Alard du Gaucquier (c. 1534 – c. 1582) was a choirmaster at the Imperial Chapel of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He began composing noted Magnificats and masses in 1574. According to the City Archives of Antwerp, Gaucquier was born in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

sometime around 1534. Approximately in the year 1558 he entered the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II as a tenor singer. At the January 1567 death of

Jacobus Vaet Jacobus Vaet ( – 8 January 1567) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, writing smooth polyphony with pervasive imitation, and he was a friend both of Clemens non Pap ...

, Gaucquier was appointed interim

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

and was given a trial. Evidently Emperor Maximillian II did not find Gaucquier entirely suitable to the role, for he appointed his ambassador to Rome, Count Prospero d'Arco, to find a permanent replacement for Vaet, with a note expressing dissatisfaction with Gaucquier's performance. He was indeed replaced by Philippe de Monte on 1 May 1568, but the position of vice-Kapellmeister was created specifically for Gaucquier. He was given a patent of nobility at the same time, acquiring a coat of arms depicting a nut tree. In addition to his court duties he was music teacher to the younger sons of Maximilian. In 1578, he requested release from his employment after having served the Holy Roman Emperor for twenty years, which was granted by

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

along with a lifelong pension of 100 guilders. He moved to the Netherlands to become a conductor for his former pupil,

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

, while the latter was acting as Governor-General there. He received an invitation from Archduke Ferdinand II to become Kapellmeister at his

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

court. Gaucquier left Brussels on 29 October 1581 to accept this position but he never arrived there. There is no further mention of Gaucquier until his widow was granted a pauper's pension of 50 florins in March, 1583.

Works

In 1574 eight Magnificats, scored for four to six voices, were published in Venice. A set of four masses scored for five to eight voices was published in Antwerp in 1581. An additional four-voice mass has been attributed to him. His works are in cantus firmus, with significant instances of indirect

chromaticism Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...

and dissonant

false relation A false relation (also known as cross-relation, non-harmonic relation) is the name of a type of dissonance that sometimes occurs in polyphonic music, most commonly in vocal music of the Renaissance. The term describes a "chromatic contradiction" ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Gaucquier, Alard 1534 births 1582 deaths Musicians from Lille French choral conductors French conductors (music) 16th-century French musicians