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Antoine Busnois (also Busnoys) (c. 1430 – November 6, 1492) was a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
 of the early Renaissance
Renaissance music

Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600. Dates of classical music eras, given the lack of abrupt shifts in musical thinking during the 15th century....
 Burgundian School
Burgundian School

The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Duchy of Burgundy....
. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motet
Motet

In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choir musical compositions.The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is "motectum", and the Italian mottetto was also used....
s, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chanson
Chanson

A chanson is in general any Lyrics-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a "chansonnier"; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier....
s.






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Busnois Mass
Antoine Busnois (also Busnoys) (c. 1430 – November 6, 1492) was a French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
 and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
 of the early Renaissance
Renaissance music

Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600. Dates of classical music eras, given the lack of abrupt shifts in musical thinking during the 15th century....
 Burgundian School
Burgundian School

The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now northern and eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of Duchy of Burgundy....
. While also noted as a composer of sacred music, such as motet
Motet

In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choir musical compositions.The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is "motectum", and the Italian mottetto was also used....
s, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular chanson
Chanson

A chanson is in general any Lyrics-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a "chansonnier"; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier....
s. He was the leading figure of the late Burgundian school after the death of Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay

Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish school composer of the early Renaissance music. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century....
.

Biography


While details of his early life are largely conjectural, he was probably from the vicinity of Béthune
Béthune

B?thune is a city in northern France, Subprefectures in France of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France....
 in the Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais

Pas-de-Calais is a Departments of France in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders....
, possibly the hamlet of Busnes, to which his name seems to refer. He may have been related to the aristocratic family of Busnes; in particular, a Philippe de Busnes, canon of Notre-Dame in Lens
Lens, Pas-de-Calais

Lens is a Communes of France in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in northern France. It is one of France's large Picard languagee cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai....
, could have been a relative. He clearly received an excellent musical education, probably at a church choir school somewhere in northern or central France. An aristocratic origin may explain his early association with the French royal court: as early as the 1450s references to him appear there, and in 1461 he was a chaplain at Tours
Tours

Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France.It is located on the lower reaches of the river River Loire, between Orl?ans and the Atlantic Ocean coast....
. That he was not entirely a man of peace is indicated by a petition for absolution he filed in Tours, dated February 28, 1461, in which he admitted to being part of a group that beat up a priest, "to the point of bloodshed", not one but five times. While in a state of anathema
Anathema

Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; later, with evolving meanings, it came to mean:# to be formally setting apart;...
 he was foolhardy enough to celebrate mass, an act which got him excommunicated
Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of full communion....
; however Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II

Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II, "whose character reflects almost every tendency of the age in which he lived", was born at Corsignano in the Siena territory of a noble but decayed family....
 pardoned him.

He moved from the cathedral to the collegiate church of St. Martin, also in Tours, where he became a subdeacon in 1465. Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem

Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most influential composer between Guillaume Dufay and Josquin des Prez....
 was treasurer at that institution, and the two composers seem to have known each other well. Later in 1465 Busnois moved to Poitiers
Poitiers

Poitiers is a city on the Clain in west central France. It is a commune in France and the capital of the Vienne d?partement in France and of the Poitou-Charentes r?gion in France....
, where he not only became "maîtrise" (master of the choirboys), but managed to attract a flood of talented singers from the entire region; by this time his reputation as singing teacher, scholar, and composer seems to have spread widely. However he departed just as suddenly as he came, in 1466; no reason was given, but the former maîtrise was given his old job back. Busnois then moved to Burgundy.

By 1467 Busnois was at the court of Burgundy, and he had begun composing for them immediately before the accession of Charles to the title of Duke on June 15, since one of his motets — in hydraulis — contains a dedication indicating that he was still Count. Charles, on becoming Duke of Burgundy, quickly became known as Charles the Bold, for his fierce and sometimes reckless military ambitions (which indeed led to his death in battle ten years later). In addition to his love of war, however, Charles loved music, and in his employ Busnois was appreciated and rewarded. Also in 1467 Busnois was listed along with Hayne van Ghizeghem
Hayne van Ghizeghem

Hayne van Ghizeghem was a Flanders composer of the early Renaissance music Burgundian School.While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life....
 and Adrien Basin
Adrien Basin

Adrien Basin was a Dutch School composer, singer, and diplomat of the Burgundian school of the early Renaissance music. He was listed along with Antoine Busnois and Hayne van Ghizeghem as one of the personal singers to Charles the Bold, Duke of Duchy of Burgundy....
 as a "chantre et valet de chambre
Valet de chambre

Valet de chambre, or varlet de chambre, was a noble court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards....
" to Charles.

In addition to his duties as a singer and a composer, Busnois accompanied the Duke on his military campaigns, as did Hayne van Ghizeghem
Hayne van Ghizeghem

Hayne van Ghizeghem was a Flanders composer of the early Renaissance music Burgundian School.While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life....
. Busnois was at the siege of Neuss
Neuss

Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite D?sseldorf, and owes its success to its location at the crossing of historic and modern trade routes....
 in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1475, and survived (or did not attend) the disastrous Battle of Nancy
Battle of Nancy

The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive war of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy, France on 5 January 1477 between Charles the Bold, Duke of Duchy of Burgundy, and Ren? II, Duke of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine ....
 in 1477 at which Charles was killed and the expansion of Burgundy was forever stilled.

Busnois remained in the employ of the Burgundian court until 1482, but nothing exact is known about his exploits between then and 1492, when he died. At the time of his death, he was working for the church of St. Sauveur in Bruges
Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. Throughout this time he was exceptionally well-known as a composer, and his music circulated widely.

Works and Style


The contemporary reputation of Busnois was immense; he was the probably the best-known musician in Europe between the time of Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay

Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish school composer of the early Renaissance music. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century....
 and Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem

Johannes Ockeghem was the most famous composer of the Franco-Flemish School in the last half of the 15th century, and is often considered the most influential composer between Guillaume Dufay and Josquin des Prez....
.

Busnois wrote sacred and secular music. Of his sacred music, two cantus firmus
Cantus firmus

In music, a cantus firmus is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphony composition .The plural of this Latin term is , though one occasionally sees the corrupt form canti firmi....
 masses
Mass (music)

The Mass, a Musical form of sacred music, is a choir composition that sets the fixed portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music. Most Masses are settings of Mass in Latin, the traditional language of the Roman Catholic Church, but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship h...
 and eight motet
Motet

In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choir musical compositions.The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is "motectum", and the Italian mottetto was also used....
s survive (most likely many others are lost). He wrote several settings of the Marian antiphon
Marian antiphon

Marian antiphons are a group of sacred devotional songs in the Gregorian chant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church sung in honor of the Virgin Mary....
 Regina coeli. Stylistically, his music can be heard as a mid-point between the simplicity and homophonic
Homophony

In music, homophony Homophony as a term first appeared in English with Charles Burney in 1776, emphasizing the concord of harmonized melody....
 textures of Dufay and Binchois
Gilles Binchois

Gilles Binchois, also known as Gilles de Binche or Gilles de Bins , was a Franco-Flemish School composer, one of the earliest members of the Burgundian School, and one of the three most famous composers of the early 15th century....
, and the pervading imitation
Imitation (music)

In music, imitation is when a musical gesture is repeated later in a different form, but retaining its original character. A Canon exists solely by grace of imitation....
 of Josquin
Josquin Des Prez

Josquin des Prez , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish School composer of the Renaissance music. He is also known as Josquin Desprez, a French rendering of Dutch language "Josken Van De Velde", diminutive of "Joseph Van De Velde" , and Latinized as Josquinus Pratensis, alternatively Jodocus Pratens...
 and Gombert
Nicolas Gombert

Nicolas Gombert was a Franco-Flemish School composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most famous and influential composers between Josquin Desprez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and best represents the fully-developed, complex polyphony style of this period in music history....
. He uses imitation skillfully but occasionally, writes smooth and singable melodic lines, and has a strong feeling for triad
Triad (music)

In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:...
ic sonorities, anticipating 16th-century practice.

According to Pietro Aron
Pietro Aron

Pietro Aron, also known as Pietro Aaron , was an Italy music theorist and composer. He was born in Florence and probably died in Bergamo ....
, Busnois may have been the composer of the famous tune L'homme armé
L'homme armé

L'homme arm? was a French secular song from the time of the Renaissance. It was the most popular tune used for musical settings of the Ordinary of the Mass: over 40 separate compositions entitled Missa L'homme arm? survive from the period....
, one of the most widely distributed melodies of the Renaissance, and the one more often used than any other as a cantus firmus for mass
Mass (music)

The Mass, a Musical form of sacred music, is a choir composition that sets the fixed portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music. Most Masses are settings of Mass in Latin, the traditional language of the Roman Catholic Church, but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship h...
 composition. Whether or not he wrote the first mass based on L'homme armé, his was by far the most influential; Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht

Jacob Obrecht was a Franco-Flemish School composer of the Renaissance music. He was the most famous composer of mass es in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin Desprez after his death....
's mass, for example, closely parallels the setting by Busnois and even the mass by Dufay
Guillaume Dufay

Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish school composer of the early Renaissance music. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century....
 quotes from it directly. Busnois may even be the composer of a cycle of six masses all based on the same tune, found in Naples, based on stylistic comparison.

Busnois also wrote chanson
Chanson

A chanson is in general any Lyrics-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a "chansonnier"; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier....
s, French secular songs, and these are the work on which his reputation mainly rests. Most are rondeau
Rondeau (music)

The rondeau was a Medieval music and early Renaissance music musical form, based on a popular contemporary poetry form . It is distinct from the 18th century rondo, though the terms are likely related....
x, but they include some bergerettes as well; many of these compositions became popular songs, and some were perhaps based on popular songs, now lost. He probably wrote his own texts for almost every one. Some of his tunes were used as source material for cantus firmus mass composition more than a generation after he died, for instance Fortuna desperata
Fortuna desperata

Fortuna desperata is a secular Italian song, possibly originally by Busnois, . It was used by many other authors in the following 75 years, for both variations and cantus firmus masses, and over 30 such reworkings are known....
 (which was used both by Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht

Jacob Obrecht was a Franco-Flemish School composer of the Renaissance music. He was the most famous composer of mass es in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin Desprez after his death....
 and Josquin). An unusual chanson is Terrible dame, which not only is an antiphonal
Antiphonary

An Antiphonary, Antiphonal, or Antiphoner is one of the present Catholic liturgical books. It is intended for use in choro , and originally characterized, as its name implies, by the assignment to it principally of the antiphons used in various parts of the Roman liturgy....
 dialogue, unique in the chanson literature, but has an Old French title which requires no specialized skill to translate.

While most of Busnois's secular songs are based on French texts, there are also at least two on Italian texts and one on a Flemish text. Most are for three voices, although there are a few for four.

Works


Masses


  1. Missa L'homme armé;
  2. Missa O crux lignum;
  3. Patrem Vilayge.


Masses conjecturally attributed to Busnois


  1. Missa L'Ardent desir;
  2. Missa L'homme armé (I);
  3. Missa L'homme armé (II);
  4. Missa L'homme armé (III);
  5. Missa L'homme armé (IV);
  6. Missa L'homme armé (V);
  7. Missa L'homme armé (VI) (these six masses from Naples, attributed based on stylistic similarity);
  8. Missa sine nomine;
  9. Missa Quant ce viendra.


Motets and magnificats


  1. Ad coenam agni providi;
  2. Alleluia, verbum caro factum est;
  3. Anima mea liquefacta est / Stirps Jesse;
  4. Anthoni usque limina;
  5. Asperges me (lost);
  6. Conditor alme siderum;
  7. Gaude coelestis domina;
  8. In hydraulis;
  9. Lamentation on the death of Guillaume Dufay (probably written in 1474, lost);
  10. Magnificat sexti toni;
  11. Noel, noel;
  12. Regina caeli (I);
  13. Regina caeli (II);
  14. Victimae paschali laudes.


Magnificats and motets, conjecturally attributed to Busnois


  1. Magnificat octavi toni;
  2. Magnificat secundi toni;
  3. Incomprehensibilia / Preter rerum ordinem.


Secular music


  1. Acordes moy;
  2. Advegne que advenir pourra;
  3. Amours nous traicte / Je m'en vois;
  4. A qui vens tu tes coquilles;
  5. Au gré de mes iculx;
  6. A une dame;
  7. Au povre par necessité;
  8. A vous, sans autre;
  9. Bel acueil;
  10. Bone chére;
  11. Ce n’est pas moy;
  12. C'est bien maleur;
  13. C'est vous en qui;
  14. Con tutta gentileça;
  15. Corps digne / Dieu quel mariage;
  16. Cy dit benedicite;
  17. En soustenant;
  18. En tous les lieux;
  19. En voyant sa dame;
  20. Esaint-il merci;
  21. Faictes de moy;
  22. Faulx mesdisans;
  23. Fortuna desperata
    Fortuna desperata

    Fortuna desperata is a secular Italian song, possibly originally by Busnois, . It was used by many other authors in the following 75 years, for both variations and cantus firmus masses, and over 30 such reworkings are known....
    ;
  24. (O) Fortune, trop tu es dure;
  25. Ha que ville;
  26. In myne zynn;
  27. Ja que lui ne;
  28. J'ay mayns de bien;
  29. J'ay pris amours tout au rebours;
  30. Je m'esbaïs de vous;
  31. Je ne demande aultre degré;
  32. Je ne demande lialté;
  33. Je ne puis vivre ainsi;
  34. Joye me fuit;
  35. Laissez dangier;
  36. L'autrier la pieça /En l'ombre du buissonet / Trop suis jonette;
  37. L'autrier que passa;
  38. Le corps s'en va;
  39. Le monde a tel;
  40. Ma damoiselle;
  41. Maintes femmes;
  42. Ma plus qu'assez;
  43. Ma tres souveraine princesse;
  44. M'a vostre cueur;
  45. Mon mignault / Gracieuse, playsant;
  46. Mon seul et sangle souvenir;
  47. On a grant mal / On est bien malade;
  48. Pour entretenir mes amours;
  49. Pucellotte;
  50. Quant j'ay au cueur;
  51. Quant vous me ferez;
  52. Quelque povre homme;
  53. Quelque povre homme;
  54. Resjois toy terre de France / Rex pacificus;
  55. Seule a par moy;
  56. Soudainementmon cueur;
  57. Terrible dame;
  58. Une filleresse / S'il y a compagnion / Vostre amour;
  59. Ung grand povtre homme;
  60. Ung plus que tous;
  61. Vostre beauté / Vous marchez;
  62. Vostre gracieuse acointance.


Works with conflicting attribution


  1. Amours, amours, amours;
  2. Amours fait moult / Il est de binne heure né /Tant que nostre argent dura;
  3. Cent mile escus;
  4. Et qui la dira;
  5. J'ay bien choisi;
  6. Il sera pour vous canbatu / L'homme armé;
  7. Je ne fay plus;
  8. Je suis venu;
  9. Le serviteur;
  10. Quant ce vendra;
  11. Sans avoir (‚S' amours vous fiu' or 'Malagrota');
  12. Se brief puis.


External links