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The designationFranco-Flemish School,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] also calledNetherlandish School,Burgundian School,Low Countries School,Flemish School,Dutch School, orNorthern School, refers to the style ofpolyphonicvocal music composition originating fromFrance and from theBurgundian Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as to the composers who wrote it. The spread of their technique, especially after the revolutionary development ofprinting, produced the first true international style since the unification ofGregorian chant in the 9th century. Franco-Flemish composers mainly wrotesacred music, primarilymasses,motets, andhymns.
Several generations ofRenaissance composers from the region loosely known as theLow Countries (Imperial and French fiefs ruled in personal union by the House of Valois-Burgundy in the period from 1384 to 1482)—i.e. present-dayNorthern France,Belgium and the SouthernNetherlands—are grouped under "Franco-Flemish School", though a teacher-student-relationship between them rarely existed. Most of these musicians were born in the thriving Burgundian provinces ofArtois,Flanders,Brabant,Hainaut, orLimburg. Others were born in Northern and Southern France, likeGuillaume Faugues, Simone de Bonefont andAntoine Brumel who was one of the most influential composers of his generation. During periods of political and economic stability, the courts of theBurgundian dukes were a centre of cultural activity in Europe.
Franco-Flemish composers had their origins in ecclesiastical choir schools such as at the cathedrals and collegiate churches ofSaint-Quentin,Arras,Valenciennes,Douai,Bourges,Liège,Tournai,Cambrai,Mons,Antwerp,Bruges, andGhent, although they were famous for working elsewhere. Numerous musicians established themselves inFrench court or moved to the European courts inItaly where they were called "I fiamminghi" orOltremontani ("those from over the Alps") andSpain—notably in theFlemish chapel (capilla flamenca) of theHabsburgs, or to towns inGermany, and other parts of Europe—Poland, the Czech lands, Austria, Hungary, England, Sweden, Denmark, Saxony—carrying their styles with them. The exact centres shifted during this time, and by the end of the sixteenth century the focal point of the Western musical world had moved from the Low Countries to Italy.
The expression "Franco-Flemish" (as well as the more biased term "Dutch school") are still the subject of some controversy among musicologists. They were not in use at that time and seem to cover only part of the linguistic, political, territorial and historical reality.
Following are five groups, or generations, that are sometimes distinguished in the Franco-Flemish/Netherlandish school. Development of this musical style was continuous, and these generations only provide useful reference points.
Composed between 1450 and 1520, thesemotets were typically written for four voices, with all voices being equal. They often exhibit thick, dark textures, with an extended low range. The most notable composers of this style includeOckeghem andJosquin, whoseDe profundis clamavi ad te, composed between 1500 and 1521, provides a good example.
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