Composer. A member of the Franco-Flemish School. He had a major reputation during the 1500s, mostly stemming from his song "Een vroylic wesen" ("A Plesant Being", c. 1485), a widely popular tune of the Renaissance period. It was used in Mass settings by Heinrich Issac and Jacob Obrecht, and various arrangements have been found throughout Europe. His other surviving compositions - two Masses, a Mass movement, the motet "Osculetur me", and the songs "Fair Love" and "Charming and Beautiful" - show remarkable talent. Nothing is known of Barbireau's early years. He apparently had a university education, since he mentioned having an MA degree in a 1482 letter, and in 1484 he was appointed Choirmaster at Antwerp Cathedral. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I praised his music, as did Queen Beatrix of Hungary when he visited her court in 1490. Barbireau's health was already failing by then and he died soon after returning to Antwerp; he was no older than 36. His death came just a decade before the advent of music publishing, which would have preserved more of his work. Most of his manuscripts were lost when religious zealots destroyed the cathedral's library in 1556.
Composer. A member of the Franco-Flemish School. He had a major reputation during the 1500s, mostly stemming from his song "Een vroylic wesen" ("A Plesant Being", c. 1485), a widely popular tune of the Renaissance period. It was used in Mass settings by Heinrich Issac and Jacob Obrecht, and various arrangements have been found throughout Europe. His other surviving compositions - two Masses, a Mass movement, the motet "Osculetur me", and the songs "Fair Love" and "Charming and Beautiful" - show remarkable talent. Nothing is known of Barbireau's early years. He apparently had a university education, since he mentioned having an MA degree in a 1482 letter, and in 1484 he was appointed Choirmaster at Antwerp Cathedral. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I praised his music, as did Queen Beatrix of Hungary when he visited her court in 1490. Barbireau's health was already failing by then and he died soon after returning to Antwerp; he was no older than 36. His death came just a decade before the advent of music publishing, which would have preserved more of his work. Most of his manuscripts were lost when religious zealots destroyed the cathedral's library in 1556.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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