Jacob Heringman: Josquin des Prez. 2000,

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The arrangements of the greatest of

renaissance composers, lute player Josquin

des Prez (c. 1450-1521), is a calming

experience for people of our century. People

who are stressed by today's hectic life, nervous

video clips and pop music will not only enjoy the

music in its interpretation by Jacob Heringman,

but also find a moment to relax and recharge

their batteries. Josquin des Prez inspired

French, German, Italian and Spanish

composers to write arrangements of his

compositions. It is only since Helmuth Osthoff's

biography of Josquin des Prez, published in

1962-65, that we really know about the

importance and influence of the renaissance

man's work, although since the 1960s, the

image of the artist has partly been corrected.

The New Grove Dictionary (1980) attributed just

176 of the more the 300 compositions which

bear his name to Josquin des Prez and, since

then, this number has dropped even further.

Still, work of the renaissance composer who

was born on today's French-Belgian border and

who had composed in Milan, Aix-en-Provence

and Ferrara, remains of an outstanding

importance for the history and development of

the music of the Occident.