Today marks the death, in 1521 of Josquin des Prez, and while this isn’t directly Tudor related, the music of Josquin greatly influenced our Tudor composers. In the 16th century, he was the most famous composer of the age, yet after a century his work drifted away, and was only rediscovered in the 20th century. Because of this, very little is known about him.
He wrote both sacred and secular music, and in all of the significant vocal forms of the age, including masses, motets, and chansons. He spent his early life in France, singing in a choir in Anjou in the 1470’s, but then moved to Italy, where he spent much of his adult life, coming back to France when he was older. His reputation grew after he died, and by the end of the 16th century, he was the most famous composer of all time. Yet his work then drifted into obscurity, and was only rediscovered since the 1950’s.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 28: An interview with Dr. David Skinner on the music of the 16th century
Episode 25: Music Part 2 and the Chapel Royal
Episode 14: A Musical Interlude
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.