PRES, Josquin de – Vous ne l’aurez pas – SIX CELLOS

Other Identification:
Josquin des Prez/Pres (c. 1450–1521) was a highly influential Renaissance composer of Franco-Flemish origin, celebrated as one of the greatest of his era.

He began professional life as an accomplished singer, with his work first documented in the early 1470s in Cambrai. He sang for courts in Milan, served in the Papal Chapel in Rome, and later worked for the Duke of Ferrara and the French King Louis XII.

As a composer, he was a master of polyphonic vocal music, composing sacred works like masses and motets, as well as secular chansons. He emphasized the relationship between text and music, using shorter motifs to clearly convey the words, moving away from earlier, more melismatic styles.

His career included service at various important courts and the Papal Chapel, and his work significantly shaped the musical style of the 16th century. Martin Luther praised him as “master of the notes”.

Anecdote: The phrase «Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et la Lorraine» (English: “You will not have Alsace and Lorraine”) has NO connection! This is a famous French patriotic song, not by Josquin des Prés, being written in 1871 by Gaston Villemer and Hippolyte Nazet with lyrics by composer Ben Tayoux, for a far more recent historical context – following the French defeat against Prussia and the annexation of Alsace-Moselle.