Intabulations of Music by Josquin des Prez in Lute Books Published by Pierre Phalèse, 1547-1574.

In the sixteenth century the vocal music of Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450-1521) was frequently intabulated for the lute. This study focuses on the surviving such arrangements published in eight different sources by the Netherlandish printer, Pierre Phalèse (ca. 1510-1576), between 1547 and 1574. These comprise 15 lute intabulations of nine different works, including mass movements, motets, and chansons. Volume I, Chapter 1 discusses lute arrangements of Josquin in the sixteenth century generally, Chapter 2 focuses on the output of the Phalèse firm in particular, and Chapter 3 analyses some specific characteristics of the Josquin intabulations found in the Phalèse prints. Volume II comprises transcriptions of all 15 Josquin works published by Phalèse, aligned with the vocal versions, original tablature, and accompanied by editorial commentary. Topics covered include the distribution of sixteenth-century lute arrangements of Josquin’s works and implications for his status and reputation; sources used; the market for and function of lute prints generally and of Phalèse in particular; the nature of and relationship between pirated and original tablatures in the Phalèse books and the identity of Phalèse’s arrangers; the nature of variations between arrangements and vocal models, and between different arrangements of the same work; and the treatment of musica ficta. This thesis comprises of two volumes, incorporating 14 tables and 15 transcriptions.