大象传媒

Donald Macleod and art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon visit the National Gallery in London to build a picture of music and art in Josquin鈥檚 age.

The humanist Cosimo Bartoli described Josquin as the Michelangelo of Music. A master of polyphonic choral writing, Josquin was as widely admired in his own lifetime as posthumously. While Josquin was a dominant force in music, the Franco-Flemish area with which he鈥檚 associated, also produced some remarkable painters, who, like Josquin and his fellow composers, exported their style, technical accomplishments and influence across Europe. In a series to mark the 500th anniversary of Josquin鈥檚 death, Donald Macleod visits the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square with art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, to build a picture of Josquin鈥檚 music and the places he lived and worked, which also stimulated painters to produce equally outstanding Art. To accompany the series the paintings they discuss can be viewed on the Radio 3 website.

Considering his standing, it鈥檚 surprisingly difficult to map Josquin鈥檚 life. His birthdate was possibly 1450 or perhaps 1455 and it鈥檚 thought he was a choirboy at the collegiate church of St. G茅ry in Cambrai. Documents show he died in 1521, by which time he was probably in his seventies. He spent his last years as provost of the Collegiate church of Notre Dame in Cond茅 sur l鈥橢scaut, a town near Saint Quentin, right on the border with what鈥檚 now Belgium. In between times, Josquin may have had an association with the royal courts of King Ren茅 in Aix-en-Provence and Louis XI of France, before working for the influential Sforza family in Milan and becoming the first maestro di cappella for Ercole d鈥橢ste in Ferrara.

Today Donald Macleod considers Josquin鈥檚 roots, and the paintings of Jan van Eyck, and other Northern Renaissance artists with Andrew Graham-Dixon at the National Gallery. The paintings they mention are on the Radio 3 website.

Ave Maria 鈥�virgo Serena
Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, director

Missa l鈥檃mi Baudichon
Credo
Capella Alamire
Peter Urquhart, conductor

Adieu mes amours
Clare Wilkinson, soprano
Andrew Lawrence-King, harp

Nymphes des Bois, arr. Ariel Abramovich, Anna Maria Friman, John Potter, Lee Santana
John Potter, voice
Anna Maria Friman, voice
Ariel Abramovich, guitar
Hille Perl, viola da gamba

Pater noster
Taverner Consort
Andrew Parrott, director

Producer: Johannah Smith