employ of Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
. Between 1494 and 1505 he was at the singing school attached to Chartres Cathedral, where he held various positions, including canon, provost, notary, and procurator. No records documenting his life after 1505 have yet been found.
He is mentioned in Guillaume Crétin
Guillaume Crétin
-Life:He was treasurer of the Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes, then cantor of the Sainte-Chapelle de Paris and ordinary almoner to Francis I of France....
's elegy on the death of 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...
(6 February 1497) as one of the living composers; however, Crétin does not list him with the most prominent, which included Alexander Agricola
Alexander Agricola
Alexander 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...
, Johannes Ghiselin
Johannes Ghiselin
Johannes Ghiselin was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in France, Italy and in the Low Countries. He was a contemporary of Josquin des Prez, and a significant composer of masses, motets, and secular music...
, Johannes Prioris
Johannes Prioris
Johannes Prioris was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the first composers to write a polyphonic setting of the Requiem mass....
, Josquin des Prez
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, Gaspar van Weerbeke
Gaspar van Weerbeke
Gaspar 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 :...
, 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....
, and Loyset Compère
Loyset Compère
Loyset 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...
. The term "nostre maistre" in Crétin's Déploration has been taken to suggest that all of these composers, including Fresnau, were students of Ockeghem.
Music and manuscript sources
Of his music, only six examples survive, including five chansonChanson
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 and a setting of the 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...
. The mass, Missa quarti toni, is for four voices. The chansons, probably written in the 1470s, all use the formes fixes
Formes fixes
A Forme fixé is any one of three fourteenth and fifteenth centuries French poetic forms, the ballade, rondeau and virelai...
; all are in French, and all are for three voices. Several are preserved in the Florentine chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
I-Fr 2794, which contains 60 chansons and 8 pieces in Latin.
Secular
- C'est vous seulle (three voices)
- De vous servir (three voices) (also attributed to Hayne van GhizeghemHayne van GhizeghemHayne van Ghizeghem was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance Burgundian School.While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life...
) - Ha qu'il m'ennuye (three voices) (also attributed to Alexander Agricola)
- Notres assouemen (three voices (also attributed to Alexander Agricola)
- Nuit et jour (three voices)
- Perget (three voices) (contrafactumContrafactumIn vocal music, contrafactum refers to "the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music"....
of Nuit et jour)