Like as Okeghem? Questions of Northern Influences in Early Spanish Polyphony – Pedro de Escobar’s Requiem Revisited

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

As well known, Okeghem’s setting of the tract Sicut cervus from his Requiem is included in García de Basurto’s compilation Missa in agendis mortuorum, copied c. 1520s/30s in E-Tz 5, which also includes Brumel’s communion. Although the unique source for Okeghem’s Requiem—the Chigi Codex—was in northern Spain from c. 1517 onwards, an earlier transmission seems entirely possible. In Escobar’s Missa pro defunctis, the earliest surviving Spanish requiem (c. 1507/8?), for example, there is a setting of Sicut cervus which bears an intriguing structural similarity to Okeghem’s. However, the general consensus is that Escobar’s Requiem had indigenous roots, in places reflecting techniques of improvised contrapunto.
This paper lifts Escobar’s requiem out of its immediate context and casts new light on its style via comparison with the northern requiem tradition beginning with Okeghem. In particular, close examination of three movements that share chant traits with northern settings—the introit, tract and offertory—provides demonstrable evidence of structural, contrapuntal and harmonic commonality with music of the Du Fay-Okeghem generations onwards. This may additionally be contextualised in other chant-based music, in the Colombina Codex and elsewhere. Ultimately, Escobar’s music suggests deep knowledge of aspects of northern requiems, assimilated through performance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages45-46
Number of pages2
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jul 2022
Event50th Medieval and Renaissance International Music Conference, Uppsala, 2022. - Uppsala, Sweden
Duration: 4 Jul 20227 Jul 2022
Conference number: 50

Conference

Conference50th Medieval and Renaissance International Music Conference, Uppsala, 2022.
Country/TerritorySweden
CityUppsala
Period4/07/227/07/22

Keywords

  • Johannes Okeghem
  • Pedro de Escobar
  • Requiem Mass
  • Polyphony

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