Antonius Gosswin
Antonius Gosswin
Genres: 16th century, franco-flemish
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About Antonius Gosswin
Antonius Gosswin (born around 1546 possibly in Liège; died between 2. June 1597 and 28. October 1598) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, organist and conductor of the Renaissance. The name Gosswin was in the 16th. century in the then Netherlands, especially in the Liège region, not uncommon. The then Elector of Saxony confirms Gosswin's Dutch descent in a letter to bass singer Bartholomeus van den Feldt. There is evidence of the composer's marriage in 1566/67. A connection to Orlando di Lasso must have arisen in early years, because he calls him "preferably praeceptor" in his "New German songs", published Nuremberg in 1581. Lasso has worked in the Bavarian court chapel since 1556; music historians expect Gosswin to have acted there as a choir boy. In the ducal court reports, he appears as an old singer in 1558. Although the accounting books there for 1560 to 1567 are incomplete, it is certain that in 1562 an old singer Anthoine made a trip to Frankfurt together with Emperor Maximilian II and his chapel. It is clear from the Munich tax books that an Anthonius Jusswein lived here in 1564, who married a certain Maria Praum at the end of 1566 or the beginning of 1567; the following year 1568 he received Munich's civil rights and became a Kapell member of Prince Wilhelm of Bavaria in 1569. Due to financial problems of the Munich court, he was soon dismissed again, but was again an employee of the chapel in 1570. He received a separate money donation the following year so that he could travel to his homeland. From 1574 he was back in Bavaria and got on the 1st. November of this year a letter from the emperor, who also awarded him a coat of arms. The composer dedicated two masses to the emperor in the same year and received 30 Florin for it. He traveled to Vienna to perform these fairs, where he stayed until the beginning of 1575. Gosswin also received 30 Florin in 1576 and 1582 for the composition of a fair, in addition for various other services 70 Florin in 1594. Orlando di Lasso has requested a letter of recommendation from Prince Wilhelm for the composer; with this (from the 17th July 1576), Gosswin traveled to the Reichstag in Regensburg. When he returned to Munich, he became an organist at the church of St. Peter called. There is also evidence of 1577 for the reimbursement of the maintenance costs for the choir boys subordinated to him. When Duke Albrecht on the 24th October 1579 died, there was a reduction in the staff of the farm and Antonius Gosswin was dismissed. Shortly afterwards, he became a member of the chapel of Prince Ernst, Bishop of Freising, a son of Duke Albrecht. Orlando di Lasso confirmed in a letter dated 13. February 1580 to Prince Wilhelm that this job should be valid for Gosswin's lifetime. At the beginning of 1580, the composer moved with his wife to Freising. A little later, towards the end of 1580, his employer was appointed bishop of Liège and solemnly took office on the 30th. January 1581. Whether Antonius Gosswin followed him to Liège has not been handed down. After a few years in Liège, the bishop resided on the 29th. January 1584 moved to Bonn after he had received a pledge in the diocese of Cologne. There is evidence that half of Gosswin's salary was paid to his wife still living in Freising. Gosswin was on the 14th. July 1594 again at the Reichstag in Regensburg and headed the chapel of Prince Ernst there. In the Journal of the Fuggers from the 10th June 1595 the composer is mentioned; it is also clear from the Liège accounting books that on the 2nd June 1597 was still alive. According to these books, Gosswin died between the latter date and the 28th. October 1598; there is no statement about his place of death, so Freising, Liège or Bonn are eligible. According to his contemporaries, Gosswin was not only an excellent musician whose masses were often performed in the Munich Hofkapelle, but he was also famous for his singing, in which he decorated the melodies with ornaments. In addition, he was known for his special erudition. His compositions are deeply influenced by the works of Orlando di Lasso. Almost all measuring compositions are parody masses over Lasso pieces. Gosswin's collection "New German Songs" was sometimes even regarded as simplified adaptations of the "New German songs with five voices" (1567), but the German music researcher Helmut Osthoff explained in 1938 that there is a special application of the parody process here, which allows enough space for his own adaptations. In small instrumentations, Gosswin shows his ability to compose elegant miniatures; but he also mastered larger forms, as his six-part motet "Ad te levavi" proves. Here he used a similar-accordic style with syllabic declamation.
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