CIPRIANO DE RORE

Cipriano de Rore

Cipriano de Rore was known to his contemporaries as the “Omnium musicorum princeps” (Prince of all Musicians) and ”El Divino”, sobriquets given primarily in recognition of his mastery of the madrigal. In addition to being a gifted contrapuntalist, influenced by Willaert, De Rore was most of all an innovator who ...
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Mentioned in the biography of

1550   Giaches de Wert

Biography Cipriano de Rore

Cipriano de Rore was known to his contemporaries as the “Omnium musicorum princeps” (Prince of all Musicians) and ”El Divino”, sobriquets given primarily in recognition of his mastery of the madrigal. In addition to being a gifted contrapuntalist, influenced by Willaert, De Rore was most of all an innovator who placed a premium on expressively conveying the text. With ingenious innovations such as chromaticism, he raised the madrigal to a more highly regarded form. De Rore, a fourth-generation Flemish polyphonist, is considered one of the most influential composers of his time and an early representative of the stile moderno. He wrote 5 masses, 53 motets, madrigale spirituale (among which the collection Le Vergine), psalm settings, a St John Passion (attributed to him), 2 Magnificat settings, ca. 107 mostly five-part madrigals, chansons, ricercares, and fantasias.

1515

Cipriano de Rore is born on Ronse, a town west of Brussels. Nothing is know of his education.

1540 - 1545

De Rore stays mostly in Venice. He is referred to as a student of Adriaan Willaert's, but it is unclear whether this is accurate. He is, in any case, Willaert's successor and confidante.

1542 - 1545

De Rore stays in Brescia. His muisic appears in print for the first time with the revolutionary Madrigali a cinque voci (1542)

1546 - 1557

De Rore is maestro di cappella at the court of Ercole II d'Este in Ferrara. His masses of this period show the influence of Josquin Desprez, who was also maestro di cappella in Ferrara. The Flemish composer Giaches de Wert studies with De Rore.

Giaches de Wert

1558 - 1562

De Rore travels twice to Flanders for family reasons. On returning to Ferrara, he is not reappointed. In 1560 he enters the service of Margareth of Parma in Brussels and her husband Ottavio Farnese in Parma.

1563 - 1564

De Rore is appointed maestro di cappella at St Mark's Basilica in Venice as Willaert's successor. At his own request he is relieved of this position shortly later and again enters the service of Ottavio Farnese in Parma.

1565

Between September 11 and 20, De Rore dies in Parma.

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