Johannes Pullois
Encyclopedia
Johannes Pullois (died 23 August 1478) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance
, active in both the Low Countries
and Italy
. He was one of the early generation of composers to carry the Franco-Flemish polyphonic
style from its home region in the Netherlands to Italy.
He was probably born in Pulle
, near Antwerp, but nothing is known about his life until he became zangmeester (singing master) at the church of Our Lady in Antwerp in 1443. He unsuccessfully auditioned with Philip the Good for the Burgundian
court chapel, but was not accepted for a position; he then in 1447 went to Rome
, where he sang in the papal chapel until 1468. He returned to Antwerp, becoming residential canon at the same church at which he had worked in the 1440s, and he died there in 1478. During his career he was a colleague of both Johannes Philibert and the renowned Johannes Ockeghem
.
has survived, a Missa sine nomine, for three voices; most likely dating from the 1450s, it is one of the earliest cyclic mass
es to be written on the continent. It shows such influence of English music that it has been mistaken for the work of an anonymous English composer. The mass displays a complex transmission pattern, which has confused its dating and provenance.
Pullois also wrote a motet
for the Christmas season Flos de spina, which is similar stylistically to works by Ockeghem, and may have been written during his time in Italy. One other motet, Victime paschali laudes, and three sacred contrafacta of secular songs have survived.
He also wrote 14 secular songs (including the three with contrafactum texts) which appear in various sources from Italy as well as Germany.
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...
, active in both 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....
and 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...
. He was one of the early generation of composers to carry the Franco-Flemish 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 from its home region in the Netherlands to Italy.
He was probably born in Pulle
Zandhoven
Zandhoven is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Massenhoven, Pulderbos, Pulle, Viersel and Zandhoven proper. On January 1, 2006, Zandhoven had a population of 12,286...
, near Antwerp, but nothing is known about his life until he became zangmeester (singing master) at the church of Our Lady in Antwerp in 1443. He unsuccessfully auditioned with Philip the Good for the Burgundian
Burgundian School
The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. The main names associated with this school are Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois,...
court chapel, but was not accepted for a position; he then in 1447 went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he sang in the papal chapel until 1468. He returned to Antwerp, becoming residential canon at the same church at which he had worked in the 1440s, and he died there in 1478. During his career he was a colleague of both Johannes Philibert and the renowned 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...
.
Music and influence
One complete cyclic massCyclic mass
In Renaissance music, the cyclic mass was a setting of the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass, in which each of the movements – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei – shared a common musical theme, commonly a cantus firmus, thus making it a unified whole...
has survived, a Missa sine nomine, for three voices; most likely dating from the 1450s, it is one of the earliest cyclic 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 to be written on the continent. It shows such influence of English music that it has been mistaken for the work of an anonymous English composer. The mass displays a complex transmission pattern, which has confused its dating and provenance.
Pullois also wrote 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...
for the Christmas season Flos de spina, which is similar stylistically to works by Ockeghem, and may have been written during his time in Italy. One other motet, Victime paschali laudes, and three sacred contrafacta of secular songs have survived.
He also wrote 14 secular songs (including the three with contrafactum texts) which appear in various sources from Italy as well as Germany.
Motets
- Flos de spina (4 voices)
- Globus igneus (Contrafactum of "Quelque cose", 3 voices)
- O beata Maria (Contrafactum of "De ma dame", 3 voices; not attributed to Pullois in the original)
- Resone unice genito (Contrafactum of "Puis que Fortune", 3 voices)
- Victime paschali laudes, (3 voices)
Secular
- De ma dame (rondeau, 3 voices)
- He n'esse pas (rondeau, 3 voices)
- Je ne puis (3 voices: no text)
- La bonté du Saint Esperit (ballade, 3 voices)
- Le serviteur (3 voices)
- Les larmes, (3 voices: no text)
- Op eenen tijd, 3 voices (not attributed to Pullois in the original)
- Pour prison, (3 voices: no text)
- Pour toutes fleurs, (rondeau, 3 voices)
- Puisque fortune (rondeau, 3 voices)
- Quelque cose (rondeau, 3 voices)
- Quelque langage, (rondeau, 3 voices)
- Se ung bien peu, (rondeau, 3 voices)
- So lanc so meer, (3 voices, attribution uncertain)