Jacques Mauduit facts for kids
Jacques Mauduit (born September 16, 1557 – died August 21, 1627) was a French composer. He lived during the late Renaissance period. Mauduit was known for his new ideas in music. He found fresh ways to mix voices and instruments. He also brought the big, layered sound of the Venetian School from Italy to France. This style is called polychoral. He also wrote a well-known Requiem (a special piece of music for a funeral) for the poet Pierre de Ronsard.
A Composer's Life
Most of what we know about Jacques Mauduit comes from the writings of Marin Mersenne. Mauduit was born in Paris, France. He came from a noble family, so he received an excellent education. He studied subjects like humanities, languages, and philosophy. Even though he had a great education, he taught himself music.
Mauduit was a member of a secret group called the Académie de Poésie et de Musique. This group was started by Jean Antoine de Baïf. Their goal was to bring back the powerful effects of ancient Greek music. They tried to do this using French poetry and a special musical style called musique mesurée à l'antique. After another composer, Joachim Thibault de Courville, died in 1581, Mauduit became the main musician of this Académie.
Mauduit was also a brave person. During a difficult time in Paris (1589–1590), he helped another composer, Claude Le Jeune, escape from the city. This was during the French Wars of Religion, a very dangerous period. If Mauduit had been caught, both he and Le Jeune could have been executed. He also helped save many of Le Jeune's musical works. Mauduit lived longer than all the other composers from the Académie. He passed away in Paris in 1627.
Music and Its Impact
Mauduit wrote many chansons. These were songs in the musique mesurée style. In this style, the rhythm of the music matched the natural stresses of the French words. Stressed syllables were often twice as long as unstressed ones. While he wasn't as famous as Claude Le Jeune, this might be because his complete works were never published. Marin Mersenne had promised to publish them but didn't finish the project. Mauduit's music was simple and clear. He set words to music without changing them. He created variety mostly by using different harmonies.
Mauduit's Requiem mass for Pierre de Ronsard was written in 1585. His first published work was a collection of Chansonnettes mesurées de Jean-Antoine de Baïf. This collection was for four voices and came out in 1586. It was the very first book of music made only of musique mesurée. Sadly, much of his music from the late 1500s is now lost.
He also wrote airs de cour. These were songs for a single voice and a lute. He also composed a ballet called La déliverance de Renaud. This ballet was performed in 1617. It featured 92 singers and 45 musicians playing instruments.
Mersenne mentioned many other lost works by Mauduit. These include over 300 psalm settings, Vespers, Tenebrae settings, and 104 hymns. He also wrote masses and motets. It seems a large amount of Mauduit's music has been lost over time.
Mauduit continued to use the musique mesurée technique even into the 1600s. He used it for larger pieces, like those for many voices and instruments. Some of these might have been in the grand Venetian style. Mersenne also said that Mauduit brought the viol consort (a group of viol instruments) to France. He even claimed that Mauduit suggested adding a sixth string to the viol instrument.
