Johannes Lupi - Style and Influence

Style and Influence

All of his surviving music is a cappella vocal. Only two masses survive, but he wrote numerous motets and chansons; the motets were collected and printed in 1542 by Pierre Attaingnant.

Stylistically his music was related to that of Nicolas Gombert, and showed the typical tendencies of the generation after Josquin with its densely textured polyphony and rich imitation, but Lupi remained extraordinarily sensitive to text-setting, being able to present clearly understandable words even in eight-part counterpoint. His chansons are particularly notable for their wide range of subject matter, from the serious to the bawdy.

Lupi is sometimes confused with several other musicians of the 16th century. Johannes Lupi was the name of two other obscure figures, neither of whom was a composer. One was active at Nivelles, the other at Antwerp, both in the first half of the century. In addition, there was a composer named Lupus, often referred to by contemporary musicologists as the "Italian Lupus", whose works survive in the Medici Codex; another composer named Lupus Hellinck, who may be the same as the "Italian Lupus"; and an entire family of musicians named Lupo. Of this family, only Ambrose Lupo, of Milan, was active in the early 16th century. Yet another Lupi, Didier Lupi Second, worked in Lyons around the middle of the century.