Magister Franciscus (fl. 1370–80) was a French composer-poet in the ars nova style of late medieval music. He is known for two surviving works, the three-part ballades: De Narcissus and Phiton, Phiton, beste tres venimeuse; the former was widely distributed in his lifetime.[1] Modern scholarship disagrees on whether Franciscus was the same person as the composer F. Andrieu.

Identity career

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Franciscus may be the same person as the F. Andrieu who wrote Armes, amours/O flour des flours, a déploration on the death of poet-composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377).[2] Although, the scholarly consensus on this identification is unclear.[n 1] He may also be Franciscus de Goano or Johannes Franchois.[1] Machaut was the most dominant and important composer of the 14th century,[3] and Franciscus's works show many similarities to his, suggesting the two were contemporaries.[1]

Music

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Only two of his works survive, the three-part ballades: De Narcissus and Phiton, Phiton, beste tres venimeuse.[1] They are both contained in the Chantilly Codex.[4] Reaney notes that Magister Franciscus's works are likely earlier than Andrieu's, between 1370 and 1376.[5]

Works

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List of compositions by Magister Franciscus[2][1]
Title No. of voices Genre Manuscript source: Folios Apel Greene
De Narcissus 3 Ballade Chantilly Codex: 19v A 26 G Vol 18: 16
Phiton, Phiton, beste tres venimeuse 3 Ballade Chantilly Codex: 20v A 27 G Vol 18: 18
No other works by Magister Franciscus survive[n 2]

Editions

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Franciscus's works are included in the following collections:

  • Apel, Willi, ed. (1970–72). French Secular Compositions of the Fourteenth Century. Corpus mensurabilis musicae. Vol. 53. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Institute of Musicology. ISBN 9780910956291. OCLC 311424615.
  • Greene, Gordon K., ed. (1982). Manuscript Chantilly, Musée Condé 564 Part 1, nos. 1–50. Polyphonic Music of the Fourteenth Century. Vol. 18. Monaco: Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre. OCLC 181660103.

Recordings

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Recordings of music by Magister Franciscus[6]
Year Album Performers Piece Label
1950 or before Monuments of the Ars Nova, vol. 102 Various De Narcissus Oiseau-Lyre OL 102
1973 The Late 14th Century Avant Garde Early Music Consort of London Phiton, Phiton, beste tres venimeuse EMI/HMV ASD 3621

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Scholars identify F. Andrieu as Magister Franciscus with varying degrees of certainty:
    • Reaney 2001: Their works being from the same manuscript "suggest that the two composers may be the same person".
    • Abraham & Hughes 1960, p. 27: "Franciscus is doubtless the same man as the F. Andrieu..."
    • Reaney 1954, p. 67: "It would not be impossible for Magister Franciscus and F. Andrieu to be one and the same person"
    • Günther 2001: "[Magister Franciscus] may be the F. Andrieu..."
    • Strohm 2005, p. 53: "[F. Andrieu] may be the same man as Magister Franciscus"
    • Magnan 1993, p. 49: "[On the identification between Andrieu and Franciscus] this tenuous identification leads nowhere."
  2. ^ If Magister Franciscus is identifiable with F. Andrieu, then Andrieu's compositions would be his as well.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e Günther 2001.
  2. ^ a b Reaney 2001.
  3. ^ Reese 1940, p. 359.
  4. ^ Abraham & Hughes 1960, p. 27.
  5. ^ Reaney 1954, p. 67.
  6. ^ "Recordings of works by Magister Franciscus". lib.latrobe.edu.au. La Trobe University. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

Sources

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Books
Journals and articles
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