A Josquin substitution
Jesse Rodin is a doctoral student at Harvard University writing a dissertation on Josquin and the polyphonic mass in late 15th-century Rome. He is the director of Cut Circle, a professional vocal ensemble specializing in Renaissance sacred music. rodin{at}fas.harvard.edu
The Benedictus of Josquin's famous Missa L'homme armé super voces musicales consists of three duos for bassus, altus and superius voices, respectively (‘Benedictus/Qui venit/In nomine Domini’). But in the copy of the mass preserved in a manuscript in the Frankfurt Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek, Josquin's Benedictus has been replaced by a four-voice setting that uses a modified version of Josquin's cantus firmus. This peculiar ‘substitution’, rare in music of this period, forms part of the prehistory of the German Josquin Renaissance.
Key Words: Josquin • L'homme armé • mass • Frankfurt • recomposition • cantus firmus • mensuration canon • Renaissance