Theodoricus Gerarde
Theodoricus Gerarde
Genres: 16th century, franco-flemish
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About Theodoricus Gerarde
Derick Gerard (e) (John Theodoricus Gerarde) (Dyricke Gerarde) (active about 1540 to about 1580) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, who apparently worked in England. Neither the dates of birth nor death are known from Dyricke Gerarde, and his place of action is only partially likely to be secured. Most of his work is in six voice books owned by Lord John Lumley (1534–1609), who resided at the Nonsuch Palace in Surrey; therefore, music historical research concluded that the composer in his service or in the service of his father-in-law Henry FitzAlan, the 12th century. Earl of Arundel (around 1511-1579/80). This assumption cannot be proven because the Nonsuch Palace was destroyed in the 1680s and thus all relevant documents were lost. After all, there are two clues left: one is the text of his motet "Murus Æneus", which corresponds to the family motto of the Lumleys, the other is one of Gerarde's assistant, a certain Morel, at the same time a servant in the Arundel household, who has annotated two chanson collections of the non-such library. The inventory of the well-known non-search library from 1596 also mentions a "Rolle of Cannons of Dethick Gerrarde", which is completely missing. The composer's name indicates a Flemish descent; the musical style of his works with his resemblance to Johannes Lupi or Orlando di Lasso is typical of Franco-Flemish music, although there are also signs that he used the name as a pseudonym as a wealthy music lover, perhaps also to conceal other aspects of his estate or denomination. The six voice books mentioned represent an unusually extensive collection of manuscripts from before 1600; none of this has appeared in contemporary prints. After Gerarde also collected compositions from other masters, the voice books also contain unique pieces by composers such as Nicolas Gombert, Thomas Crécquillon, Jacobus Clemens non Papa, Haveriq, DeWismes, Truie, Paon, Latfeur and Morel. Some of the more unknown composers mentioned have only become known through Gerarde's manuscripts. The six voice books with works by Dyricke Gerarde have the rare characteristic that they show the chronological development of the composer. In the early works, there is a continuously flowing counterpoint with long melismatic lines. Later, the melisms become less and shorter and serve more for decoration; the tendency grows from modal to tonal style, cadenzas become more frequent and polyphony is dominated by harmony. Dissonances and the frequency of ornamentation are also reduced. Particularly typical of his works is the highlighted use of the expressly noted tritonus in the melody and occasionally successive harmonies at the tritonus distance. The composer also shows a preference for odd meters, especially those with five or seven units, such as in the play "Domine clamavi ad te"; the piece "Ego autem cantabo" shows a structure of eleven units. Many texts of his works come from pieces by other composers, but the melodies have no similarities to those of the text template. Many works in Gerarde's voice books are available in several versions, the previous ones containing all the redemptions, deletions and changes that lead to the last version; they allow an insight into the working methods of a composer of the 16th century. Century. In addition, they show the musical change of style underway with its reduction of ornaments and the degree of dissonances, the replacement of melismatics with syllabics, precise text underlay and the consistent setting of omens. Dyricke Gerarde's manuscripts show essential details of how a composer of that time selected material, studied styles, tried to use techniques, experimented and rejected, collected and revised. Overall, his voice books document the works of a capable, sensitive and self-critical composer and his path from the dense, imitating techniques of the generation of Nicholas Gombert to the more text-oriented style of Orlando di Lasso.
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