Johannes von Soest
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
, theorist
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. Most biographical details about his life survive in Soest's rhymed autobiography. He was born in Unna
Unna
Unna is a town of around 67,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.-Geography:Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Hellweg road. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hansa Trade Route came from as far as London...
and brought up in the nearby town of Soest
Soest, Germany
Soest is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district. After Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district.-Geography:...
. As a child, he sang at St. Patroclus Cathedral (St. Patrokli-Dom) in Soest. At one point a juggler almost succeeded in kidnapping Soest for his beautiful voice, but the plan did not succeed. The boy eventually left Soest when John I
John I, Duke of Cleves
John I, Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark was Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark.- Life :He was the son of Adolph I, Duke of Cleves and Mary of Burgundy...
, Duke of Cleves
Duchy of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
hired him as a singer.
At Cleves Soest studied composition with an unknown teacher, quickly distinguishing himself as the best student and becoming, in his own words, a better composer than his master. Soest's attitude changed when he heard two English singers who were travelling through Cleves; he persuaded them to teach him. They agreed to do so on the condition that he went to Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
with them; accordingly, Soest somehow managed to get a permission to leave the Duke. He subsequently worked at Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
, Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, and Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. In 1472 the 24-year old composer went to Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and made such an impression on the Elector
Philip, Elector Palatine
Philip the Upright, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach from 1476 to 1508....
that he was immediately offered a contract for life.
Although he had a large salary and a high reputation, by 1476 Soest was apparently no longer satisfied with his musical activities. That year he entered the University of Heidelberg to study medicine; after several years there and a period in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, by 1490 at the latest, he received a degree. He became a municipal doctor in Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
in 1495, then worked in the same capacity in Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. He died in 1506 in Frankfurt.
No compositions by Soest survive, but contemporary sources mention vocal music for 9 to 12 voices and other pieces. His treatises are lost as well; only the title of one survives: De musica subalterna. Soest was also active as a teacher. His pupils included composer and theorist Sebastian Virdung
Sebastian Virdung
Sebastian Virdung was a German composer and theorist on musical instruments. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He studied in Heidelberg as a scholar of Johannes von Soest at the chapel of the ducal court. After being ordained, he became chaplain at the court in Heidelberg....
, author of one of the earliest known German treatises on musical instruments. Organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and composer Arnolt Schlick
Arnolt Schlick
Arnolt Schlick was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the Renaissance. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He was most probably born in Heidelberg and by 1482 established himself as court organist for the Electoral Palatinate...
, author of the earliest German treatise on organs
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 organ building, also may have studied with Soest.