Mouton, Jean

Mouton, Jean, important French composer; b. Holluigue, near Samer, c. 1459; d. St. Quentin, Oct. 30,1522. In 1477 he became a singer and teacher of religion (écolâtre-chantre) at the collegiate church of Notre Dame in Nesle. He became maître de chapelle in Nesle in 1483, and also entered the priesthood. In 1500 he was in charge of the choirboys at the Cathedral of Amiens. In 1501 he was director of music at the collegiate church of St. André in Grenoble, but left his position without permission in 1502. He subsequently entered the service of Queen Anne; later served Louis XII and François I. He was made canon in absentia at St. André in Grenoble, which conferred a benefice on him in 1510, and later was elected a canon at St. Quentin. Pope Leo X made him an apostolic notary. He was the teacher of Adrian Willaert. In his music he followed the precepts of Josquin Des Prez; he particularly excelled in the art of the canon. He composed more than 100 motets, some 15 masses, and over 20 chansons. About 50 of his works were publ. in his lifetime; several collections were pubi, posthumously. His Opera omnia, ed. by A. Minor, began publication in 1967 in the Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae series of the American Inst. of Musicology.

Bibliography

A. Minor, The Masses of J. M. (diss., Univ. of Mich., 1951); R. Dammann, Studien zu den Motetten von J. M. (diss., Univ. of Freiburg, 1952); J. Shine, The Motets of J. M. (diss., N.Y.U., 1953); P. Käst, Studien zu den Messen des J. M. (diss., Univ. of Frankfurt am Main, 1955).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire