John Dunstaple or Dunstable (c. 1390 β December 24, 1453) was an English co… Read Full Bio ↴John Dunstaple or Dunstable (c. 1390 β December 24, 1453) was an English composer of polyphonic music of the late medieval era and early Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers active in the early 15th century, a near-contemporary of Leonel Power, and was widely influential, not only in England but on the continent, especially in the developing style of the Burgundian School.
The spelling "Dunstaple" is generally to be preferred, since it occurs in more than twice as many musical attributions as that of "Dunstable". The few English musical sources are equally divided between "b" and "p"; however, the contemporary non-musical sources, including those with a claim to a direct association with the composer, spell his name with a "p."
Dunstaple was probably born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. His birth date is a conjecture based on his earliest surviving works (from around 1410-1420) which imply a birth date of around 1390. Many of the details of his life are conjectural. Nothing is known of his musical training and background. He was clearly a highly educated man, though there is no record of an association with either Oxford or Cambridge universities. He is widely held to have been in the royal service of John, Duke of Bedford, the fourth son of Henry IV and brother of Henry V. As such he may have stayed in France for some time, since the duke was Regent of France from 1423 to 1429, and then Governor of Normandy from 1429 to his death in 1435. He owned property in Normandy, and also in Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, according to tax records of 1436. After the death in 1437 of another patron, the Dowager Queen Joan, he evidently was in the service of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the fifth son of Henry IV.
Unlike many composers of the time, he was probably not a cleric, though there are links with St Albans Abbey (see below); he was probably married, based on the record of women sharing his name in his parish, and he also owned a manor in Hertfordshire.
In addition to his work as a composer, he had a contemporary reputation as an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician (for example, a volume in the Bodleian Library, largely in the hand of William Worcester, acknowledges that certain information within it had been copied from Dunstaple's writings). Some of his astrological works have survived in manuscript, possibly in his own hand.
Dunstaple's connections with St Albans Abbey are at least twofold:
* the abbot John Whethamstede is associated with the Duke of Gloucester, and Dunstaple's isorhythmic motet Albanus roseo rutilat, possibly with some of the Latin words adapted by Whethamstede from an older poem, was clearly written for St Albans, possibly for a visit to the abbey by the Duke of Bedford in 1426.
* Whethamstede's plan for a magnificent library for the abbey in 1452-3 included a set of twelve stained glass windows devoted to the various branches of learning. Dunstaple is clearly, if indirectly, referred to in some of the verses the abbot composed for each window, not only music but also astronomy, medicine, and astrology.
He died on Christmas Eve 1453, as recorded in his epitaph, which was in the church of St Stephen Walbrook in London (until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666). This was also his burial place. The epitaph - stating that he had "secret knowledge of the stars" - had been recorded in the early 17th century, and was reinstated in the church in 1904.
Dunstaple influence on the continent's musical vocabulary was enormous, particularly considering the relative paucity of his (attributable) works. He was recognized for possessing something never heard before in music of the Burgundian School: le contenance angloise ("the English countenance,") a term used by the poet Martin le Franc in his Le Champion des Dames. Le France added that the style influenced Dufay and Binchoisβhigh praise indeed.
Writing a few decades later in about 1476, the Flemish composer and music theorist Tinctoris reaffirmed the powerful influence Dunstaple had, stressing the "new art" that Dunstaple had inspired. Tinctoris hailed Dunstaple as the fons et origo of the style, its "wellspring and origin."
The contenance angloise, while not defined by Martin le Franc, was probably a reference to Dunstaple's stylistic trait of using full triadic harmony, along with a liking for the interval of the third. Assuming that he had been on the continent with the Duke of Bedford, Dunstaple would have been introduced to French fauxbourdon; borrowing some of the sonorities, he created elegant harmonies in his own music using thirds and sixths. Taken together, these are seen as defining characteristics of early Renaissance music, and both Le Franc's and Tinctoris's comments suggest that many of these traits may have originated in England, taking root in the Burgundian School around the middle of the century.
Very few manuscript sources of Dunstaple's works survived in England, as is similarly the case for other 15th century composers. Even though England was a centre of musical activity, in some respects exceeding even the output of the continent, almost all of the music was destroyed between 1536 and 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. As a result, most of Dunstapleβs work had to be recovered from continental sources (predominantly northern Italy and the southern Alps).
Because numerous copies of his works have been found in Italian and German manuscripts, his fame must have been widespread. Two problems face musicologists of the 15th century: first, determining which of the many surviving anonymous works were written by which composers and, second, unraveling conflicting attributions. This is made even more difficult for English composers such as Dunstaple: scribes in England frequently copied music without any ascription, rendering it immediately anonymous; and, while continental scribes were more assiduous in this regard, many works published in Dunstaple's name have other, potentially equally valid, attributions in different sources to other composers, including Binchois, John Benet, John Bedyngham, John Forest and, most frequently, Leonel Power.
Of the works attributed to him only about fifty survive, among which are two complete masses, three incomplete but multi-section masses, fourteen individual mass sections, twelve complete isorhythmic motets (including the famous one which combines the hymn Veni creator spiritus and the sequence Veni sancte spiritus, and Albanus roseo rutilat mentioned above), as well as twenty-seven separate settings of various liturgical texts, including three Magnificats and seven settings of Marian antiphons, such as Alma redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina misericordie.
Dunstaple was one of the first to compose masses using a single melody as cantus firmus. A good example of this technique is his Missa Rex seculorum.
He is believed to have written secular music, but no songs in the vernacular can be attributed to him with any degree of certainty: although the French-texted rondeau Puisque mβamour is attributed to Dunstaple in two sources and there is no reason to doubt his authorship, the ballade remained the more favoured form for English secular song at this time and there is limited opportunity for comparison with the rest of his output. The popular melody O rosa bella, once thought to be by Dunstaple, is now attributed to John Bedyngham (or Bedingham). Yet, because so much of the surviving 15th-century repertory of English carols is anonymous, and Dunstaple is known to have written many, most scholars consider it highly likelyβfor stylistic as well as statistical reasonsβthat some of the anonymous carols from this time are actually by Dunstaple.
Dunstaple was probably the most influential English composer of all time, yet he remains an enigma: his complete works were not published until the quincentenary of his death in 1953, but even since then works have been added and subtracted from his oeuvre; we know very little of his life and nothing of his undoubted learning; we can only make an educated guess at most of the chronology of the small amount of music that has come down to us; and we understand little of his style - why he wrote as he did, what artistic or technical principles guided his composing, how his music was performed, or why it was so influential.
The spelling "Dunstaple" is generally to be preferred, since it occurs in more than twice as many musical attributions as that of "Dunstable". The few English musical sources are equally divided between "b" and "p"; however, the contemporary non-musical sources, including those with a claim to a direct association with the composer, spell his name with a "p."
Dunstaple was probably born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. His birth date is a conjecture based on his earliest surviving works (from around 1410-1420) which imply a birth date of around 1390. Many of the details of his life are conjectural. Nothing is known of his musical training and background. He was clearly a highly educated man, though there is no record of an association with either Oxford or Cambridge universities. He is widely held to have been in the royal service of John, Duke of Bedford, the fourth son of Henry IV and brother of Henry V. As such he may have stayed in France for some time, since the duke was Regent of France from 1423 to 1429, and then Governor of Normandy from 1429 to his death in 1435. He owned property in Normandy, and also in Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, according to tax records of 1436. After the death in 1437 of another patron, the Dowager Queen Joan, he evidently was in the service of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the fifth son of Henry IV.
Unlike many composers of the time, he was probably not a cleric, though there are links with St Albans Abbey (see below); he was probably married, based on the record of women sharing his name in his parish, and he also owned a manor in Hertfordshire.
In addition to his work as a composer, he had a contemporary reputation as an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician (for example, a volume in the Bodleian Library, largely in the hand of William Worcester, acknowledges that certain information within it had been copied from Dunstaple's writings). Some of his astrological works have survived in manuscript, possibly in his own hand.
Dunstaple's connections with St Albans Abbey are at least twofold:
* the abbot John Whethamstede is associated with the Duke of Gloucester, and Dunstaple's isorhythmic motet Albanus roseo rutilat, possibly with some of the Latin words adapted by Whethamstede from an older poem, was clearly written for St Albans, possibly for a visit to the abbey by the Duke of Bedford in 1426.
* Whethamstede's plan for a magnificent library for the abbey in 1452-3 included a set of twelve stained glass windows devoted to the various branches of learning. Dunstaple is clearly, if indirectly, referred to in some of the verses the abbot composed for each window, not only music but also astronomy, medicine, and astrology.
He died on Christmas Eve 1453, as recorded in his epitaph, which was in the church of St Stephen Walbrook in London (until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666). This was also his burial place. The epitaph - stating that he had "secret knowledge of the stars" - had been recorded in the early 17th century, and was reinstated in the church in 1904.
Dunstaple influence on the continent's musical vocabulary was enormous, particularly considering the relative paucity of his (attributable) works. He was recognized for possessing something never heard before in music of the Burgundian School: le contenance angloise ("the English countenance,") a term used by the poet Martin le Franc in his Le Champion des Dames. Le France added that the style influenced Dufay and Binchoisβhigh praise indeed.
Writing a few decades later in about 1476, the Flemish composer and music theorist Tinctoris reaffirmed the powerful influence Dunstaple had, stressing the "new art" that Dunstaple had inspired. Tinctoris hailed Dunstaple as the fons et origo of the style, its "wellspring and origin."
The contenance angloise, while not defined by Martin le Franc, was probably a reference to Dunstaple's stylistic trait of using full triadic harmony, along with a liking for the interval of the third. Assuming that he had been on the continent with the Duke of Bedford, Dunstaple would have been introduced to French fauxbourdon; borrowing some of the sonorities, he created elegant harmonies in his own music using thirds and sixths. Taken together, these are seen as defining characteristics of early Renaissance music, and both Le Franc's and Tinctoris's comments suggest that many of these traits may have originated in England, taking root in the Burgundian School around the middle of the century.
Very few manuscript sources of Dunstaple's works survived in England, as is similarly the case for other 15th century composers. Even though England was a centre of musical activity, in some respects exceeding even the output of the continent, almost all of the music was destroyed between 1536 and 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. As a result, most of Dunstapleβs work had to be recovered from continental sources (predominantly northern Italy and the southern Alps).
Because numerous copies of his works have been found in Italian and German manuscripts, his fame must have been widespread. Two problems face musicologists of the 15th century: first, determining which of the many surviving anonymous works were written by which composers and, second, unraveling conflicting attributions. This is made even more difficult for English composers such as Dunstaple: scribes in England frequently copied music without any ascription, rendering it immediately anonymous; and, while continental scribes were more assiduous in this regard, many works published in Dunstaple's name have other, potentially equally valid, attributions in different sources to other composers, including Binchois, John Benet, John Bedyngham, John Forest and, most frequently, Leonel Power.
Of the works attributed to him only about fifty survive, among which are two complete masses, three incomplete but multi-section masses, fourteen individual mass sections, twelve complete isorhythmic motets (including the famous one which combines the hymn Veni creator spiritus and the sequence Veni sancte spiritus, and Albanus roseo rutilat mentioned above), as well as twenty-seven separate settings of various liturgical texts, including three Magnificats and seven settings of Marian antiphons, such as Alma redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina misericordie.
Dunstaple was one of the first to compose masses using a single melody as cantus firmus. A good example of this technique is his Missa Rex seculorum.
He is believed to have written secular music, but no songs in the vernacular can be attributed to him with any degree of certainty: although the French-texted rondeau Puisque mβamour is attributed to Dunstaple in two sources and there is no reason to doubt his authorship, the ballade remained the more favoured form for English secular song at this time and there is limited opportunity for comparison with the rest of his output. The popular melody O rosa bella, once thought to be by Dunstaple, is now attributed to John Bedyngham (or Bedingham). Yet, because so much of the surviving 15th-century repertory of English carols is anonymous, and Dunstaple is known to have written many, most scholars consider it highly likelyβfor stylistic as well as statistical reasonsβthat some of the anonymous carols from this time are actually by Dunstaple.
Dunstaple was probably the most influential English composer of all time, yet he remains an enigma: his complete works were not published until the quincentenary of his death in 1953, but even since then works have been added and subtracted from his oeuvre; we know very little of his life and nothing of his undoubted learning; we can only make an educated guess at most of the chronology of the small amount of music that has come down to us; and we understand little of his style - why he wrote as he did, what artistic or technical principles guided his composing, how his music was performed, or why it was so influential.
Kyrie
John Dunstable Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Kyrie' by these artists:
88GLAM Rollie, 'Rari, wrist 'Rari, Rollie, switch Sauce 'em up lik…
Aeternitas Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison!…
Albert Frey Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison (Herr erbarme dich) Christe ele…
Alice Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
AnΓΊna Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
AnΓΊna & Michael McGlynn Kyrie eleison Lord have mercy Christe eleison Christ have …
Ariel RamΓrez Uh uh uh uh uh ///SeΓ±or ten piedad de nosotros/// Ten piedad…
Arthur Dairaine Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
At the foot of the Cross Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison Translation…
BjΓΈrn EidsvΓ₯g Du lΓ₯g skjeivande av angst pΓ₯ kne og svetten rant som…
CANTUS & Frode Fjellheim Kyrie eleison, Kyjrie elejsΓ₯n Jubmel Aehtjie aarmodh Kriste …
Choir Of Kings College Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
Chorallaries of M.I.T. I fall off and I come back Ain't to much finna…
Christopher Walker Finjo ser invisΓvel Pra nΓ£o ter que te encarar Afogo na pisc…
Collegium Cantorum Kyrie eleison Criste eleison Kyrie eleison Senhor, tem pied…
Coro Arquidiocesano de Santa Fe De la Vera Cruz Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, e…
Czerwono Czarni Ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah Ah Ah Ah Panie zmiΕuj siΔ nad…
D-P VivΓamos felices desde nuestra niΓ±ez, podrΓa ver Tu sonrisa …
DominikaΕski OΕrodek Liturgiczny Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
E. Power Biggs/Vittorio Negri Kyrie Numba Leven I ain't do no wrong Tryna take me out…
Egidius Kwartet & College Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
Eli-Eri Moura Kyrie Gud fader, all som hΓΈyeste trΓΈst Du est vΓ₯r glede…
Erik Tilling Kyrie Kyrie Eleison Eleison Kyrie Kyrie Eleison Eleison Kris…
Fiona & Ben Gloria in excelsis Deo, Et in terra pax hominibus bonae volu…
foggieraw I know sometimes I lie to you But you can't say…
Four Shadow Kyrie Eleison... Kyrie Eleison... Kyrie... The wind blows h…
Franco Battiato Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison Kyrie eleison Christe ele…
Friar Alessandro London Studio Orchestra Sally Herbert & Coro Te alabamos seΓ±or tus nos das agua viva, seΓ±or ten…
Frode Fjellheim Kyrie eleison, Kyjrie elejsΓ₯n Jubmel Aehtjie aarmodh Kriste …
Fundacja DominikaΕski OΕrodek Liturgiczny Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
Garmarna Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison…
H.I.F. von Biber I fall off and I come back Ain't to much finna…
Hangad PRIEST: You raise the dead to life in the spi β…
Heinrich-Isaac-Ensemble Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.…
Hortus Musicus Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie The Wind Blows Hard Agai…
I Muvrini Kyrie Kyrie eleison kyrie Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison …
II. 10 seconds left on the clock and we down by…
IstvΓ‘nffy Chamber Choir Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.…
J. Roscoe Ginoo, kaloy-i kami Ginoo, kaloy-i kami Kristo o Kristo, kal…
Jedi Noordegraaf Voor wie niet meer durft te dromen. Voor wie nergens thuis…
John La Barbera Big Band Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison Kyrie The wind blows hard again…
John Michael Talbot Kyrie, eleison Kyrie, eleison Lord, Lord, have mercy Ch…
John Tesh Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison Kyrie The wind blows hard again…
K Suave Hee ah, hee ah, hee ah oh, shit Woo Ballinβ like Kyrie Yeah…
Kalafina Gogatsu no toiki ni furete Yasuragi saezuru sora no naka T…
Lacrimosa Kyrie Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
Liva Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine Et lux perpetua luceat ei…
London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra Classical Sacred…
Majdia & KnifePrty Aye i mean this Back in hell for no reason Welcome back…
Malignus Youth The seasons change and so must we As people in a…
Marina There is a place and time Where we all learn…
Mats Eilertsen Trio/Trio Mediaeval Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have …
Matt Maher Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison (Kyrie eleison…
Maximianno Cobra - Europa Philharmonia Choir & Orchestra Classical Sacred…
Mensageiros do EspΓrito Kyrie, kyrie Eleison Criste, Criste, Criste Ele…
Mercedes Sosa SeΓ±or, ten piedad de nosotros SeΓ±or, ten piedad de nosotros…
Monks & Nuns of Prinknash & Stanbrook Abbeys "Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Lord, have mercy Christ, hav…
Mozart J.E. Gardiner Kyrie Numba Leven I ain't do no wrong Tryna take me out…
Mr. Master Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie The wind blows hard again…
MΓΌnchener Brahms-Chor Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
Nana Mouskouri SeΓ±or ten piedad de nosotros SeΓ±or ten piedad de nosotros …
New Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra; Otto Klemperer Classical Sacred…
Nicholas Wilton Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have m…
Nodes Of Ranvier Awoke today with no new ideas But that's nothing new And as…
Noircure KYRIE I hear sounds in the distance small lasting nuances of…
Of Graves and Gods I've failed this life as it buries me, curettage, lust,…
On the Rocks Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie The wind blows hard agai…
Oslo Gospel Choir Aren't You the Messiah? Save yourself and us! We're punished…
Patrick Lenk Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
Pe. JosΓ© MaurΓcio Nunes Garcia Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
Philadelphia Orchestra And Chorus Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
Quimantu Kyrie Piedad por los mineros, te pido seΓ±or Piedad por sus …
R.S.S.Orchestra; R.S.S.Capella; Cond: Valery Polyansky Classical Sacred…
Renzel DP on the beat Man: Listen Rozay I want some dope,…
S.O.S.jp KyriΓ© elΓ©ison KyriΓ© elΓ©ison KyriΓ© elΓ©ison ChristiΓ© elΓ©ison L…
Scottish Chamber Orchestra And Chorus Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison…
Sela Als onze dagen donker zijn U bent dichtbij U weet hoe ver…
Sheck Wes Kyrie, where's LeBron? Suck my dick! Caution, danger Caution…
SKRUK Kyrie eleison, Kyjrie elejsΓ₯n Jubmel Aehtjie aarmodh Kriste …
Stuart Townend For every child who lies still beneath his mother's eyes Sh…
The Armoury Show Judy In July - looking into the sky Like a sail…
The Choir of St. Martin's Parish & The Choir of St. Mary's Parish Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Gospodi pomiluj Go…
The English Concert & Choir - Trevor Pinnock ΞΟΟΞΉΞ΅ ΟΟΞΏΟ ΟΞ³Ξ ΞΟΟΞΉΞ΅ ΞΊΟΟΞΉΞ΅ Ο ΟΞΏΟ ΟΞ³Ξ ΞΟΟΞΉΞ΅ ΟΟΞΏΟ ΟΞ³Ξ ΞΞ±ΞΌΟ ΟΞ± Ο ΟΞΏΟ …
The Monks and Chiorboys of Downside Abbey "Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Lord, have mercy Christ, hav…
The Recognitions Now about that deal And the lies you told And a dream…
The Sixteen - Harry Christophers Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
The W.E.S. Group Kyrie Numba Leven I ain't do no wrong Tryna take me out…
Trio Mediaeval Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have …
University of Michigan Amazin' Blue KΓ½rie, elΓ©ison KΓ½rie, elΓ©ison KΓ½rie, elΓ©ison KΓ½rie The wi…
Various Artists Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie Eleison, Kyrie The Wind Blows Hard Agai…
Vienna Chorus and Symphony Classical Sacred…
W.A. Mozart (J.E. Gardiner) Kyrie Numba Leven I ain't do no wrong Tryna take me out…
W.A.Mozart Karajan Yea, yea, yea Bitch I ball like Kyrie, Irving Hop in the…
We Invented Paris In my own shaped hole I'm sitting here eating dirt In my…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.…
X-Ray Dog I beg you pardon The Faustian bargain Has got me talkin' thi…
Zijlstra Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison Kyrie eleison Li…
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