Eustache Du Caurroy facts for kids
François-Eustache du Caurroy (born around February 4, 1549 – died August 7, 1609) was a talented French composer from the late Renaissance period. He was well-known for writing both religious and non-religious music. He also played a big part in starting the French style of organ music, which was later developed by composers like Jean Titelouze.
Life of a Royal Composer
According to old records from 1780, Du Caurroy was born in Gerberoy and baptized in Beauvais. He likely started working for the French royal family around 1569. Documents from the royal court first mention him in 1575. That year, he won a music competition for a song. He won two more competitions later, in 1576 for a motet (a religious song) and in 1583 for a chanson (a French song).
He became a leader in the royal chapel, called sous-maître de la chapelle royale. He held this important job until 1595. After that, he was named the official composer for the royal court. In 1599, he also became a composer for the royal chapel itself.
In the early 1600s, Du Caurroy gained a lot of wealth and honors. He received special church positions and owned a large estate in Picardy. Later in his life, he also served as a canon (a type of church official) in several churches. These included Sainte-Croix in Orléans and Sainte-Chapelle in Dijon.
Du Caurroy's Music and Influence
Du Caurroy was one of the last composers to use a special style called musique mesurée. This musical style matched long and short notes to the long and short syllables in French poems. The music was often homophonic, meaning all the parts moved together at the same time. This style was first made popular by Claude Le Jeune and Jean-Antoine de Baïf.
Many of Du Caurroy's songs in this style were published in 1609. This was long after the group that created musique mesurée had ended. His musique mesurée pieces were quite different from his other, more traditional music. Du Caurroy once said he didn't like this style at first. But he was so impressed by a performance of Le Jeune's music that he wanted to try it himself.
Du Caurroy was very interested in counterpoint. This is a way of writing music where different melodies are played at the same time. He had read many music theory books of his time, including those by Gioseffe Zarlino. Zarlino's work explained the best ways to use counterpoint in the 1500s.
Du Caurroy's skill in counterpoint is best heard in his religious music. His biggest collection of religious works is Preces ecclesiasticae. This set includes 53 motets for 3 to 7 voices, published in Paris in 1609.
His Missa pro defunctis (Mass for the Dead) was first played at the funeral of Henry IV of France. This requiem mass became very important. It was used for the funerals of French kings at St. Denis for hundreds of years. It's a long piece that includes a section called Libera me, which has a chant similar to the famous Dies irae.
Du Caurroy also used the musique mesurée technique in his religious pieces. He set seven psalms to music, published in his Meslanges (Paris, 1610). One of these psalms is in Latin, which is rare for musique mesurée as it was usually in French.
Marin Mersenne's book Harmonie universelle includes a piece by Du Caurroy called Pie Jesu. This piece is a canon for six voices, meaning the voices sing the same melody starting at different times. In this same book, Mersenne said that Du Caurroy was the best composer of musique mesurée, even better than the famous Claude Le Jeune.
Du Caurroy also wrote music for instruments. These included contrapuntal fantasies for three to six instruments. A collection of 42 such pieces was published after his death in 1610. These pieces are thought to have greatly influenced the next generation of French keyboard players. This includes Jean Titelouze, who is known as the founder of the French organ school.
See also
In Spanish: Eustache du Caurroy para niños
