Marbrianus de Orto (Dujardin; also Marbriano, Marbrianus; – January or February 1529) was a
Dutch composer of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
(
Franco-Flemish school
The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition originating from Franc ...
). He was a contemporary, close associate, and possible friend of
Josquin des Prez
Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...
, and was one of the first composers to write a completely
canonic setting of the
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Catholic liturgy, Catholic liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass (liturgy), Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted with the ' ...
.
Life
The illegitimate child of a priest, Orto was probably born in
Tournai
Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
, and spent the early part of his life there. While his original surname was Dujardin, he used "de Orto" (the Italian translation of Dujardin) throughout his life. In June 1482, in the household of
Ferry de Clugny, Cardinal-
Bishop of Tournai (who died 7 October 1483), he went to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he became a singer in the papal chapel; he may have become an accomplished composer around this time, since his ''Missa ad fugam'' seems to have been written in response to the similar composition by Josquin des Prez, tentatively dated to the early 1480s, and Orto's
mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
was copied for the Capella Sistina between 1487 and 1490.

While he served in the
Sistine Chapel Choir
The Sistine Chapel Choir, as it is generally called in English, or officially the Coro della Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina in Italian, is the Pope's personal choir. It performs at papal functions in the Sistine Chapel and in any other chur ...
until at least 1499, during the papacies of
Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...
and
Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...
, he began to acquire other posts and benefices. He was particularly popular with Innocent, who awarded him benefices and allowed him to rise in the hierarchy in spite of his illegitimacy. During this time he and Josquin worked closely together, even seeking similar positions at
Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river.
A sub-pref ...
in their mutual homeland. One of the things he may have done in collaboration with Josquin was a revision of a cycle of hymns by
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Du Fay ( , ; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August 1397 – 27 November 1474) was a composer and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered the leading European composer of h ...
, composed around 1430, which had fallen out of use. At some time in the early 1490s Orto acquired the post of dean at the
Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude of Nivelles, present-day
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
; he was to remain closely associated with this institution for the rest of his life. It is not known exactly when he moved there, but he left Nivelles in late 1504 in order to join the choir of
Philip the Handsome
Philip the Handsome (22 June/July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the first Habsburg King of Castile (as Philip I) for a brief ...
, ''la Grande Chapelle'', a distinguished musical body which included
Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de la Rue ( – 20 November 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vic ...
, and which went to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in 1506.
[Picker, Grove online]
Orto joined the choir at a very high level, becoming ''premier chapelain'' in short order—by 30 November 1505—indicating the high level of respect as both composer and singer he had attained.
[Meconi, p. 74] After Philip's death in September 1506 the choir was kept on by
Juana of Castile
Joanna of Castile (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile ...
, "Juana the Mad", and Orto was one of the singers who left shortly after, between October and December 1506, leaving the duties of ''premier chapelain'' to
Pierre de La Rue
Pierre de la Rue ( – 20 November 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. His name also appears as Piersson or variants of Pierchon and his toponymic, when present, as various forms of de Platea, de Robore, or de Vic ...
. During this time and for the next three years Juana traveled with her singers, each night singing a requiem to her husband's corpse which went with them in its coffin, in a bizarre journey through
Castile until Juana's father Ferdinand finally imprisoned her in the fortress at
Tordesillas
Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 8,760 .
The town is located on ...
.
Back in the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
, Orto remained in the employ of the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
, from at least 1509 until 1517, during which time he shared the duties of ''premier chapelain'' with
Anthoine de Berghes. Sometime during this period he was likely the teacher of
Arnold von Bruck, who was a choirboy. No certain documentation of Orto's activities during 1507 and 1508 is known.
In the later years of his life he acquired additional posts, as canon both at the
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
Church of Our Lady and at
Ste Gudule in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, and a record from 1518 lists him as the "first chaplain" in the
Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca) of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
. He possibly died of the plague which swept through Nivelles in 1529, and was buried in the church of Ste Gertrude, where he worked for the longest time. His tomb in the choir had an inscription which remained legible until the church was destroyed by the Germans on 14 May 1940, during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Music and influence
Marbrianus de Orto was a moderately prolific composer of masses,
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...
s,
lamentations, and
chanson
A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
s, many of which have survived. He was famous enough that
Ottaviano Petrucci published a book of his masses in 1505—one of his earliest publications, and one of the earliest collections of printed music. De Orto's book of masses followed after those by Josquin,
,
Antoine Brumel
Antoine Brumel (c. 1460 – 1512 or 1513) was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish School, Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance music, Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of t ...
,
Johannes Ghiselin, Pierre de La Rue, and
Alexander Agricola.
[Fallows, Grove online]
Petrucci published five of de Orto's masses in this collection. All are
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect trea ...
masses, and include a ''
Missa L'homme armé'', based on the
famous tune, probably composed in the early to mid 1480s.
Among his masses is the unusual ''Missa
d fugam', one of only a handful of freely composed
canonic masses from the period, including
Johannes Ockeghem
Johannes Ockeghem ( – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was a significant European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colle ...
's ''
Missa prolationum'', based entirely on
mensuration canons. De Orto's ''Missa
d fugam' may be related another canonic mass in a Vatican manuscript, later named "
Missa ad fugam" and attributed to Josquin by Petrucci. Both masses use strict canon at the fifth between ''superius'' and ''tenor,'' as well as a
head motive in most movements.
The same title was used to describe the canonic "Missa Sine nomine" in a later print by Antico.
De Orto's motets also usually use cantus firmus technique. The ''Salve regis mater sanctissima'', though anonymous in its only surviving source, is probably by de Orto and was composed for the accession of
Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...
in 1492.
Some of the
chanson
A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...
s are akin to the typical French style of the early 16th century—quick, light, and imitative; others are more in line with the
Burgundian style of the ''
formes fixes
The ''formes fixes'' (; singular: ''forme fixe'', "fixed form") are the three 14th- and 15th-century French poetic forms: the '' ballade'', '' rondeau'', and '' virelai''. Each was also a musical form, generally a ''chanson'', and all consisted ...
.'' De Orto also wrote an early setting of
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...
's lament, ''Dulces exuviae'', from the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
'' (iv.651–4), containing extensive
chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
writing.
Notes
References and further reading
*
*
*
Sherr, Richard, ed. ''The Josquin Companion''. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000. .
* Meconi, Honey. ''Pierre de la Rue and Musical Life at the Habsburg-Burgundian Court''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
* Rodin, Jesse. "Josquin and the Polyphonic Mass in the Sistine Chapel." PhD diss., Harvard Univ., 2007.
* Davison, Nigel St. J. "Mabriano de Orto, Latin Compositions I Missa Ad Fugam Antico Edition RCM43"
* Davison, Nigel St. J. "Mabriano de Orto, Latin Compositions II Missa DominicalisAntico Edition RCM44"
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orto, Marbrianus De
1460s births
1529 deaths
15th-century Franco-Flemish composers
Musicians from Tournai
Renaissance composers
16th-century Franco-Flemish composers