Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490 – 1562) was a French
composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément
Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of
French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition
he was a significant composer of sacred music. His
music was both influential on, and influenced by,
contemporary Italian styles.
Sermisy was most likely born either in Picardy,
Burgundy, or Île-de-France, based on the similarity of
his surname to place names there. Sometime in h...(+)
Claudin de Sermisy (c. 1490 – 1562) was a French
composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément
Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of
French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition
he was a significant composer of sacred music. His
music was both influential on, and influenced by,
contemporary Italian styles.
Sermisy was most likely born either in Picardy,
Burgundy, or Île-de-France, based on the similarity of
his surname to place names there. Sometime in his early
life he may have studied with Josquin des Prez, if
Pierre Ronsard is to be believed, but many
musicologists consider the claim unreliable; at any
rate he absorbed some of the older composer's musical
ideas either early, or later, as he became acquainted
with his music. Josquin was possibly at the French
court between 1501 and about 1503, though this has
never been definitely established, so a master-pupil
relationship would have been possible then; Sermisy's
whereabouts before 1508 are not known, but presence at
the Royal Chapel was certainly possible.
In 1508 the young Sermisy was appointed as a singer in
the Royal Chapel of Louis XII, where he was also a
cleric. His birthdate is inferred from the date he
joined the royal chapel; 18 was about the right age for
such an appointment. In 1515 he went to Italy with
Francis I, and in 1520 he was part of the musical
festivities arranged by Francis I and Henry VIII of
England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, directed by
Jean Mouton, where he was almost certainly a singer. He
may have been a composer of some of the music there as
well. In 1532 he also participated in the similar
meeting between the kings at Boulogne, for which he
wrote a ceremonial motet.
For a while in the early 1520s Sermisy was a canon at
Notre-Dame-de-la-Rotonde in Rouen, but he left there in
1524 to take a similar position in Amiens. By 1532 he
was music director of the Royal Chapel, still under
Francis I, who reigned until 1547. At this post he was
expected to teach and care for the boys of the choir,
as well as find talented singers to recruit. In 1533,
in addition to his post at the Royal Chapel, he became
a canon of the Sainte-Chapelle, which would have
required him to live in Paris. He acquired a large
house there, large enough to shelter refugees from the
church in St Quentin when the Spanish sacked their city
in 1559. In 1554 he also was given a prebend at Ste
Catherine in Troyes. Few biographical details are
available about his last years, but he seems to have
been active as a composer up to the end of his life
based on publication dates of works. He was buried in
the Sainte-Chapelle.
Sermisy wrote both sacred music and secular music, and
all of it is for voices. Of his sacred music, 12
complete masses have survived, including a Requiem
mass, as well as approximately 100 motets, some
magnificats and a set of Lamentations. Unlike many of
his contemporaries writing sacred music in France,
there is no evidence he had any Huguenot sympathies; he
seemed to remain a faithful Catholic all his life.
Sermisy was well known throughout western Europe, and
copies of his music are found in Italy, Spain,
Portugal, England and elsewhere. Rabelais mentioned him
in Gargantua and Pantagruel (Book 4) along with several
other contemporary composers. Sermisy's music was
transcribed numerous times for instruments, including
viols and lute as well as organ and other keyboard
instruments, by performers from Italy, Germany, and
Poland in addition to France. Even though Sermisy was a
Catholic, many of his tunes were appropriated by
Protestant musicians in the next generation: even a
Lutheran chorale tune (Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh
allzeit) is based on a chanson by Sermisy (Il me suffit
de tous mes maulx).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudin_de_Sermisy).
Although originally composed for Chorus, I created this
Interpretation of the Chanson "Au joli bois" (I have to
go to the pretty wood) for Double-Reed Quartet (2
Oboes, English Horn & Bassoon).
