Martinus Fabri (died May 1400) was a North Netherlandish composer of the late 14th century. Fabri was probably either from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

or the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and lived near the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The surname "Fabri" was probably a Latinization of a name like

Smit Smit is a Dutch language, Dutch occupational surname. It represents an archaic spelling of the Dutch word "smid" for "Smith (metalwork), smith" (metal worker) and is the Dutch equivalent of the English surname Smith (surname), Smith.Citation: Sch ...

Smeets Smeets is a Limburgian surname (or more broadly, Dutch surname) meaning smith (metal worker). The surname hails specifically from the Limburg region spanning parts of the Southern Netherlands and Eastern Belgium. People bearing the Smeets surname ...

or perhaps Le Fèvre (all meaning "smith") . Little is known about his life. Apart from an undated mention of his name in the records of the church of St Donatian,

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, he is known to have been a singer at the court of Holland at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

from 1395 until his death in May 1400 . Of the three singers known to have been at the court in this time period, he was the only one known to have had a university degree . After his demise, several books of

polyphonic music Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

were bought from his estate by the Count of Holland for use in his chapel . Of his compositions, only four complete pieces survive, all

ballade Ballad is a form of narrative poetry, often put to music, or a type of sentimental love song in modern popular music. Ballad or Ballade may also refer to: Music Genres and forms * Ballade (classical music), a musical setting of a literary ballad ...

s. Two of these have French texts (''Or se depart'' and ''N'ay je cause d’estre lies et joyeux'') and are in the ''

ars subtilior ''Ars subtilior'' (Latin for 'subtler art') is a musical style characterized by rhythmic and notational complexity, centered on Paris, Avignon in southern France, and also in northern Spain at the end of the fourteenth century.Hoppin 1978, 47 ...

'' style, highly complex and mannered . Both are three-voice compositions, though there are two (incompatible) alternatives for the third voice in ''Or se depart''—a triplum and a

contratenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a sp ...

. The other two ballades are in Dutch (''Eer ende lof heb d'aventuer'' and ''Een cleyn parabel''), with a simpler syllabic style of setting . The Leiden manuscript in which all of Fabri's works are found also contains an incomplete ballade, ''Een cleyn parabel'', the text of which describes a dilemma: the poet loves his lady and would like to marry her, but finds it difficult to accept her recently born child. This may be an autobiographical reference: Martinus Fabri had a son baptized in April 1396, and the godmother was Margaret of Cleves, Countess of Holland .

Recordings

*2009 – ''En un gardin. Les quatre saisons de l'Ars Nova. Manuscrits de Stavelot, Mons, Utrecht, Leiden.''

Capilla Flamenca Capilla Flamenca is a vocal and instrumental early music consort based in Leuven, Belgium. The group specialises in 14th to 16th century music from Flanders and takes its name from the historical Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca), the choir of the c ...

. MEW 0852. Contains a recording of "Eer ende lof" by Martinus Fabri. *2021 – ''Hollandse Fragmenten: Early Dutch Polyphony.'' Diskantores, Niels Berentsen. Muso MU042 . Contains three ballades by Martinus Fabri.

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabri, Martinus Year of birth unknown 1400 deaths Ars subtilior composers Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Flemish composers 14th-century composers Medieval male composers