Jhan Gero
Encyclopedia
Jhan Gero (fl.
1540 – 1555) was a Franco-Flemish
composer of the Renaissance
, apparently active mainly in Italy, particularly Venice
. He was a practitioner of the note nere
madrigal
style during its period of popularity in the 1540s, and also wrote didactic music, probably intended for teaching beginning singers.
, as were many musicians of the time who were working in Italy. He seems to have risen to prominence through the efforts of the Venetian publishing company run by Antonio Gardane and Girolamo Scotto; they may have paid him to make arrangements of works by others, as indicated by his first publication, in 1541, which contained Italian madrigals and French chanson
s, originally for three or four voices, however in this case arranged for only two singers each. This particular publication went through numerous reprints, all the way until the end of the 17th century.
Gero was employed at some unknown time as maestro di cappella for Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, the Prince of Bisignano
, according to the dedicatory epistle to Gero's 1555 book of motets. After this year, during which he published two books of motet
s, no further records of his life or activities have yet come to light.
was common.
Gero's music was widely distributed, being popular in Italy as well as Germany.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1540 – 1555) was a Franco-Flemish
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...
, apparently active mainly in Italy, particularly Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He was a practitioner of the note nere
Note nere
Note nere was a style of madrigal composition, which used shorter note values than usual and had more black note-heads.The style was introduced around 1540, and had a short vogue among composers publishing in Venice including Costanzo Festa, Giaches de Wert, Cipriano di Rore and many minor...
madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
style during its period of popularity in the 1540s, and also wrote didactic music, probably intended for teaching beginning singers.
Life
Nothing is known about his early life, but it is inferred that he was from northern Europe, perhaps FlandersFlanders
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...
, as were many musicians of the time who were working in Italy. He seems to have risen to prominence through the efforts of the Venetian publishing company run by Antonio Gardane and Girolamo Scotto; they may have paid him to make arrangements of works by others, as indicated by his first publication, in 1541, which contained Italian madrigals and French 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, originally for three or four voices, however in this case arranged for only two singers each. This particular publication went through numerous reprints, all the way until the end of the 17th century.
Gero was employed at some unknown time as maestro di cappella for Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, the Prince of Bisignano
Bisignano
Bisignano is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza, part of in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks .-History:...
, according to the dedicatory epistle to Gero's 1555 book of motets. After this year, during which he published two books of 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, no further records of his life or activities have yet come to light.
Music and influence
In the 1540s, after his initial assumed employment with Gardane and Scotto, Gero published two books of madrigals in the then-popular note nere (black note) style. In music of this style, black notes referred to quick note values (i.e. filled-in note heads, as in modern quarter-notes rather than half-notes); quick passages alternated with slower ones, and syncopationSyncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
was common.
Gero's music was widely distributed, being popular in Italy as well as Germany.