!!!Early Modern Period
!!Johannes Brassart: ''O rex Fridrice''


[{Image src='Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Komponisten/Brassart, Johannes/050102a.jpg'
alt='Johannes Brassart: O rex Fridrice' height='250' width='530' popup='false' caption='Notation von Johannes Brassart: "O rex Fridrice"'}]

Johannes Brassart probably composed the motet ''O rex
Fridrice'' for the coronation of Friedrich III in 1442.
Brassart's life is almost completely undocumented - we
don't even know the dates of his birth and death. The
only iformation we have about him is for the years 1424
to 1444. These show that he served at two of the most
important courts of the day in Europe, among others: that
of Pope Eugene IV and of Friederich III, who referred to
him as ''capelle nostre cantor principalis'' (the
first singer in our chapel).The motet ''O rex
Fridrice'' is included in the Aosta Codex and
demonstrates how a motet in praise of a ruler was
composed in his day using an isorhythmic tenor pattern.
The motet begins with a duet (Cantus I und II). After
that the isorhythmic construction of the tenor is
relatively well-proportioned. In contrast, the upper
voices attract attention with their rhythmic complexity.
The term Isorhythm refers to a compositional process
used in the polyphonic music of the 13th to the 15
centuries, in which a rhythmical model that stretches
over a large area is repeated in exactly the same form
while the melody develops indepently. It is possible to
use this method on all of the voices or, as in this
motet, only in one of them (here, the tenor). The musical
example shows the beginning of the section for
four-voices. (E. Stadler)

!Sound Clip
[{Audio src='Wissenssammlungen/Musik-Lexikon/Komponisten/Brassart, Johannes/050102am.mp3'
caption='Audio sample of Johannes Brassart: "O rex Fridrice"\\© Catkanei - Studio für Alte Musik, Graz. (Aufnahme: GM-Tonstudio-Musikverlag Dr. Werner Jauk, Graz)'}]



[{Metadata Suchbegriff='' Kontrolle='Nein'}]

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