Octavio dei Petrucci, of Fossombrone, invented movable types for printing
music in 1502, and obtained a patent for the exclusive use of the process
for fifteen years in 1513. By that time the advance in the mastery of
counterpoint had left Ockeghem somewhat out of fashion; and it is,
therefore, not remarkable that Petrucci's earliest collections contain
nothing by this master. Not till years after his death was any mass or
motet of his given to the world. Then only one was printed entire. This
was his "Missa cujusvis toni," which was plainly selected because of its
science. Extracts from his "Missa Prolationum" were used in theoretical
treatises; and, indeed, Ockeghem's music seems generally to have been
cherished wholly on account of the technical instruction which might
be derived from it. The list of his extant compositions, as given in
Scribner's "Cyclopedia of Music," is as follows:
"Missa cujusvis toni," in Liber XV., missarum (Petreius, Louvain, 1538);
six motets and a sequence (Petrucci, Venice, 1503); an enigmatic canon in
S. Heyden's "Ars Canendi" and in Glarean's "Dodekachordon"; fragments of
"Missa prolationum" in Heyden's book and in Bellermann's "Kontrapunkt";
mass "De plus en plus," MS. in Pontifical Chapel, Rome; two masses,
"Pour quelque peine" and "Ecce ancilla Domini," in the Brussels Library;
motets in MS. in Rome, Florence and Dijon; six masses, an Ave and some
motets in Van der Straeten; Kyrie and Christe, from "Missa cujusvis toni"
in Rochlitz.
This list is probably correct except the six motets and a sequence set
down as published by Petrucci in 1503. Ambros, who is always trustworthy
and who mentions all these works and also three songs ("D'ung aultre
mer," "Aultre Venus" and "Rondo Royal") and a motet ("Alma redemptoris")
in MS. at Florence, did not discover any publications by Petrucci. The
enigmatical canon was solved by Kiesewetter, Burney, Hawkins and other
historians; but the solution believed to be most nearly correct is that
of the profound contrapuntist and excellent historian, Fétis. Glareanus
(Dodekachordon, p. 454) speaks also of a motet for thirty-six voices.
This was, no doubt, originally written for six or nine voices, the other
parts being derived from them by canons. It is not certain, however,
that Ockeghem ever wrote such a work. The "Missa cujusvis toni" ("A mass
in any tone," or scale, as we should say now) may have been written as
an exercise for the master's pupils, as some historians conjecture,
but it seems more probable that it was a natural outgrowth of the
puzzle-building spirit of the time and of Ockeghem's especial fondness
for displays of musical ingenuity. The peculiarity of the mass is that
it employs in a remarkable manner all the church modes or scales. It was
sung in Munich many years after Ockeghem's death and a corrected copy of
it is still preserved in the chapel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account