Josquin Des Prez (Josquin Lebloitte Dit Desprez)

Josquin des Prez (Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez) (1455-1521) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He is also known as Josquin Desprez. He is also known as Josquin Desprez, or in Latin, Josquinus Pratensis or Josquinus Pratensis.

Widely considered to be one of the most famous composers of his time, ranking as genius between Guillaume Dufay and Palestrina, he is renowned for having mastered the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was popular during his time.

The following essay describes the 6 core values of Excellence, Community, Respect, Personal Development, Responsible Stewardship, and Integrity, and using specific examples demonstrates how Josquin des Prez does or does not meet these categories.

Excellence

As it sounds, excellence is the value of maintaining a high degree of perfection in one's contribution. The artist (or individual) uses his talent to the maximum, he sharpens it and works on it until it becomes the very best that it can be. This takes perseverance and skill. Josquin des Prez certainly obtained this as we see not only from his reputation but from the following examples: theorists such as Heinrich Glarean and Gioseffo Zarlino rated his style perfection (Wegman, p. 21 -- 25.). Contemporaries remarked on his supreme melodic gift that was coupled with his employment of ingenious technical devices.

Community

Many anonymous contributions were contributed to him in order to raise the sales of these composers (Wegman, p. 28.)

This refers to the artist involving himself in a context of community where he either bands himself with others in producing his contribution and/or he give back of himself to others. It also refers to the individual interacting with the social world around him in a mutual spirit of tolerance, trust, and respect and creating a socially responsible environment.

De Prez had a resounding influence on his community to the extent that writers of his time from disciplines that were utterly distinct from music, such as Baldassare Castiglione (who was also a soldier, priest, and merchant) and Martin Luther glorified him (Wegman, pp. 21 -- 22..)

Respect

Respect refers to the individual's pride and dignity in the talents of himself and others. It refers to a feeling of self-respect and respect for others.

Whether or not De Prez respected others is unknown. Others certainly seemed to have respect for him due to the fact that more than 370 works are attributed to him, many begin by copyists who wished to assume his name (Wegman, p. 28.). The artist's reputation was colossal, both in his time and in the present ages.

Referring to his own self-pride, the artist certainly seemed to respect himself. He was willing and eager to take risks, as described later on. He also was eager to expand his horizons, spanning, according to Heinrich Glarean, the abilities of being both a "magnificent virtuoso" as well as exceling in "mockery" (i.e. satire). The artist, therefore, seems to have been a man of many talents, and this requires self-respect.

Little is known of his life in order to verify whether or not he demonstrated respect to others.

Personal Development

Personal development refers to the artist (or individual) constantly working on and maintaining his gift as well as consistently teaching himself new skills and developing himself so that he will continue to stay fresh and on top of his craft.

Josquin des Prez practiced personal development in the following ways. Not only was he well-versed in sacred music, but also -- and unusual in his time, he mastered secular music, too. Moreover, he excelled in each of the significant vocal forms of the age, including masses, motets, chansons and frottole. Josquin des Prez seems to have been a man who was continuously learning and seeking to improve his craft.

Responsible Stewardship

This refers to the extent to which the artist / individual / organization uses its capacities and genius to better improve the community / the world at large.

We may argue that the music of Josquin des Prez left an enduring impact not only on listeners of his generation but on listeners throughout the world and for many years to come. Josquin delighted many with his music. He relieved the lives of countless individuals, and in this way, Josquin des Prez could be considered a model of Responsible Stewardship. In fact, still today, the compositions of Josquin des Prez continue to be some of the most famous and enduring compositions of the Renaissance (Sherr, p. 10.).

Integrity

Integrity refers to living an authentic life -- being true to oneself and to one's mission. We may argue that Josquin des Prez was certainly that. The composer knew what he was and what he wanted to contribute to life on this world.