Johannes Ciconia
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Johannes Ciconia (circa 1335 or circa 1373 – between June 10 and July 12, 1412) was a late Medieval composer and music theorist. He has possibly been conflated with his father of the same name in some biographical accounts, hence the uncertainty over his date of birth. All the composer's works are believed to date from later than about 1390.
Ciconia was born in Liège. He worked in Avignon in 1350 as a clerk for the wife of the nephew of Pope Clement VI. In 1358 He settled in Italy, working in Padua. During his time in Italy he traveled widely as an adjuct of Cardinal Gil Albornoz, and came into contact with all of the local musical styles; evidently he incorporated what he heard into his music. In 1372 he returned to Liège, where he stayed for an unknown amount of time; he is known to have fathered a family there, although he remained unmarried. By 1401 he was back in Padua, where he remained until his death.
Ciconia's music shows a mingling of styles. Music typical of northern Italy is combined with the French ars nova (and the more complex ars subtilior), and the late Medieval style begins to morph into writing which points towards the Renaissance. He wrote music both secular (French virelais, Italian ballate and madrigals) and sacred (motets, mass movements, some of them isorhythmic), and also penned treatises on music. It is possible that some works have been misattributed to him.
References and further reading
- Richard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978. ISBN 0393090906fi:Johannes Ciconia