Missa prolationum kyrie ockeghem biography

Missa Prolationum is a Catholic Mass in the setting of Ordinary Time, and it uses the five standard parts: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.  Each of the texts in this piece are essential to the Mass.  The Kyrie begs forgiveness from God for our sins, the Gloria praises God as the highest being along with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  The entirety of the Catholic faith is proclaimed in the Credo.  The Sanctus and Benedictus praises God again as the highest being.  Finally, forgiveness is requested a second time in the Agnus Dei.

Translations

Kyrie: “Lord, have mercy.  Christ, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.”

Gloria:  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.  We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.  Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.  You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.  For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.”

Credo:  “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.  I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.  God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.  For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.  He ascende

Mass setting by Johannes Ockeghem

The Missa prolationum is a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass by Johannes Ockeghem, dating from the second half of the 15th century. Based on freely written material probably composed by Ockeghem himself, and consisting entirely of mensuration canons, it has been called "perhaps the most extraordinary contrapuntal achievement of the fifteenth century", and was possibly the first multi-part work written with a unifying canonic principle for all its movements.

Music

The mass is for four voices, and is in the usual parts:

1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Credo
4. Sanctus and Benedictus
5. Agnus Dei (in three sections: I, II, III)

A typical performance takes 30 to 35 minutes.

Like Palestrina's "Missa Repleatur os meum" (Third Book of Masses, 1570) and the canons of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations more than two centuries later, the Missa prolationum uses progressive canon in all its movements. Most of the movements feature pairs of mensuration canons. The interval separating the two voices in each canon grows successively in each consecutive movement, beginning at the unison, proceeding to the second, then the third, and so forth, reaching the octave at the "Osanna" section in the Sanctus. The four voices each sing in a different mensuration. For instance, in the first "Kyrie", the four voices sing in the meters 2/2, 3/2, 6/4, and 9/4 respectively (in modern notation). Thus, the second voice, in 3/2, sings the same tune as the first voice, in 2/2, but half again as slowly, so the voices gradually pull apart. The same occurs between the second pair of voices, in 6/4 and 9/4 respectively. In the score, only one voice was written out for each canon, with the mensuration marks (approximately equivalent to a modern time signature) given alongside, so the singers would understand that they are to sing in those proportions, and thus at different speeds; in a

Biography

Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410 - 1497) was the foremost representative of the second generation of Flemish polyphonists. He was considered an exceptionally gifted composer and singer, both during and after his lifetime.

Life

Ockegem was born in Saint-Ghislain near Mons. Although little is known of his early life, he likely received a musical education at one of the churches in Mons. Ockegem began his musical career as a choral singer: in 1443 he sang in the choir of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Cathedral of Antwerp and from 1446 to 1448 he sang in the ducal chapel of Charles I of Bourbon in the French Moulins.  

From 1451 until the end of his life, Ockegem would work for the French court. First he sang in the court chapel, where he also composed for Charles VII and was compensated handsomely for his efforts. He was named “first chaplain’’, a new title at the time, and in 1459 he became treasurer of the Saint-Martinus Abbey in Tours. After Charles’ death, Ockeghem received ample recognition under Louis XI: from 1463 he could call himself canon of the Notre Dame in Paris, nevermind that he wasn’t physically present in the cathedral, and in 1465 he was even named kapellmeister to the court. He was also allowed to undertake multiple journeys, including to Cambrai where he visited Guillaume Dufay and was named priest. During the last part of his life, he acted in service of Charles VIII.

Ockeghem passed away in 1497 in Tours, after which many works were dedicated to him: for example, Jean Molinet wrote the moving poem Nymphes des Bois that would later be put to music by Josquin Deprez. Without Ockeghem the progress of the following generation of polyphonists, including Deprez and Pierre de la Rue, would not have been possible to the same extent.  

Composer 

16 masses, 9 motets and 22 chansons from Ockegem’s body of work have been preserved. His chansons are generally written for three parts, in his masses/motets four parts are the norm. About

Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer (c. 1410–1497)

Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410 – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was a significant European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colleague Antoine Busnois—a prominent European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School.

Ockeghem was well associated with other prominent composers of the time, and spent most of his career serving the French royal court under Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. Numerous poets and musicians lamented his death, including Erasmus, Guillaume Crétin, Jean Molinet and Josquin, who composed the well-known Nymphes des bois for him.

It is thought that Ockeghem's extant works represent only a small part of his entire oeuvre, including around 14 masses, 20 chansons and fewer than 10 motets—though the exact numbers vary due to attribution uncertainties. His better-known works include the canon-based Missa prolationum; the Missa cuiusvis toni, which can be sung in any mode; the chanson Fors seulement; and the earliest surviving polyphonic Requiem.

Life

Background and early life

The spelling of Ockeghem's name comes from a supposed autograph of his which survived as late as 1885, and was reproduced by Eugène Giraudet, a historian in Tours; the document has since been lost. In 15th-century sources, the spelling "Okeghem" predominates. Other spellings include Ogkegum, Okchem, Hocquegam and Ockegham.

Ockeghem is believed to have been born in the Walloon city Saint-Ghislain, Burgundian Netherlands (now Belgium). His birthdate is unknown; dates as early as 1410 and as late as 1430 have been proposed. The earlier date is based on the possibility that he knew Binchois in Hainaut before the older composer moved from Mons to Lille in 1423. Ockeghem would h