Pierre Cadéac
Encyclopedia
Pierre Cadéac was a French composer and probably singer of the Renaissance
, active in Gascony
. He wrote both sacred and secular vocal music, and had his music published in Paris
and Lyons. His most famous work was the chanson
Je suis deshéritée, which many later composers, including Lassus
and Palestrina
, used as a basis for parody mass
es.
, in the southern part of Gascony near the Pyrenees
, as suggested by his name. All that is known about his life is that he was choirmaster in Auch
, the historical capital of the region, in 1556, as mentioned on the title page of Du Chemin's publication of his Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater. A poem by Bernard du Poey, published in 1551, also mentions him as being resident in Auch, but does not give his employment or any other details. In 1538 Jacques Moderne
published some of his chansons in Lyons; this is the earliest date of activity known for Cadéac, but his location or employment at that time are not known.
s, motet
s, mass
settings, Magnificat
s, and one isolated setting of the Credo
(part of the mass). A total of 11 chansons, 24 motets, eight settings of the mass, and four of the Magnificat survive. His chansons seem to be his earliest work, and he turned to sacred music later in his career. Pierre Attaingnant (in Paris) and Jacques Moderne (in Lyons) published most of his chansons between 1538 and 1541. One of them became extraordinarily famous: Je suis deshéritée was widely distributed, and composers as diverse as Jean Maillard
in France, Nicolas Gombert
in the Habsburg
chapel and the Low Countries, Orlande de Lassus
in Bavaria, and Palestrina
in Italy all used it as source material for masses later in the century.
The distribution of his motets was also extraordinary, with copies found in places as remote from their Gascon origin as Madrid
, Strasbourg
, Nuremberg
, Venice
, and Kraków
, Poland. According to Grove , a version of his chanson Je suis deshéritée has been found in England, fitted with English words ("Oure Father, God Celestiall"), though in fact the words are in the distinct Scots language
, not English. (It is a translation of the Lord's Prayer, though the original is not so reverent: "I'm broke. Go tell my friend" is the gist of the opening stanza.)
Cadéac's musical style originated from the homophony
and simplicity prevalent in the 1530s, especially in the Parisian chanson at the time of Clément Janequin
, with clear diction, short phrases, general avoidance of dense polyphony
, and abundant parallel imperfect intervals. He used these same simple textures in his sacred music, textures which contrasted considerably with the dense counterpoint
being written by the Netherlanders of his generation (composers such as Nicolas Gombert
).
Most of his motets appeared in 1555, in a publication by Le Roy & Ballard, Petri Cadeac musici excellentissima moteta. The 18 pieces in this set are for from four to six voices. This publication was the biggest single print of his music of the time.
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 Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
. He wrote both sacred and secular vocal music, and had his music published in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Lyons. His most famous work was the 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...
Je suis deshéritée, which many later composers, including Lassus
Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance...
and Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
, used as a basis for parody mass
Parody mass
A parody mass is a musical setting of the mass, typically from the 16th century, that uses multiple voices of another pre-existing piece of music, such as a fragment of a motet or a secular chanson, as part of its melodic material. It is distinguished from the two other most prominent types of...
es.
Life
He was most likely from the small town of CadéacCadéac
Cadéac is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-See also:*Pierre Cadéac, French composer of the 16th century*Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department-References:*...
, in the southern part of Gascony near the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, as suggested by his name. All that is known about his life is that he was choirmaster in Auch
Auch
Auch is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.-The Ausci:...
, the historical capital of the region, in 1556, as mentioned on the title page of Du Chemin's publication of his Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater. A poem by Bernard du Poey, published in 1551, also mentions him as being resident in Auch, but does not give his employment or any other details. In 1538 Jacques Moderne
Jacques Moderne
Jacques Moderne was an Italian-born music publisher active in France in the Renaissance Era....
published some of his chansons in Lyons; this is the earliest date of activity known for Cadéac, but his location or employment at that time are not known.
Music and influence
Cadéac wrote music in most of the vocal forms of the time and place, including secular 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, 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, 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...
settings, Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
s, and one isolated setting of the Credo
Credo
A credo |Latin]] for "I Believe") is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other musical settings of the...
(part of the mass). A total of 11 chansons, 24 motets, eight settings of the mass, and four of the Magnificat survive. His chansons seem to be his earliest work, and he turned to sacred music later in his career. Pierre Attaingnant (in Paris) and Jacques Moderne (in Lyons) published most of his chansons between 1538 and 1541. One of them became extraordinarily famous: Je suis deshéritée was widely distributed, and composers as diverse as Jean Maillard
Jean Maillard
Jean Maillard was a French composer of the Renaissance.While little is known with certainty about his life, he may have been associated with the French royal court, since he wrote at least one motet for them. Most likely he lived and worked in Paris, based on evidence of his print editions, which...
in France, Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
in 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...
chapel and the Low Countries, Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus
Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance...
in Bavaria, and Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
in Italy all used it as source material for masses later in the century.
The distribution of his motets was also extraordinary, with copies found in places as remote from their Gascon origin as 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...
, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, 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...
, and Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland. According to Grove , a version of his chanson Je suis deshéritée has been found in England, fitted with English words ("Oure Father, God Celestiall"), though in fact the words are in the distinct Scots language
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, not English. (It is a translation of the Lord's Prayer, though the original is not so reverent: "I'm broke. Go tell my friend" is the gist of the opening stanza.)
Cadéac's musical style originated from the homophony
Homophony
In music, homophony is a texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords. This is distinct from polyphony, in which parts move with rhythmic independence, and monophony, in which all parts move in parallel rhythm and pitch. A homophonic...
and simplicity prevalent in the 1530s, especially in the Parisian chanson at the time of Clément Janequin
Clément Janequin
Clément Janequin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers of popular chansons of the entire Renaissance, and along with Claudin de Sermisy, was hugely influential in the development of the Parisian chanson, especially the programmatic type...
, with clear diction, short phrases, general avoidance of dense polyphony
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 ....
, and abundant parallel imperfect intervals. He used these same simple textures in his sacred music, textures which contrasted considerably with the dense counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
being written by the Netherlanders of his generation (composers such as Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert
Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin des Prez and Palestrina, and best represents the fully developed, complex polyphonic style of this period in music history.-Life:Details of his early life are...
).
Most of his motets appeared in 1555, in a publication by Le Roy & Ballard, Petri Cadeac musici excellentissima moteta. The 18 pieces in this set are for from four to six voices. This publication was the biggest single print of his music of the time.