Nicolas Payen
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Payen (c. 1512 – after April 24, 1559) was a Franco-Flemish
composer and choirmaster of the Renaissance
, associated with the Grande Chapelle, the Habsburg
imperial chapel, at the end of the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
.
, and received his earliest musical training in that town, in the church of St. Vincent. When he was about 13 years old he went to Spain to sing in the choir of Charles V
; children were commonly recruited in the Low Countries
for service in the imperial chapel. In the 1530s he may have attended university, but this portion of his life is poorly documented. In the 1540s he rose in the chapel hierarchy, becoming successively a clerc and a chaplain, and in 1556 he took over the post of maestro di capilla, the director of music, from Cornelius Canis
who had retired the previous year simultaneously with the abdication of Charles V. Thus Payen became the first maestro di capilla for Habsburg monarch Philip II of Spain
.
Payen acquired honors including prebends. In 1558 he became canon at the church in Tournai
. He died in Madrid
the next year or shortly after.
s were later arranged for lute
. Thirteen motet
s and five chansons have survived with attribution to him. The motets include some written for state occasions, such as Carole cur defles, for the death of Queen Isabella
, in 1545. One, In Gott gelaub ich das er hat, is in German. All are for four or five voices. His chansons are all for four voices, and all are in French.
His name appears in association with the controversial term musica reservata
, a style of composition and performance beginning around the mid-16th century, which most likely involved intensely expressive setting of text, chromatic part-writing, and small audiences of connoisseurs. The Bavarian ambassador to the court of Charles V wrote a letter to his employer, Albrecht V
, Duke of Bavaria, expressing what would happen when Payen would become maestro di capilla of the Flemish Chapel (capilla flamenca)
for the Habsburg king: "musica reservata will become even more fashionable now than before, [after Nicolas Payen succeeds Cornelius Canis for the position], since Canis was not able to reconcile himself to it." Thus Payen was a composer in a progressive style to Canis's more conservative bent.
For further informations Laura Pollie Mc Dowell, "Nicolas Payen - Motets and chansons", A-R Edition, Middleton, 2006 ISBN 978-0895795939
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 and choirmaster 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...
, associated with the Grande Chapelle, the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
imperial chapel, at the end of the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
.
Life
Payen was born in SoigniesSoignies
Soignies is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.The municipality is composed of the Town of Soignies together with the villages of Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Neufvilles, Naast and Thieusies...
, and received his earliest musical training in that town, in the church of St. Vincent. When he was about 13 years old he went to Spain to sing in the choir of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
; children were commonly recruited in 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....
for service in the imperial chapel. In the 1530s he may have attended university, but this portion of his life is poorly documented. In the 1540s he rose in the chapel hierarchy, becoming successively a clerc and a chaplain, and in 1556 he took over the post of maestro di capilla, the director of music, from Cornelius Canis
Cornelius Canis
Cornelius Canis was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and choir director of the Renaissance, active for much of his life in the Grande Chapelle, the imperial Habsburg music establishment during the reign of Emperor Charles V...
who had retired the previous year simultaneously with the abdication of Charles V. Thus Payen became the first maestro di capilla for Habsburg monarch Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
.
Payen acquired honors including prebends. In 1558 he became canon at the church in Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
. He died in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
the next year or shortly after.
Music and influence
Payen's music is both sacred and secular, and all surviving music is vocal, although some of his 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 were later arranged for lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
. Thirteen 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 and five chansons have survived with attribution to him. The motets include some written for state occasions, such as Carole cur defles, for the death of Queen Isabella
Isabella of Portugal
Isabella of Portugal was a Portuguese Princess and Holy Roman Empress, Duchess of Burgundy, and a Queen Regent/Consort of Spain. She was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also Holy Roman Empress and Queen...
, in 1545. One, In Gott gelaub ich das er hat, is in German. All are for four or five voices. His chansons are all for four voices, and all are in French.
His name appears in association with the controversial term musica reservata
Musica reservata
In music history, musica reservata is either a style or a performance practice in a cappella vocal music of the latter half of the 16th century, mainly in Italy and southern Germany, involving refinement, exclusivity, and intense emotional expression of sung text.The exact meaning, which appears...
, a style of composition and performance beginning around the mid-16th century, which most likely involved intensely expressive setting of text, chromatic part-writing, and small audiences of connoisseurs. The Bavarian ambassador to the court of Charles V wrote a letter to his employer, Albrecht V
Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Marie Jacobaea of Baden.-Early life:Albert was educated at Ingolstadt under good Catholic teachers...
, Duke of Bavaria, expressing what would happen when Payen would become maestro di capilla of the Flemish Chapel (capilla flamenca)
Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca)
The Flemish chapel was one of two choirs employed by Philip II of Spain, the other being the Spanish chapel .- La Grande Chapelle :...
for the Habsburg king: "musica reservata will become even more fashionable now than before, [after Nicolas Payen succeeds Cornelius Canis for the position], since Canis was not able to reconcile himself to it." Thus Payen was a composer in a progressive style to Canis's more conservative bent.
For further informations Laura Pollie Mc Dowell, "Nicolas Payen - Motets and chansons", A-R Edition, Middleton, 2006 ISBN 978-0895795939
Motets
- Virgo prudentissima
- Coenantibus illis
- Carole cur defles Isabellam
- Nunc dimittis
- Resurrectio Christi/Surrexit
- Qui dabit capiti
- Convertimini ad me
- Domine, deus salutis
- Confitemur delicta
- Nisi quia Dominus erat in nobis
- Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel
- Eripe me de inimicis meis Domine
Songs
- Fringotes jeusnes fillettes
- Hau de par Dieu
- Il y a de lognon
- Je ne me puis tenir
- Avecque vous mon amour finira
- Vien tost despiteux desconfort
Recordings
- 3 motets and 6 chansons by Payen on Tota Vita - Music for Charles V. Egidius Kwartet KTC1239 2000