Jacobus Gallus

Jacobus Gallus, Jacob Handl actually (* July 31, 1550 probably in Ribnica ( Reifnitz ), Carniola, † July 18, 1591 in Prague) was a composer of the Renaissance.

Life

About his life little is known. At about the time from 1564 to 1566, he probably came to Austria. Here he was first in Melk, whose monastery school he attended, worked as a choir boy. His participation in the imperial court orchestra in Vienna can not be proven himself. He traveled through Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia and entered 1580 as Kapellmeister in the service of the Bishop of Olomouc one. From 1586 he was cantor of St. John on the shore in Prague, where he died in 1591 at the age of 40 years.

Jacob Handl composed both spiritual as well as secular works, with a focus on church music. His compositions include masses, motets, passions, and madrigals in Latin ( Moralia ). In his compositions succeeded Gallus Dutch and Venetian influences of the musical tradition of his time to join. His compositional Opus is strongly influenced by the Cori - Spezzati technique. Jacobus Gallus was an extremely prolific composer. But his gigantic masterpiece, the "Opus Musicum ", a collection of motets for the entire church year, includes 374 compositions.

Jacobus Gallus was before the introduction of the euro in Slovenia ( 2007) mapped to a Slovenian bank note.

Works

• Measure " Selectiores qvaedam missae " ( 1580)
• Collection of motets "Opus Musicum " ( Prague 1586-1591 )
• 100 Latin madrigals " Harmoniae morales " ( 1589 ) and " Moralia " ( posthumously 1596)