Jean Mouton facts for kids

Jean Mouton (born around 1459 – died October 30, 1522) was a famous French composer from the Renaissance period. He was well-known for his motets, which were some of the most beautiful and complex pieces of music at the time. He was also the teacher of Adrian Willaert, who helped start the famous Venetian School of music.

Jean Mouton's Life Story

Jean Mouton was born as Jean de Hollingue. He was likely born in 1459 or a little earlier. We don't know much about his early life, which is common for composers from that time. He probably came from a village called Haut-Wignes, which is now Wirwignes, near Boulogne-sur-Mer in Samer.

His first job was likely as a singer and teacher at a church in Saint Omer. Then, in 1477, he moved to Nesle, where he worked as a chorister for six years. By 1483, he became the maître de chapelle there, which means he was in charge of the music and choir. Around this time, he also became a priest. Many people believe he studied music with the famous composer Josquin des Prez.

In 1500, Jean Mouton was in charge of the choirboys at the cathedral in Amiens. In 1501, he was in Grenoble, again teaching choirboys. However, he left the next year, probably to work for Queen Anne of Brittany. By 1509, he was given a position in Grenoble that he could hold even when he wasn't there. This shows how important he had become. Mouton was now the main composer for the French royal court. For the rest of his life, he worked for the French court. He often wrote music for special events like weddings, coronations (when a king or queen is crowned), and important meetings.

Mouton wrote a motet called Christus vincit when Leo X was chosen as pope in 1513. Pope Leo liked Mouton's music a lot! He gave Mouton an honorary title, "apostolic notary," in 1515. This happened after Mouton wrote another motet for the pope during a meeting in Bologna. This trip to Italy was probably the only time Mouton traveled outside France.

Between 1517 and 1522, a Swiss music expert named Heinrich Glarean met Mouton. Glarean praised Mouton's music very highly, saying that "everyone had copies of his music." Glarean even used examples of Mouton's music in his important book, the Dodecachordon.

It is thought that Mouton might have helped put together a beautiful old music book called the Medici Codex. This book was a wedding gift for Lorenzo de' Medici and is a very important source of music from that time.

Some people also think Mouton might have been in charge of the amazing music events at the meeting between King François I of France and King Henry VIII of England. This famous meeting was called the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Towards the end of his life, Mouton moved to Saint-Quentin. He became a canon (a type of priest) at the collegiate church of Saint-Quentin, taking over from another composer, Loyset Compère, who had died in 1518. Jean Mouton died in Saint-Quentin and was buried there.

Jean Mouton's Music and Its Impact

Jean Mouton was very important as both a composer and a teacher. A lot of his music still exists today: 9 Magnificat settings, 15 masses, 20 chansons (French songs), and over 100 motets. Because he worked for the king, his music was widely shared, copied, and saved. This means more of his music survived compared to other composers of his time. A famous music publisher named Ottaviano Petrucci even printed a whole book of Mouton's masses. This was a big deal because, back then, most music books had pieces by many different composers. His work was also published by Pierre Attaingnant.

Mouton's music sounds a bit like the music of Josquin des Prez. He used techniques like imitation (where one voice copies another), canon (a strict form of imitation), and polyphonic writing (many independent voices singing together). However, Mouton's music often has a more even rhythm and texture. This means all the voices usually sing at the same time, and there aren't as many sudden changes in how the music sounds. Glarean described Mouton's melodies as "flowing in a supple thread," meaning they were smooth and graceful.

Around 1500, Mouton seemed to pay more attention to chords and how they sounded together, which is called harmony. This might have been because he learned about Italian music. This was a time when music was changing. Composers were starting to think more about how chords fit together, not just about how individual melodic lines sounded.

Mouton was a very skilled musician throughout his life. Other musicians respected him, and kings and queens wanted him to compose for them. His music was reprinted and continued to inspire other composers even later in the 16th century. Two of his joyful Christmas motets, Noe, noe psallite noe and Quaeramus cum pastoribus, were especially popular. Later composers even used these motets as the basis for their own masses.

He also influenced a very important music expert named Gioseffo Zarlino. Zarlino was a student of Willaert, who was Mouton's student. Zarlino even called Mouton his "precettore," which means teacher, showing how much he respected him.

List of Jean Mouton's Works

Masses and Mass Pieces

• Missa "Alleluia Confitemini Domino"
• Missa "Alma redemptoris mater"
• Missa "Argentum et aurum (lost)"
• Missa "Benedictus Dominus Deus"
• Missa "Dictes moy toutes vos pensées"
• Missa "Ecce quam bonum"
• Missa "Lo serai je dire"
• Missa "Faulte d'argent"
• Missa "l'Homme armé"
• Missa "Quem dicunt homines"
• Missa "Regina mearum"
• Missa "sans candence"
• Missa sine nomine 1 (without a name)
• Missa sine nomine 2 (without a name)
• Missa "tu es Petrus"
• Missa "Tua est potentia"
• Missa "Verbum bonum"
• Credo (a part of a mass)

Motets (Selected)

• Antequam comedam suspiro
• Ave Maria - virgo serena for five voices.
• Benedicam Dominum
• Exalta Regina Galliae (written to celebrate France winning the Battle of Marignano in 1515)
• Missus est Gabriel
• Nesciens mater for eight voices. This piece is a great example of canon writing, with four different musical lines copying each other.
• Non nobis Domine (written for the birth of Princess Renée in 1510)
• O Maria piissima; Quis dabit oculis nostris (written when Queen Anna died in 1514)
• Quaeramus cum pastoribus for four voices.
• Salve Mater Salvatoris

Chansons (Selected)

• La la la l'oysillon du bois
• Qui ne regrettroit le gentil Févin (a sad song written when Févin died, around 1511–1512)

Recordings of Jean Mouton's Music

• Heavenly Spheres, CBC Records, MVCD 1121, sung by Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. This album includes one motet by Mouton, Nesciens mater (for eight voices).
• Flemish Masters, Virginia Arts Recordings, VA-04413, performed by Zephyrus. This album features Mouton's motet, Nesciens mater, along with music by other composers.
• Josquin Desprez: Missa de Beata Virgine; Jean Mouton: Motets. Harmonia Mundi, HMU 907136, 1995. Performed by Theatre of Voices, directed by Paul Hillier. This album includes 5 motets by Mouton, played between parts of Josquin's mass.
• Choral Works of Jean Mouton recorded by The Gentlemen of St John's. This includes Nesciens Mater, Salva nos, Domine, Sancti Dei omnes, and Missa Dictes moy toutes vos pensées. Nesciens Mater was even named the 2nd best Christmas track by Gramophone magazine in 2007.
• Vivat Rex!: Sacred Choral Music of Jean Mouton. Suspicious Cheese Lords, 2008, produced by Tina Chancey of Hesperus. This album features a full performance of the Missa "Alma Redemptoris mater" and eight other motets by Mouton that had not been recorded before.
• Missa Dictes moy toutes vos pensées; 5 Motets, Qui débit oculis ? (Lament for Anna), Ave Maria benedicta tu, Salva nos Domine, Ave Maria virgo serena, Nesciens mater for 8 voices, The Tallis Scholars, conducted by Peter Philipps CD Gimell 2012.
• Missa Tua est potentia, Motet Tua est potentia, Motet Salva nos Domine, Motet Da pacen Domine. Cappella Pratensis, conducted by Stratton Bull CD Challenge 2021.