Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Music examples
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Historiography
- Listening
- 1 Hearing Josquin hearing Busnoys
- 2 Religion and the senses in fifteenth-century Europe
- Terms and concepts
- 3 The work concept
- 4 TheL’homme armétradition – and the limits of musical borrowing
- Composer studies
- 5 Guillaume Du Fay: evidence and interpretation
- 6 Jean d’Ockeghem
- 7 Josquin and epistemology
- Part II Improvisation and composition
- Part III Humanism
- Part IV Music and other arts
- Part V Music in churches, courts, and cities
- Part VI Religious devotion and liturgy
- Part VII Theory and practice
- Part VIII Sources
- Part IX Genres
- Part X Reception
- Index
6 - Jean d’Ockeghem
from Part I - Historiography
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2015
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Series page
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Music examples
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Historiography
- Listening
- 1 Hearing Josquin hearing Busnoys
- 2 Religion and the senses in fifteenth-century Europe
- Terms and concepts
- 3 The work concept
- 4 TheL’homme armétradition – and the limits of musical borrowing
- Composer studies
- 5 Guillaume Du Fay: evidence and interpretation
- 6 Jean d’Ockeghem
- 7 Josquin and epistemology
- Part II Improvisation and composition
- Part III Humanism
- Part IV Music and other arts
- Part V Music in churches, courts, and cities
- Part VI Religious devotion and liturgy
- Part VII Theory and practice
- Part VIII Sources
- Part IX Genres
- Part X Reception
- Index
Summary
Jean d'Ockeghem is praised widely for his graciousness, his Christian virtues, and his skill as a singer. Jean Molinet, who singles out the music of Gilles Binchois, Antoine Busnoys, Guillaume Du Fay, and Ockeghem as the best of its day, lists Ockeghem as the first among these masters. The role of imitation in Ockeghem's music has been the object of a great deal of commentary. Ockeghem's approach to melody appears to be among the most elusive aspects of his music, to judge from the level of subjectivity that permeates various attempts to describe his melodic design. Ockeghem's textures gain clarity from the sense of unification provided by imitation, but the imprecise character of that imitation often leaves the listener wondering if it is adequately real to foster a genuine perception of such unity. Long, serpentine melodies abound in Ockeghem's music, inevitably resulting in a sense of unpredictable meandering.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Fifteenth-Century Music , pp. 105 - 118Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015