Johannes de Fossa

Life

Born: ~ 1540

Died: 1603

Biography

While his name is suggestive of Fosses, a small town near Liège, none of the several musicians with the name ‘de Fossa’ in the archives is called Johannes. When he copied a Te Deum by Jean Guyot (1512-1588; choirmaster of St Paul Liège 1546-1554 and of the cathedral 1558-1563) de Fossa claimed to have been his pupil. A Johannes de Fossa is mentioned in a letter from Duke Philibert of Savoy dated 12 January 1557, but the first precise information known about Fossa is that in 1569 he was appointed second Kapellmeister at the Munich court. In 1571 he became master of the choristers and continued in the service of the Dukes of Bavaria until his death. After the death of Orlando di Lasso in 1594 Fossa took responsibility for the chapel music and in 1597 he was given the official title of first Kapellmeister. On his retirement in 1602 he was succeeded by Ferdinand di Lasso, eldest son of Orlando.

Proske noted that in his compositions Fossa was influenced by Lassus, as one might expect, though not lacking a style and charm of his own.

View the Wikipedia article on Johannes de Fossa.

List of choral works

List from Collected Works ed. E. M. Ennulat (Recent Researches in Music of the Renaissance xxviii–xxix, 1978):

• Adjuro vos (SSBB or TTBB bc.)
• Antiphons for Palm Sunday 4vv
  • Hosanna filio David
  • Pueri Hebraeorum portantes
  • Pueri Hebraeorum vestimenta
• Ardo, sì, ma non t'amo
• 2 Litanies de BVM, both 4vv
• Magnificat Vivre ne puis 6vv
• Maria zart von edler Art
• Missa Amor ecco colei 5vv
• Missa Era di Maggio
• Missa Ich segge â dieu 4vv
• Missa Quo puerum ediderat 5vv
• Missa Si du malheur
• Missa Super ripam Jordanis 5vv
• Missus est angelus Gabriel
• Petrus apostolische SATB bc
• Stabat mater 4vv bc
• Veni directe mi SATB & bc
• Vidi aquam (unattributed, but same source as other works) 4vv

 
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External links

• Works by Johannes de Fossa in the Petrucci Music Library (IMSLP)
• blog, viewable by invitation [?]