Composer. A leading French figure of the middle-Renaissance period. With his "Missa Allez regrets" (c. 1480) he pioneered the so-called Parody Mass, the most influential form of sacred music during the 16th Century. Composers of the genre adapted the Mass text to pre-existing melodies, though not as a "spoof" as the name suggests. The tunes were usually taken from secular (sometimes bawdy) songs, then quoted and varied at will; the best examples imbued the music with a spirituality not found in the originals. Des Prez, Taverner, Palestrina, and Lassus all wrote great Parody Masses, and the practice was extremely popular until the Vatican prohibited it at the Council of Trent in 1562. Loyset (or Louis) Compere was probably born in Artois, France, and may have received his musical training in Italy. From 1586 he served as a royal court musician under Kings Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I, while also holding benefices at various northern churches. He ended his days as a Canon at Saint-Quentin Basilica. The seminal "Missa Allez regrets", adapted from a famous song by Hayne van Ghizeghem, appears to have been an anomaly in Compere's output; his only other surviving Mass and four Mass sections are all traditional. Today he is more likely to be encountered through his songs and motets, some 80 of which are extant. In some of these he overlaid Latin texts with their French translations to achieve unusual vocal textures without obscuring the audibility of either, showing him to be a masterful technician.
Composer. A leading French figure of the middle-Renaissance period. With his "Missa Allez regrets" (c. 1480) he pioneered the so-called Parody Mass, the most influential form of sacred music during the 16th Century. Composers of the genre adapted the Mass text to pre-existing melodies, though not as a "spoof" as the name suggests. The tunes were usually taken from secular (sometimes bawdy) songs, then quoted and varied at will; the best examples imbued the music with a spirituality not found in the originals. Des Prez, Taverner, Palestrina, and Lassus all wrote great Parody Masses, and the practice was extremely popular until the Vatican prohibited it at the Council of Trent in 1562. Loyset (or Louis) Compere was probably born in Artois, France, and may have received his musical training in Italy. From 1586 he served as a royal court musician under Kings Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I, while also holding benefices at various northern churches. He ended his days as a Canon at Saint-Quentin Basilica. The seminal "Missa Allez regrets", adapted from a famous song by Hayne van Ghizeghem, appears to have been an anomaly in Compere's output; his only other surviving Mass and four Mass sections are all traditional. Today he is more likely to be encountered through his songs and motets, some 80 of which are extant. In some of these he overlaid Latin texts with their French translations to achieve unusual vocal textures without obscuring the audibility of either, showing him to be a masterful technician.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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