Enciclopedia Cattolica

WILLAERT, ADRIEN

Volume XII · p. 1045 · 1954

English translation · Testo originale italiano

WILLAERT, ADRIEN. - Compositore, n. nelle Fiandre (a Bruges o Roulers) tra il 1480 e il 1490, ma a Venezia il 7 dic. 1562.
WILLAERT, ADRIEN. - Compositore, n. nelle Fiandre (a Bruges o Roulers) tra il 1480 e il 1490, ma a Venezia il 7 dic. 1562.

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

WILLAERT, ADRIEN. – Composer, born in the Low Countries (at Bruges or Roulers) between 1480 and 1490, but died in Venice on 7 Dec. 1562.

After a brief stay at the court of Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, he is found in 1527 directing the musical chapel of St Mark’s in Venice, where he remained for a full 36 years until his death.

To him belongs that glorious Venetian school of polyphony which was to give to art the rich colorism of harmonic chromaticism, set against the plastic power of the dialogue between the two vocal choirs and the two organs. The practice of the double choir was indeed skillfully applied by him, especially in the Psalms for Vespers to be sung in one or two choirs (Venice 1550); but before these he had published (1536) the Liber quinque missarum with five Masses for four voices, and various collections of motets and hymns also for four voices, which appeared at different times alongside his numerous secular vocal and instrumental works (Ricercari for organ, etc.).

Bibl.: A complete edition of his works, edited by E. Blume, in the series: Chorneck, so far 1 fascicle, 1938. Studies: A. Averkamp, A. W., in Tijdschr. der Vereeniging voor Neêrlandsche Musikgeschiedenis, 1 (1922), pp. 76 ff.; H. Zenck, Studien zur Musikgeschichte, 1 (1922), pp. 76 ff.; H. Zenck, Studien zur Musikgeschichte, 1 (1922); O. Gombosi, A. W., in Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft, 3 (1941), p. 54.