Jacob Clemens Non Papa - Works and Influence

Works and Influence

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Clemens seems never to have traveled to Italy, with the result that Italian influence is absent in his music. He represents the northern European dialect of the Franco-Flemish style.

Clemens was one of the chief representatives of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina and Orlandus Lassus. He was primarily a composer of sacred music. In fact, his musical output was roughly 80 percent sacred music, either liturgical or for private use. Of his approximately 233 motets, only three contain secular texts, in the form of hymns of praise of music. However, he did compose just above 100 secular works that encompass the whole gamut of poetic genres that were used by composers in his generation. Considering that his career as a composer lasted for barely two decades, Clemens was an extremely prolific composer, writing:

• 15 masses, including 14 parody masses and a requiem mass (most of which were published 1555-70 by Pierre Phalèse the Elder in Leuven); two mass sections (a Kyrie and a Credo)
• 15 Magnificats
• c. 233 motets
• Just over 100 secular pieces, including: 89 chansons (only 77 of which are considered authentic and are included in the complete edition of his works), 8 Dutch songs, 8 textless pieces, 2 intabulated chansons, and 1 instrumental canon (doubtful)
• 159 Souterliedekens, i.e. Dutch settings of the psalms, using popular song melodies as cantus firmus.

Of all these works, the Souterliedekens were perhaps the most widely known and influential. The Souterliedekens were published in 1556-7 by Tielman Susato in his Musyck Boexken ("Music Books"), IV-VII and comprised the only Protestant part-music in Dutch during the Renaissance. Based on a preceding volume of Souterliedekens printed by Symon Cock that contained monophonic settings of the psalms in Dutch, Clemens's Souterliedekens became the first complete polyphonic settings of all 150 psalms in Dutch. Presumably, the original verse translation of the Psalter into the Dutch language was completed by Willem van Nievelt from Wittenberg. Clemens's part-settings are generally simple, and designed to be sung by people at home. They use the well-known secular tunes that were printed in the Cock edition, including drinking songs, love songs, ballads, and other popular songs of the time, as a cantus firmus. Most of them were set for 3 parts, and there are 26 different combinations of these voices. Some of the Souterliedekens are based on dance-songs and are frankly homophonic and homorhythmic, while others use imitation. It is notable that these pieces of music survived the ban in 1569 when the government under the Duke of Alba censured all books that were deemed heretical.

After his death, his works were distributed to Germany, France, Spain, and even among various circles in England. The influence of Clemens was especially prominent in Germany. Franco-Flemish composer Lassus in particular knew his music well and incorporated elements of his style.