The Franco-Flemish school of vocal polyphony: An introduction
I thought I should start posting a series of works from the Franco-Flemish (or Netherlandish) school of vocal polyphony, but I sensed that a lot of people probably don't know what I'm talking about and - hence! - I thought I should write a short introduction to begin with!
Since one of the notable accomplishments of this school and tradition of vocal music was the definitive launching of the Mass as an integrated musical genre, I'll start with talking a bit about the Mass.
The Mass as Catholic liturgy.
From the point-of-view of what texts are to be sung, a mass can be analyzed in two categories: 1) Ordinarium, i.e. the text which are always sung at every occasion. Since at least the 15th century the ordinarium has consisted of the following sequence of texts: a)Kyrie, b) Gloria, c) Credo, d) Sanctus, e) Agnus Dei.
2) Proprium, the texts sung depending on what feast is celebrated or on what day in the Liturgical calender.
The Mass as a genre of vocal music.
What did you do to transform the central kind of Catholic liturgy into a genre of vocal music? Well we know what the composers of the Franco-Flemish school did: 1) You chose a pre-existing melody and used it as the musical basis for all parts in your polyphonic composition. This melody was given the name cantus firmus (latin: "fixed song") in the musical theory of its time, and it's notable that many the Franco-Flemish composers often chose secular songs, sometimes quite bawdy secular songs, as their cantus firmus.
2) And then the composer went on using his cantus firmus of choice to compose all the parts of the Mass Ordinarium, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei. Voilà!
The Franco-Flemish School.
Most members of this school and tradition were born and raised in what today is the northernmost parts of France and Belgium, and they started their careers as singers, choirmasters and composers in the cathedrals in this area.
It's a tradition whose early members got a lot of inspiration from the English composer and choirmaster John Dunstable (1390-1453), and it can be thought of as having had five generations of which the first started working in the first half of the 15th century, and the last generation doing their work in the early years of the 17th century.
First generation (1420-1450): Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois, Antoine Busnois.
Second generation (1450-1485): Ockeghem, Orto, Compère, Prioris, Agricola, Caron, Faugues, Regis, Tinctoris.
Third generation (1480-1520): Obrecht, de la Rue, Isaac, Brumel, Févin, Pipelare, Richafort, Divitis, Desprez.
Fourth generation (1520-1560): Gombert, Crecquillon, Manchicourt, Arcadelt, Rore, Willaert, Courtois, Clemens non Papa.
Fifth generation (1560-1615): Lasso, de Monte, Vaet, Regnart, Luython, Wert, de Macque, Rogier.