Jacques Arcadelt facts for kids
Jacques Arcadelt (also known as Jacob Arcadelt; around 1507 – 14 October 1568) was a composer from the Franco-Flemish region during the Renaissance period. He worked in both Italy and France. Arcadelt is mostly famous for his secular vocal music, especially his madrigals.
He was one of the first well-known composers of madrigals. His first book of madrigals was published soon after this musical style appeared. It became the most printed collection of madrigals of its time. Arcadelt also wrote many chansons, which are French songs, especially later in his life when he lived in Paris.
Arcadelt was very important in the early development of the madrigal. His published works helped make madrigals popular outside of Italy. Later composers looked up to Arcadelt's style. His first madrigal book was even used for teaching music for more than a hundred years after it was first published.
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Life of Jacques Arcadelt
Not much is known about Arcadelt's early life. It's thought he was from the Flemish region, possibly near Liège or Namur in what is now Belgium. He moved to Italy when he was young. By the late 1520s, he was in Florence, where he might have met Philippe Verdelot, another early madrigal composer.
Around 1538, Arcadelt moved to Rome. There, he joined the papal choir at St. Peter's Basilica. Many composers from the Netherlands sang in this choir during that time. In January 1539, he likely became a member of the Julian Chapel. Soon after, he joined the Sistine Chapel and became the magister puerorum, which means he was in charge of the boy singers.
In the same year, four books of his madrigals were published. The first collection, Il primo libro di madrigali, was reprinted 45 times. This made it the most popular madrigal collection of that era.
Arcadelt stayed in Rome as a singer and composer at the Sistine Chapel until 1551. He took one trip to France in 1547. Around 1542, he met the famous artist Michelangelo. Arcadelt set two of Michelangelo's poems to music as madrigals. Michelangelo, however, didn't seem to appreciate the music much. He paid Arcadelt with a piece of satin fabric.
Arcadelt wrote over 200 madrigals before leaving Italy in 1551. He returned to France and lived there for the rest of his life. Many of his chansons were written during this time. In 1557, he published a book of masses, dedicating it to his employer, Charles de Guise, who was the Cardinal of Lorraine. Arcadelt was his choirmaster. This publication shows he also worked for King Henry II and King Charles IX of France. In Paris, his music was printed by Le Roy and Ballard, who published his chansons, masses, and motets.
Music of Jacques Arcadelt
During his long career, Arcadelt wrote both sacred (religious) and secular (non-religious) vocal music. He composed 24 motets, 125 French chansons, and about 250 madrigals. He also wrote three masses, settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and a Magnificat. His music was influenced by French chansons, Italian secular music like the frottola, and the music he heard in the Sistine Chapel choir. Arcadelt helped the madrigal form become fully developed in its early stages.
Secular Music
Madrigals
Arcadelt wrote hundreds of madrigals over more than twenty years. Most were for four voices, but he also wrote some for three, five, and six voices. His madrigals are known for being melodic and simple in structure. They are easy to sing and have a clear, pleasant harmony. The music often follows the words closely, syllable by syllable. While some phrases are repeated, the music usually changes throughout the song to fit the text.
Arcadelt's madrigals mix parts where all voices sing the same rhythm (homophonic) with parts where voices sing different melodies at the same time (polyphonic). This creates a delicate balance. His madrigals show the "classic" style of the early madrigal period. They are clear, refined, and balanced. Unlike later madrigals, Arcadelt's music does not use complex "word painting" (where the music directly illustrates the meaning of a word), extreme harmonies, or fancy decorations.
His music became very popular in Italy and France for over a hundred years. His first book of madrigals was reprinted 58 times by 1654. His music also appeared in many intabulations, which are arrangements for instruments like the lute, guitar, and viol. Arcadelt's popularity was likely because he captured the Italian musical spirit while using the skilled Franco-Flemish harmony and polyphonic style. He also wrote catchy tunes that were easy for anyone who could read music to sing, not just professional singers.
For his madrigal texts, Arcadelt used poems by famous writers like Petrarch and Pietro Bembo. He also set poems by Florentine writers and others. His most famous composition, and one of the most lasting songs of the 16th century, is the four-voice madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno (The white and gentle swan). This madrigal was appealing because of its simple, gentle way of presenting the text.
Chansons
Since Arcadelt lived in both France and Italy, his chansons (French songs) and madrigals share some similarities. Chansons were usually more structured, often with repeated sections. Madrigals, on the other hand, usually had music that changed throughout the song. Arcadelt sometimes used features of chansons in his madrigals, and vice versa. Most of his chansons are simple and follow the syllables of the words. They have short sections of polyphonic writing and sometimes imitate the fast "black notes" style of madrigals. Some of his chansons were even contrafacta, meaning they used the same music as his madrigals but with new French words.
Sacred Music
Besides his many madrigals and chansons, Arcadelt wrote three masses, 24 motets, and settings of the Magnificat and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. He also composed some sacred chansons, which are religious songs in French. His masses were influenced by earlier Franco-Flemish composers like Jean Mouton and Josquin des Prez. His motets are clearer and more direct in style, similar to his secular music, avoiding the very dense polyphony often used by composers from the Netherlands.
Arcadelt likely wrote most of his religious music, except for the sacred chansons, during his years in the papal chapel in Rome. Records from the Sistine Chapel show that the choir sang his music while he was there. It's important to know that Arcadelt's famous Ave Maria is not an original sacred work by him. In 1842, a composer named Pierre-Louis Dietsch adapted Arcadelt's chanson "Nous voyons que les hommes" by adding Latin words and a bass line.
Publishers
Antoine Gardano was Arcadelt's main publisher in Italy. Another Venetian publisher, Scotto, also released one of his madrigal books. Arcadelt's famous Il bianco e dolce cigno was the opening piece in one of Gardano's books, showing its immense popularity. In Paris, some of Arcadelt's chansons appeared as early as 1540 in publications by Pierre Attaingnant and Jacques Moderne. After Arcadelt returned to France, his chansons, masses, and motets were published by Le Roy and Ballard throughout the 1550s and 1560s. His music continued to be printed in Venice as well.
Works
A full collection of Arcadelt's works is published in ten volumes, edited by Albert Seay. The first volume contains his masses. His secular compositions are in volumes two through nine, and his motets and other sacred music are in volume ten.
Here is a partial list of his works, grouped by the number of voices:
Madrigals
- Il primo libro di madrigali (for four voices; Venice, 1539)
- Il secondo libro de madrigali (for four voices; Venice, 1539, published by Scotto)
- Il vero secondo libro di madrigali (for four voices; Venice, 1539)
- Terzo libro de i madrigali novissimi (for four voices; Venice, 1539)
- Il quarto libro di madrigali (for four voices; Venice, 1539)
- Primo libro di madrigali (for three voices; Venice, 1542)
- Il quinto libro di madrigali (for four voices; Venice, 1544)
- Many other madrigals found in other collections and manuscripts, from 1537 to 1559
Chansons
- Quatorsiesme livre de chansons (for four to six voices; Paris, 1561)
- Tiers livres de chansons (for four voices; Paris, 1567)
- Quatrième livre de chansons (for four voices; Paris, 1567)
- Cinquième livre de chansons (for four voices; Paris, 1567)
- Sisième livre de chansons (for four to five voices; Paris, 1569)
- Neuvième livre de chansons (for four to six voices; Paris, 1569)
Masses
- Missa tres (for four, five, and six voices; Paris, 1557)
Magnificats and Lamentations
- Magnificat primi toni (for four to six voices; Paris, 1557)
- Lamentationes Jeremiae i (for four voices; Paris, 1557)
- Lamentationes Jeremiae ii (for four voices; Paris, 1557)
- Lamentationes Jeremiae iii (for four voices; Paris, 1557)
Motets and Sacred Chansons
- Many individual compositions published between 1532 and 1555; motets in Latin and sacred chansons in French
Media
- (Madrigal for four voices; setting of a poem by Michelangelo, from the early 1540s)
See also
In Spanish: Jacques Arcadelt para niños
