Orlande de Lassus

Composer Orlande de Lassus

Orlande de Lassus, collection of Civico Museo Bibliograa Musicale, Bologna.

Castrioto in Naples in the early 1550s, and his rst works

are presumed to date from this time. Next he moved to
Rome, where he worked for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand
Duke of Tuscany, who maintained a household there; and
in 1553, he became maestro di cappella of the Basilica
of Saint John Lateran, the ecumenical mother church of
Rome and a spectacularly prestigious post indeed for a
man only twenty-one years old. However, he stayed there
for only a year. (Palestrina would assume this post a year
later, in 1555.)

Roland de Lassus (also Orlande de Lassus, Orlando

di Lasso, Orlandus Lassus, or Roland de Lattre;
1532, possibly 1530 14 June 1594) was a Netherlandish
or Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He
is today considered to be the chief representative of the
mature polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school,
and one of the three most famous and inuential musicians in Europe at the end of the 16th century (the other
No solid evidence survives for his whereabouts in 1554,
two being Palestrina and Victoria).
but there are contemporary claims that he traveled in
France and England. In 1555 he returned to the Low
Countries and had his early works published in Antwerp
1 Life
(15551556). In 1556 he joined the court of Albrecht
V, Duke of Bavaria, who was consciously attempting to
Lassus was born in Mons in the County of Hainaut, create a musical establishment on a par with the major
Habsburg Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). Informa- courts in Italy. Lassus was one of several Netherlanders
tion about his early years is scanty, although some un- to work there, and by far the most famous. He evidently
corroborated stories have survived, the most famous of was happy in Munich and decided to settle there. In 1558
which is that he was kidnapped three times because of he married Regina Wckinger, the daughter of a maid of
the singular beauty of his singing voice. At the age of honor of the Duchess; they had two sons, both of whom
twelve, he left the Low Countries with Ferrante Gonzaga became composers. By 1563 Lassus had been appointed
and went to Mantua, Sicily, and later Milan (from 1547 maestro di cappella, succeeding Ludwig Daser in the post.
to 1549). While in Milan, he made the acquaintance of Lassus remained in the service of Albrecht V and his heir,
the madrigalist Spirito l'Hoste da Reggio, a formative in- Wilhelm V, for the rest of his life.
uence on his early musical style.
By the 1560s Lassus had become quite famous, and comHe then worked as a singer and a composer for Costantino posers began to go to Munich to study with him. Andrea
1

2 MUSIC AND INFLUENCE

Gabrieli went there in 1562, and possibly remained in the

chapel for a year; Giovanni Gabrieli also possibly studied
with him in the 1570s. His renown had spread outside
of strictly musical circles, for in 1570 Emperor Maximilian II conferred nobility upon him, a rare circumstance
for a composer; Pope Gregory XIII knighted him; and in
1571, and again in 1573, the king of France, Charles IX,
invited him to visit. Some of these kings and aristocrats
attempted to woo him away from Munich with more attractive oers, but Lassus was evidently more interested
in the stability of his position, and the splendid performance opportunities of Albrechts court, than in nancial
gain. I do not want to leave my house, my garden, and
the other good things in Munich, he wrote to the Duke
of Electorate of Saxony in 1580, upon receiving an oer
for a position in Dresden.
In the late 1570s and 1580s Lassus made several visits
to Italy, where he encountered the most modern styles
and trends. In Ferrara, the center of avant-garde activity,
he doubtless heard the madrigals being composed for the
d'Este court; however, his own style remained conservative and became simpler and more rened as he aged. In
the 1590s his health began to decline, and he went to a
doctor named Thomas Mermann for treatment of what
was called melancholia hypocondriaca, but he was still
able to compose as well as travel occasionally. His nal work was often considered one of his best pieces: an
exquisite set of twenty-one madrigali spirituali known as
the Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St. Peter), which
he dedicated to Pope Clement VIII, and which was published posthumously in 1595. Lassus died in Munich on
14 June 1594, the same day that his employer decided to
dismiss him for economic reasons; he never saw the letter. He was buried in Munich in the Alter Franziskaner
Friedhof. His grave is lost, and the cemetery is now overbuilt with a parking structure.

Orland di Lassus (Roland de Lattre). (Idealized portrait).

2.1 Sacred music

Lassus remained Catholic during this age of religious
discord, although not dogmatically so, as may be seen
from his more worldly secular songs as well as his parody
Masses and Magnicats based on secular compositions.
Nevertheless the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which
under Jesuit inuence was reaching a peak in Bavaria in
the late sixteenth century, had a demonstrable impact on
Lassus late work, including the liturgical music for the
Roman Rite, the burgeoning number of Magnicats, the
settings of the Catholic Ulenberg Psalter (1588), and especially the great penitential cycle of spiritual madrigals,
the 'Lagrime di San Pietro' (1594).
2.1.1 Masses

Music and inuence

One of the most prolic, versatile, and universal composers of the late Renaissance, Lassus wrote over 2,000
works in all Latin, French, Italian and German vocal genres known in his time. These include 530 motets, 175
Italian madrigals and villanellas, 150 French chansons,
and 90 German lieder. No strictly instrumental music by
Lassus is known to survive, or ever to have existed: an
interesting omission for a composer otherwise so wideranging and prolic, during an age when instrumental music was becoming an ever-more prominent means of expression, all over Europe. The German music publisher
Adam Berg dedicated 5 volumes of his Patrocinium musicum (published from 15731580) to Lassus music.

Almost 60 masses have survived complete; most of them

are parody masses based on secular works written by himself or other composers. Technically impressive, they
are nevertheless the most conservative part of his output. He usually conformed the style of the mass to the
style of the source material, which ranged from Gregorian
chant to contemporary madrigals, but always maintained
an expressive and reverent character in the nal product. Some of his masses are based on extremely secular French chansons, some of which are frankly obscene
(Entre vous lles de quinze ans, Oh you fteen-year old
girls, by Clemens non Papa, gave him source material
for his 1581 Missa entre vous lles, probably the most
scandalous of the lot). That this practice was not only accepted but encouraged by his employer is conrmed by
evidence from their correspondence, much of which has

2.2

Secular music

survived.
In addition to his traditional parody masses, he wrote a
considerable quantity of missae breves, brief masses,
syllablic short masses meant for brief services (for example, on days when Duke Albrecht went hunting: evidently he did not want to be detained by long-winded
polyphonic music). The most extreme of these is a work
actually known as the Jger Mass (Missa venatorum)
the Hunters Mass.
Some of his masses show inuence from the Venetian
School, particularly in their use of polychoral techniques
(for example, in the eight-voice Missa osculetur me, based
on his own motet). Three of his masses are for double
choir, and they may have been inuential on the Venetians themselves; after all, Andrea Gabrieli visited Lassus
in Munich in 1562, and many of Lassuss works were published in Venice. Even though Lassus used the contemporary, sonorous Venetian style, his harmonic language
remained conservative in these works: he adapted the texture of the Venetians to his own artistic ends.
2.1.2

Motets and other sacred music

3
Lassuss setting of the seven Penitential Psalms of David
(Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales) is one of the most famous
collections of psalm settings of the entire Renaissance.
The counterpoint is free, avoiding the pervasive imitation
of the Netherlanders such as Gombert, and occasionally
using expressive devices foreign to Palestrina. As elsewhere, Lassus strives for emotional impact, and uses a
variety of texture and care in text-setting towards that
end. The nal piece in the collection, his setting of the
De profundis (Psalm 129/130), is considered by many
scholars to be one of the high-water marks of Renaissance polyphony, ranking alongside the two settings of
the same text by Josquin des Prez.
Among his other liturgical compositions are hymns,
canticles (including over 100 Magnicats), responsories
for Holy Week, Passions, Lamentations, and some independent pieces for major feasts.

2.2 Secular music

Lassus wrote in all the prominent secular forms of the
time. In the preface to his collection of German songs,
Lassus lists his secular works: Italian madrigals and
French chansons, German and Dutch songs. He is probably the only Renaissance composer to write prolically
in ve languages Latin in addition to those mentioned
above and he wrote with equal uency in each. Many
of his songs became hugely popular, circulating widely
in Europe. In these various secular songs, he conforms to
the manner of the country of origin while still showing his
characteristic originality, wit, and terseness of statement.

Lassus is one of the composers of a style known as musica

reservataa term which has survived in many contemporary references, many of them seemingly contradictory. The exact meaning of the term is a matter of
erce debate, though a rough consensus among musicologists is that it involves intensely expressive setting of
text, chromaticism, and that it may have referred to music
specically written for connoisseurs. A famous composition by Lassus representative of this style is his series
of 12 motets entitled Prophetiae Sibyllarum, in a wildly
2.2.1 Madrigals
chromatic idiom which anticipates the work of Gesualdo;
some of the chord progressions in this piece were not to
In his madrigals, many of which he wrote during his stay
be heard again until the 20th century.
in Rome, his style is clear and concise, and he wrote tunes
Lassus wrote four settings of the Passion, one for each of which were easily memorable; he also signed his work
the Evangelists, St. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. All by frequently using the word 'lasso' (and often setting with
are for a cappella voices. He sets the words of Christ and the sol-fege syllables la-sol, i.e. A-G in the key of C).
the narration of the Evangelist as chant, while setting the His choice of poetry varied widely, from Petrarch for his
passages for groups polyphonically.
more serious work to the lightest verse for some of his
As a composer of motets, Lassus was one of the most amusing canzonettas.
diverse and prodigious of the entire Renaissance. His
output varies from the sublime to the ridiculous, and he
showed a sense of humor not often associated with sacred music: for example, one of his motets satirizes poor
singers (his setting of Super umina Babylonis, for ve
voices) which includes stuttering, stopping and starting,
and general confusion; it is related in concept if not in
style to Mozarts A Musical Joke. Many of his motets
were composed for ceremonial occasions, as could be
expected of a court composer who was required to provide music for visits of dignitaries, weddings, treaties and
other events of state. But it was as a composer of religious
motets that Lassus achieved his widest and most lasting
fame.

Lassus often preferred cyclic madrigals, i.e. settings of

multiple poems in a group as a set of related pieces of
music. For example, his fourth book of madrigals for
ve voices begins with a complete sestina by Petrarch,
continues with two-part sonnets, and concludes with another sestina: therefore the entire book can be heard as a
unied composition with each madrigal a subsidiary part.
2.2.2 Chansons
Another form which Lassus cultivated was the French
chanson, of which he wrote about 150. Most of them
date from the 1550s, but he continued to write them

EXTERNAL LINKS

lel work in the genre of the chanson, he also wrote songs

on the unfortunate aspects of overindulgence.
2.2.4 Dutch songs
In the preface to his collection of German songs, Lassus
states that he has composed Dutch songs. However, no
Dutch song has been preserved.[1]

3 Coat of arms
Lassus bore the following arms:
Azure, a pile and a pile reversed Argent, on
each a crosslet Or;
on a fess Argent a sharp, at and natural, over
all a bordure Or.

4 Media
5 Notes
Lassus leading a chamber ensemble, painted by Hans Mielich

even after he was in Germany: his last productions in

this genre come from the 1580s. They were enormously
popular in Europe, and of all his works, they were the
most widely arranged for instruments such as lute and
keyboard. Most were collected in the 1570s and 1580s
in three publications: one by Pierre Phalse the Elder in
1571, and two by Le Roy and Ballard in 1576 and 1584.
Stylistically, they ranged from the dignied and serious,
to playful, bawdy, and amorous compositions, as well as
drinking songs suited to taverns. Lassus followed the polished, lyrical style of Sermisy rather than the programmatic style of Clment Janequin for his writing.
One of the most famous of Lassuss drinking songs was
used by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part II. English words
are tted to Un jour vis un foulon qui fouloit (as Monsieur
Mingo) and sung by the drunken Justice Silence, in Act V,
Scene iii.
2.2.3

German lieder

A third type of secular composition by Lassus was the

German lied. Most of these he evidently intended for a
dierent audience, since they are considerably dierent
in tone and style from either the chansons or madrigals;
in addition, he wrote them later in life, with none appearing until 1567, when he was already well-established at
Munich. Many are on religious subjects, although light
and comic verse are represented as well. He also wrote
drinking songs in German, and contrasting with his paral-

[1] Jan Willem Bonda, De meerstemmige Nederlandse

liederen van de vijftiende en zestiende eeuw, Uitgeverij
Verloren, 1996, ISBN 90-6550-545-8, ISBN 978-906550-545-3, p. 23

6 References and further reading

Haar, James, Orlande de Lassus, in The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers
Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
Haar, James. L. Macy, ed. Orlande de Lassus.
Grove Music Online. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
(subscription required)
Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New
York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-39309530-4
Harold Gleason and Warren Becker, Music in the
Middle Ages and Renaissance (Music Literature
Outlines Series I). Bloomington, Indiana. Frangipani Press, 1986. ISBN 0-89917-034-X

7 External links

Free scores by Orlande de Lassus in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

5
Free scores by Orlande de Lassus at the International
Music Score Library Project
The Mutopia Project has compositions by Orlande
de Lassus
"Orlandus de Lassus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
Listen to free recordings of songs from Ume
Akademiska Kr
Listen to a streaming recording of a complete live
performance by Chanticleer of The Divine Orlando at Instant Encore

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Orlande de Lassus Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlande%20de%20Lassus?oldid=638081068 Contributors: Daniel C. Boyer,

Karl Stas, Snoyes, Andres, JASpencer, Viajero, Clattuc, Raul654, Wetman, Jenmoa, Srtxg, Mintleaf, Zigger, Leonard Vertighel, Gadum, Antandrus, Gerald Farinas, Marcus2, Klemen Kocjancic, Rich Farmbrough, Bender235, CanisRufus, El C, WikiLeon, Ilse@,
Orthotox, Pwqn, Alai, Ghirlandajo, Sterio, Woohookitty, FeanorStar7, PoccilScript, Graham87, FlaBot, Margosbot, RexNL, YurikBot,
Longbow4u, MosheA, NawlinWiki, Jaxl, Zwobot, Nick Michael, Dwsolo, SmackBot, Unyoyega, Roscelese, Tsca.bot, Makemi, Pissant,
Reccmo, Clicketyclack, SashatoBot, Lambiam, JzG, Capmo, Ornes, Ewulp, Courcelles, Ubctourpics, Wikidwitch, Tawkerbot2, Charvex,
Dougweller, Thijs!bot, DistinctHead, PaulVIF, Escarbot, Mentisto, AntiVandalBot, Seaphoto, JAnDbot, .anacondabot, VoABot II, Adam
keller, JamesBWatson, Gran Westling, J.delanoy, Alegreen, Exodia 1000, Mjthom, Sparafucil, Alan U. Kennington, TXiKiBoT, Nice
poa, Cmcnicoll, Tomaxer, Monty845, AlleborgoBot, The Realms of Gold, Coastside, ClueBot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Alexbot,
BOTarate, MelonBot, Dark Mage, Penhollow, Sciamanna, PL290, Addbot, Some jerk on the Internet, Lightbot, Zorrobot, Legobot, Luckasbot, TaBOT-zerem, Starbois, Jos Fontaine, Flipping Mackerel, Xqbot, ASchudak, Omnipaedista, Shirik, FrescoBot,
, Zeljkovuckovac, Cjordahl, Jfmantis, BrunoMaggiore, Mrcx, Aaron de Haene, EmausBot, Fede5792, 4meter4, Tommy2010, SporkBot, Peter M.
Brown, Palosirkka, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG, Helpful Pixie Bot, Gabriel Yuji, AvocatoBot, Griot-de, AthanasiusOfAlex, VIAFbot
and Anonymous: 78

8.2

Images

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original

artist: ?
File:Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work. Based on File:Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.
svg, which is public domain. Original artist: User:Eubulides
File:Orland_di_Lassus.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Orland_di_Lassus.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Orlande_de_Lassus.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Orlande_de_Lassus.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica (Bologna) Original artist: Da Massmil
File:Orlando_de_Lassus2.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Orlando_de_Lassus2.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Orlando_di_Lasso.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Orlando_di_Lasso.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:ResonetInLaudibus.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/ResonetInLaudibus.ogg License: Public domain Contributors: Media from music list. Original artist: Cipoo participants

8.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0