Johannes Symonis (Jehan Simon) Hasprois (died 1428) was a French composer originally from

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

. Four of his works of music survive in four different manuscripts, and he may also have written a treatise on

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

Career

Hasprois led an itinerant life. His career began in royal courts. In 1378, in our earliest record of him, he was serving at the court of

Ferdinand I of Portugal Ferdinand I ( pt, Fernando; 31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383), sometimes called the Handsome () or occasionally the Inconstant (), was the King of Portugal from 1367 until his death in 1383. His death led to the 1383–85 crisis, also k ...

, but by 1380 he was at the court of

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...

. His career afterwards was in the church. In 1384 he was the ''petit vicaire'' (lesser

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

) of

Cambrai Cathedral Cambrai Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grâce de Cambrai) is a Catholic church located in Cambrai, Nord, France, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Cambrai. The cathedral was registered as a '' monument historique'' on 9 August ...

, and in the same diocese he obtained the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

ate of the parish church of

Liessies Liessies () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is known for Liessies Abbey, of which the abbey church and the park have been preserved. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of t ...

, probably in 1388. He also held

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s at Arras, Rozoy in the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.''département'' and Cambrai Cathedral. He left his parish between August 1390 and 1393 and went to serve as a private chaplain to

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

at the Papal chapel at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. As his name always precedes that of Johannes de Bosco, who became a chaplain in 1391, in the registers, it is likely that he was appointed chaplain earlier than 1391. Hasprois continued to serve under Benedict XIII down to 1403. He was possibly the same person as the ''magister'' Johannes Symonis who attended the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...

in 1417 and wrote an essay on astrology. Hasprois served in the Roman Curia as an

apostolic notary A notarius is a public secretary who is appointed by competent authority to draw up official or authentic documents (compare English "notary"). In the Roman Catholic Church there have been apostolic notaries and even episcopal notaries. Documents ...

until his death in 1428.

Music

Hasprois's early two-voice ''

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 ...

'' "Puisque je sui fumeux" is "a prime example of the exceedingly complex style of 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 ...

''." The text of this ''ballade'' is also preserved anonymously as "Balade de maistre fumeux". It is similar to a '' rondeau'' by

Solage Solage (; or Soulage), possibly Jean , was a French composer, and probably also a poet. He composed the most pieces in the Chantilly Codex, the principal source of music of the ''ars subtilior'', the manneristic compositional school centered on A ...

, "Fumeux fume par fumee", and both were probably written for the "highly eccentric circle" gathered around Jean Fumée. If so, then it probably dates to the time when Hasprois was at the court of Charles V. Hasprois wrote two other ''ballades'' in the tradition of

courtly love Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...

as it was being expressed ''circa'' 1400. "Ma doulce amour" is preserved in three manuscripts and is the more complicated of the two. The

syllabic Syllabic may refer to: *Syllable, a unit of speech sound, considered the building block of words **Syllabic consonant, a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable *Syllabary, writing system using symbols for syllables *Abugida, writing system ...

"Se mes deux yeux" is found in only one manuscript, alongside "Ma doulce". There is also an incomplete ''rondeau'' refrain, "Jone, gente, joyeuse", with a tenor part lacking a text, ascribed to Hasprois in one manuscript. Modern scholars have suggested several anonymous compositions as having possibly been composed by Hasprois: three from the manuscript GB-Ob 213, based on style, and two songs from the so-called "Leiden fragments", because his name appears in their texts.This latter suggestion is Günther's. One of these, the

drinking song A drinking song is a song sung while drinking Alcoholic beverage, alcohol. Most drinking songs are Folk music, folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music. ...

"Ho, ho, ho", is in the simpler early 15th-century style of Hasprois's two later ''ballades''.

Career

Music

Notes

Sources

Further reading