Northern French composer. Perhaps a pupil of Johannes Ockeghem, he spent his life as a singer, moving from post to post in Italy including the court of René of Anjou and the papal chapel before returning to Condé in 1504, where he spent the rest of his life.

 

Josquin succeeded in balancing the complexity of the imitative counterpoint with an inexhaustible melodic talent.

 

He left behind over 60 motets (including Absalon, fili mi), about 18 complete masses (including Missa Pange lingua) and many wonderful secular songs in the chordal “Italian” style (including “El grillo”).

 

The first music printer, Ottaviano Petrucci, dedicated an entire volume to Josquin's works, an honor no other composer of his time had bestowed.

 

His posthumous reputation, witnessed by Martin Luther and others, was the greatest of any composer up to his day, and his works were recognized throughout the 16th century.