The best part about this source reading was the description of Josquin’s interactions with Louis XII, the French King. The first story that was described was Josquin’s response to not getting the payment promised for his work. Josquin allegedly responded with a composition based on Psalm “Remember thy word unto thy servant”. The composition was so wonderful that it was said to have brought shame onto the king and he then paid Josquin what was promised. It is said that Josquin immediately composed another Psalm, “Thou has dealt well with thy servant, O Lord.” I could not tell whether this story is known to be a true story or if it could possibly be a legend, but it was a great story and a great example of how music can be used to communicate all types of ideas and feelings, even in a very practical way.
The second story about Lois XII was even better and more humorous. I liked how the author described the king as having an “inadequate voice”. But he asked Josquin to compose a song in which he (the king) could sing a part. This was apparently quite a challenge because the king was known to be “entirely ignorant of music”. But josquin was able to solve this problem by composing a 4 part song with the upper 2 voices being very light so that the king’s voice would not be drowned out. He also gave the king a part with one continuous tone in the alto range. On top of that, Josquin arranged the bass so that it would be supporting the King at various intervals at the octave. This was done so that the king would not “waver in pitch.” I found this story very amusing and thought that the solution was brilliant. This is a problem that many composers and musicians face even today. Sometimes situations arise when someone who is “entirely ignorant of music” wants to participate, and this person’s feelings are more important than protecting the music, but sometimes creative solutions can be supplied that provide the person with the joy of participating while still protecting the integrity of the music. J Some things that come to mind are, turning the microphone down or off or having a better musician double the part.
There were other interesting points in this source reading. The author described Josquin as a man of great talent and brilliance but made the criticism that he sometimes lacked “proper measure and a judgment based on knowledge” so that in certain places in his songs where he did not “fully restrain the impetuosity of a lively talent”. I don’t know if this was an accurate criticism or not or if it is similar to the criticism of the Mozart in the movie “Amadeus” when he was told that there were “too many notes”. In that case they were clearly jealous or not able to understand the music, but in some cases, musicians do have this problem. I have noticed this lack of restraint the most in musicians that have amazing improvisation skills. The musicians are sometimes tempted to overdo it a bit when the music would be more effective if they exercised some restraint. This is also true of guitarists who like to show off with 10 minute guitar solos.
The other point that I thought was interesting was the description of Josquin as a teacher by one of his students. The student described him as being able to make perfect musicians in a short time without writing out musical exercises or giving “lengthy and frivolous instructions”. He also did not give his students assignments which he did not feel they were capable of doing well. This was particularly interesting to me since I am a piano teacher. I hope that I am not guilty of giving “lengthy and frivolous instructions”.
Excellent response. Your writing is great!
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