Josquin des Prez

“ On the death of Sixtus IV. he betook himself to the court of Hercules d'Est, duke of Ferrara. Under the patronage of this nobleman he wrote his mass "Hercules dux Ferrariae" and his Miserere. In spite of the magnificence of the court of Ferrara and the opportunity of a permanent settlement, Josquin remained only a short time, and departed into France, where he at once obtained the favor of Louis XII. and became his premier chanteur. ”

“ In his early youth Josquin seems to have been a member of the choir of the collegiate church at St Quentin; when his voice changed he went (about 1455) to Ockenheim to take lessons in counterpoint; afterwards he again lived at his birthplace for some years, till Pope Sixtus IV. invited him to Rome to teach his art to the musicians of Italy, where musical knowledge at that time was at a low ebb. In Rome Des Prés lived till the death of his protector (1484) , and it was there that many of his works were written. ”

“ The number and importance of his commentators and editors are glowing tributes to the importance of the man himself. With the exception of Lassus, no other Netherland master enjoyed such fame, either during life or after death. He is called ‘Jodocus’ in affection, and described as ‘at once learned and pleasing, everywhere graceful, the universal favorite of the age, welcomed everywhere, ruling without a rival.’ Luther mentions the ‘Jodocus’ as one of his favorite composers, saying that others were mastered by notes, while Josquin did what he pleased with them. ”

“ That the style we have described was the result of a reaction, neither unhealthy in its nature, nor revolutionary in its tendency, though not altogether free from violence, there can be no doubt. Singers were growing weary of the conundrums which had so long been offered to them as substitutes for the truer Music which alone can reach the heart. In the hands of Josquin, these puzzles had never lacked the impress of true genius. In those of his imitators, they were as dry as dust. ”

“ Among the successors of Josquin, there were many cold imitators of his mechanism, who, as we have already shown, were totally unable to comprehend the true greatness of his style. By these soulless pedants—more numerous, by far, than their more earnest contemporaries—the Music of the Mass was degraded into a mere learned conundrum; enlivened, constantly, by the introduction, not only of sæcular subjects, but of profane words also. Other practices, equally vicious and equally irreverent, were gradually bringing even the primary intention of Religious Art into disrepute. ”

“ The earlier decads of the 16th century did, indeed, produce many writers, who slavishly imitated the ingenuity of Josquin, in utter ignorance of the real secret of his strength; but the best Masters of the time, finding it impossible to compete with him upon his own ground, struck out an entirely new manner, the chief characteristic of which was, extreme simplicity of intention, combined with a greater purity of Harmony than had yet been attempted, and a freedom of melody which lent a fresh charm, both to the Ecclesiastical and the Sæcular Music of the period. ”

“ It is the presence of this desire, joined with improved symmetry of form, and increased freedom of development, which distinguishes The Third Flemish School, of which Josquin was the life and soul, from its ruder predecessors. This was the first School in which any serious attempt was made to use learning as a means of producing harmonious effect; and it was rich in Masters, who, however great their inferiority to their unapproachable leader, caught not a little of his fire. ”

“ At that time the contrapuntal music, of which Josquin was such a brilliant star, flourished above all in the Netherlands. Adam of Fulda, himself a disciple of the Dutch teachers, ultimately became their rival. ”

“ They are arrangements for the Virginals—the fashionable keyed instrument of the day—exactly analogous to the arrangements for the Pianoforte of our own times; and it is startling to find that the sacred choral music of that day was the favourite music, and that the learned contrapuntal 5- and 6-part motets of Tallis, Edwardes, Farrant, Taverner, Byrde, Crequillon, Josquin, Orlando Lasso, and others, were compressed for the amusement of musical amateurs just as oratorios, operas, and operettas are now. ”

“ Even in the imparting of religious instruction, the spiritual is so tainted with materialism, and its concomitants of fear and limitation, that the preponderance of faith is always on the material side. Josè had believed that as he had grown older in years he had lost faith. Far from it! The quantity of his faith remained fixed; but the quality had changed, through education, from faith in good to faith in evil. And though trained as a priest of God, in reality he had been taught wholly to distrust spiritual power. ”

“ These intercessions Joshua put up to God, as he lay prostrate on his face: whereupon God answered him, That he should rise up, and purify his host from the pollution that had got into it; that "things consecrated to me have been impudently stolen from me," and that "this has been the occasion why this defeat had happened to them;" and that when they should search out and punish the offender, he would ever take care they should have the victory over their enemies. This Joshua told the people; and calling for Eleazar the high priest, and the men in authority, he cast lots, tribe by tribe ”

“ Josè began, “when the good man whom we call the Saviour sent his disciples out into the world he told them to preach the gospel and heal the sick. We have no record that he asked them to do more, for that included his whole mission. I am here to do his work. And, as I believe myself to have been led to you, so I shall preach what I believe to be given me by the great Father of us all. I shall teach you the Christ as I comprehend him. I would I could heal the sick as well. But the gift of healing which Jesus bestowed has been lost to mankind.” ”

“ Josè rose and paced up and down through the dark aisle.
“I try to think,” he answered, “that He is mind; that He is infinite, everywhere; that He is all-powerful; that He knows all things; and that He is perfect and good. I try not to think that He made evil, or anything that is or could be bad, or that could become sick, or decay, or die. Whatever He made must be real, and real things last forever, are immortal, eternal. I strive to think He did make man in His image and likeness––and that man has never been anything else––that man never ‘fell.’”
“What is that, Padre?” ”

“ Joscelyn laughed. “Well, pass sentence upon me, most wise judge, if you think I was not born that way and that the sin is intentional. Am I to hang for it, or will you be merciful and make it a prison offence?”
“Oh, you’ll get the hanging soon enough if you go on wearing that red bodice and stringing pictures of King George on your balcony!”
“So mother says. And hanging is not a becoming way to die; one has no opportunity to say that ‘prunes, prisms, and preserves’ sentence that leaves the mouth in such a charming pucker. ”

“ That is what makes me say religion is a picked-up habit with men and politics is their nature. With a woman it’s the other way; so I laugh at Joscelyn’s politics, and kiss her bonny face and love her all the time.”
“That is more than I can do. If it were not for her mother, I should forbid my daughter to have aught to do with her,” said Amanda Bryce, sniffily, as Joscelyn passed the gate with Betty Clevering and Janet Cameron, and called up a pleasant “good afternoon” to the elder women. ”

“ He knew not why he pursued her so relentlessly.
“No, Padre,” she replied with a gentle patience that smote him. “No, Padre. But it can be destroyed in the human mind. And when you have overcome the habit of thinking the wrong way, evil will disappear. That is the whole thing. That is what Jesus tried to make the people see.”
But Josè knew it. Yet he had not put it to the proof. He had gone through life, worrying himself loose from one human belief, only to become enslaved to another equally insidious. He knew that the cause of whatever came to him was within his own mentality. ”

“ So he finished; and thus did Joscelyn stand before them at last in her true colours.
Then with the heat of his anger still upon him, and not waiting for Betty, Richard got his hat and quitted the house. After that scene, the air of the room stifled him. He could not be sorry for what he had done, but he must go straight to Joscelyn and tell her himself, and make what peace with her he might. He could better afford to bear her anger than to hear her maligned by [Pg 335] those who would be utterly incapable of her courage or her sacrifice. ”

“ After an involuntary pause for a few moments, owing to the deep emotion in the congregation, poor Josey was led forward. Minister and congregation seemed to make but slight impression upon him; Henry Ferguson was the charm throughout; he even turned his head, while the minister's hand was on it, to smile at the child. The promise was not only to those believing parents, all of them, and to their own children, but to him that was afar off; his new parents having availed themselves of the large covenant of grace, to invoke its promised blessings upon him, on the ground of their faith. ”

“ All this stir and preparation passed not unnoticed of an old man, his predecessor’s coeval, and prime minister of the household; a person thin, religious, and faithful, whose gifts in prayer were reckoned by some old people nearly equal to those of the anointed pastor. To such a distinction Josiah never thought of aspiring; he contented himself with swelling the psalm into something like melody on Sunday; visiting the sick as a forerunner of his master’s approach, and pouring forth prayers and graces at burials and banquetings, as long and dreary as a hill sermon. ”

“ Father Jocelyn was utterly uncompromising where duty called, yet I have seldom known a man of more tender sympathies, of quicker, almost womanly sensibility to sorrow or suffering. Nor are all such men, as is often imagined, so intent on pushing forward their great reforms as to overlook the rights of others. Father Jocelyn was most scrupulous in regard to the minutest claims of all men, even of his opponents. Nor are all such seemingly rash and headlong men lacking in caution. Father Jocelyn was the most cautious man I ever knew. ”

“ Betty cowered behind like a frightened child.
“No one is here save my daughter and myself; to search the house were wasted time.” And in her heart, Joscelyn thanked Heaven she could speak thus truly; but the soldier said brusquely:—
“We have judged the matter differently; lead the way, and see to it that you open every door. We will put up with no deception.”
As they passed into the house, Joscelyn’s voice from over the way cried out shrilly, “Neglect not to search the closet by the attic chimney; ’tis just of a size to hold a man, and perchance contains him whom you seek.” ”

“ Joscelyn cried, leaning heavily on her chair.
“The spy? What do you mean—what is the matter that you are so pale?” The solicitude in his voice was not unmixed with a curious surprise. Then when she hesitated over her answer, he said; coming quite close to her, “Why are you so interested in this spy?”
Then in a moment she was herself again. [Pg 281] “They say it was he who saved my life on the commons; should I be true to my womanhood if I dismissed him from my thoughts? I tell you frankly I wish him well.” ”

“ Josè often trembled for the child when he thought of the probable reception that awaited her in the world without, in 213 case she ever left Simití. Would her supreme confidence in good ever be weakened by an opposite belief in evil? Would her glorious faith ever be neutralized or counterbalanced by faith in a power opposed to God? He wondered. And sometimes in the fits of abstraction resulting from these thoughts, the girl would steal up to him and softly whisper, “Why, Padre, are you trying to make two and two equal seven?” ”

“ He fell, just as half a dozen soldiers rushed in, arms in hand; they met with no resistance from the wounded man, whom they closely bound, and, after some time, allowed the priest to dress his wound; but in spite of all his remarks on the danger of moving a man so severely wounded, they placed him on a cart.
"Basta," said they, "he can but die. He is the great robber, Don Josè della Ribera." Josè thanked the good priest, by a motion of his head, then asked for a glass of water, and as the priest stooped to put it to his lips, he faintly said, "You remember." ”

“ Men forgot the martial pageant to look at her; and when at the home pier of the river bridge the staff paused, the salutes from the passing soldiers were as much for her as for the general beside her. There the parting came, the officers falling in at the rear of the troops when the last company had passed over. As Eustace passed Joscelyn, he lifted the lapel of his coat, on which was a purple aster,—the like of which grew nowhere save in Betty’s dormer window,—and said with a happy smile:—
“Your plan worked well, sweet Joscelyn. Ten minutes of heaven compensate a man for hours of purgatory. ”

“ Josè was startled. But he put his arm about the child and drew her to him. “Chiquita, why do you say that?” he asked sorrowfully.
“Because God doesn’t die, you know,” she quickly replied. “And we are like Him, Padre, aren’t we?”
“But He calls us to Him, chiquita. And––I guess––He is––is calling your padre Rosendo now.”
Does God kill mankind in order to give them life? Is that His way? Death denies God, eternal Life. And––
“Why, no, Padre,” returned the innocent child. “He is always here; and we are always with Him, you know. He can not call people away from where He is, can He?” ”