Sebastian z Felsztyna (also Sebastian de Felstin, Roxolanus z Felsztyna, Sebastian Herburt) (14801490? – after 1543) was a Polish composer and

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, regarded as the greatest Polish composer of the early 16th century. Sebastianus de Felstin Modus regulariter accentuandi lectiones

Life

He was probably born in

Felsztyn Skelivka (; ; ) is a village in Lviv Oblast, Sambir Raion, Ukraine on the Strwiąż River. It belongs to Khyriv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The village is located a few kilometers from the border with Poland, in the easter ...

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

(now Skelivka,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). In 1507 he entered

Kraków University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, the same year as his compatriot, composer Mikołaj z Chrzanowa. While there he studied music and theology, receiving his baccalaureate in 1509. He may have studied with

Heinrich Finck Heinrich Finck (1444 or 1445 – 9 June 1527) was a notable German composer. He served as ''Kapellmeister'' first for Prince Alexander of Lithuania, later King of Poland, before living Poland in 1510. He worked in Stuttgart before becoming a member ...

while in Kraków. After graduating, he returned to Felsztyn where he became a chaplain, and later he went to

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

, also in southeastern Poland, where he was a provost.

Musical works and theoretical writings

Of his musical works, only three

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

s survive. They are for four voices, and use a plainchant tenor in long notes – an archaic practice at the time of publication, 1522 – with the other voices sometimes engaging in imitation, in free counterpoint, or in more homophonic textures. All three are preserved in

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

in manuscript. While archaic in style, they show the influence of the

Franco-Flemish school The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition or ...

, and are a rare early example of four-voice polyphony in Poland. Indeed, Reese acknowledges Felstin's assimilation of Franco-Burgundian influences. Sebastian published a collection of his hymns in 1522 in Kraków, ''Aliquot hymni ecclesiastici'', but no copies survive. Sebastian's theoretical treatises cover the topics of notation and chant. His most popular was ''Opusculum musices'' of 1519, which was twice reprinted, and most likely was intended as an instructional tool for singers.

Works

Writings on music

*''Opusculum musice compilatum noviter'' *''Opusculum musices noviter congestum'' *''De musica dialogi VI'' (

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, 1536) *''Directiones musicae ad cathedralis ecclesia Premislensis usum'' (

, 1543) *''Opusculum musice mensuralis'' (

, 31 October 1517) *''De inventoribus musicae''

Motets

*''Ave Maria'' ("Alleluia ad Rorate cum prosa Ave Maria"), four voices *''Alleluia, Felix es sacra virgo Maria'', four voices *''Prosa ad Rorate tempore paschali virgini Mariae laudes'', four voices These three motets, according to Reese (1959, p. 747) all feature Gregorian melodies in the tenor in whole notes.

Notes

Sources

* *Stępień B., Sebastian z Felsztyna, "Kamerton", 2005 Nr 1-2 (48-49), s. 242-245. . *''Mała encyklopedia muzyki'' (''A Little Encyclopedia of Music''), Warszawa 1981

External links

Works by Sebastian z Felsztyna
in the National Digital Library of Poland (

Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Felsztyna, Sebastian z Polish composers Polish music theorists 16th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Renaissance composers Ukrainian classical composers 1480s births 1540s deaths Polish male classical composers