Obrecht, Jacob

Period: Renaissance

Born: Friday, November 22, 1450 in Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands

Died: c. 1505 in Ferrara, Italy

Nation of Origin: Netherlands

Major Works:

Missa carminum
Missa caput
Je ne demande Mass
Tsaat een meskin

Approximately 24 masses
Approximately 24 motets
Chansons, and instrumental compositions.

Other Information:

Obrecht was employed in Cambrai, Bruges, and Antwerp and also traveled to Italy to work in the court of Ferrara (1487-88). He returned to Ferrara in 1504 and died there of the plague in 1505. Most of his masses are cantus firmi masses ( based on either secular songs or Gregorian chants). Obrecht's music is characterized by spontaneity and experimentation. His use of modes was novel for the time.

General Bibliography:

Reese, Gustave, Music in the Renaissance, W.W. Norton & Company; November 1959, ISBN: 0393095304

Sachs, Curt, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World , W. W. Norton & Company, 1943, ASIN: 0393097188

Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group, December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257

Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc., January 2004, ISBN: 0195170679

Rutherford-Johnson, Tim, Kennedy, Michael, and Kennedy, Joyce The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 6th Edition, 2012, ISBN: 0199578109


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