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Adrian Willaert Biography

Adrian Willaert was a famous, Flemish composer of the

Renaissance period. Read on to know more about his profile,

childhood, life and timeline.

Quick Facts

Famous as Music Composer, Teacher, Founder of the

Venetian school

National ity Belgian

Born on 29 January 1904 AD

Zodiac Sign Aquarius

Born in Bruges

Died on 07 December 1562 AD

Place of

deathVenice

Married No

Founder/Co-

Founder Venetian School

Works &

Achievements

Composed “Mentre che’l cor” which is a motet,

was the founder of the Venetian school at San

Marco.



Adrian Willaert was a famous Flemish composer who was

known for his polyphonic Franco-Flemish style. One of the most

influential composers of the Renaissance period, Adrian Wi llaert

was versatile and wrote all types of music in various extantforms. Because of his endearing qualities and talent in musical

compositions, he was appointed as the ‘‘maestro di Capella’ ’ at

St. Mark’s and became one of the most influential musicians in

Europe, during the time of ‘Palestrina’. His motets, chansons,

madrigals and sacred music were well known and because of

his inventive styles and penchant for novelty, he was

considered a madrigal composer of the first rank. Willaert wasalso the pioneer of the antiphonal style of music. This style was

adopted by several music composers and later, the polychoral

style evolved from this antiphonal form. Apart from writing

madrigals and chansons, Willaert was also renowned for his

sacred music and psalms. Apart from his compositions, Willaert

was also a notable teacher.

Childhood & Early Life

Very little information is available about the first two

decades of Willaert’s life and there are no records to

reveal what he did before he started composing.

According to Willaer t’s student Gioseffo Zar lino who was a

famous music theorist, Willaert went to Paris to study law,

but studied music instead.

In Paris, he met his tutor Jean Mouton, the principal

composer of the Royal chapel in France.



It is also said that Josquin des Prez also studied with

Adrian Willaert.

Career

Around 1515, Willaert,made his first trip to Rome, and was

taken aback when he heard one of the papal choirs at

Rome singing one of his compositions. Probably thecomposition was the six-part motet ‘Verbum bonum et

suave’.

The choir members were also greatly surprised when they

came to know that, the song they were singing was not

composed by Josquin des Prez, but in fact, Adrian Willaert

was the composer of that song.

In July 1515, Willaert entered the service of Cardinal

‘Ippolito d’Este’ of Ferrara and travelled around Europe

with him, including Hungary, where he resided from 1517

to 1519.

From 1522 to 1525, he served at the chapel of Duke

Alfonso after the death of its cardinal.

One of the most important events in his life was when hebecame the maestro di cappella of St. Mark’s, Venice.

Willaert spent thirty-five years (1527-1562) at St. Marks’s,

and this was known to be the most fruitful period of his

musical career.

Many composers travelled from distant corners of the

world to study with him, and many even learnt composition

under him.

It was during this period, he began composing sacred

music, psalms and secular madrigals, and became a

madrigal composer of the first rank.

Adrian was a pioneer of the antiphonal style from which

the popular polychoral style developed.

At the main al tar of St. Mark’s, there were two choir lof ts

in the building, both of which provided an organ.

Willaert decided to divide the choral body into two

sections and used them either antiphonally or



simultaneously.

This style became very popular with other music

composers, and soon almost all the composers adopted

this style. This established Willaert as a musical virtuoso.

With a few compositional styles to his credit, Willaert

started a Venetian School, where he used to taughtFlemish techniques combined with Venetian compositional

styles.

It was during this period, Willaert developed the ‘canzone’

which is a popular secular song style and also worked on

his word-painting, a motet known as the “Mentre che’l cor”

which became one of his most influential works.

Most of the Willaert’s works comprised of canons and

masses.

He infused Russian folklore and nationalist music into

most of his works, which received some criticism.

Willaert was a distinguished teacher of his time and

among his disciples were prominent musician of the later

era, such as Rore, Constanzo Porta, Francesco Viola,Gioseffo Zarlino and Gabrieli.

These composers were avid followers of Willaert’s

teaching styles and compositions, which became the core

of the Venetian school and subsequently marked the

beginning of the Baroque era.

It was because of Willaert’s teaching and the humbleness

of his students that the Venetian school flourished till the

18th century.

Major Works

As an efficient music composer, Willaert was the creator of

8 Masses, more than 150 motets and around 60 French

chansons.

Moreover, his creation of more than 70 Italian madrigals,

over 50 hymns and psalms and several ricercares have

significant place in the world of music.

His famous works include: ‘Mentre che’l cor’, ‘Salmi



Spezzati’ and ‘Chanzoni francoise a quarto sopra doi’

Personal Life & Legacy

Adrian Willaert passed away on December 7, 1562 in

Venice. Not much is known about his death.

Most of his works got lost over the years, and very few

have been retrieved by conservatories.

adrian willaert 477

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