Jacotin (EN)

Jacotin, 1st half of the 16th century, the name under which a composer is identified in numerous printed anthologies published between 1519 and 1556 (and reissued until 1578). Since Jacotin was a common diminutive of the name Jacques, and many musicians bearing this name appear in archival records, it is impossible to attribute the surviving works with certainty to any single individual. Indeed, the corpus may represent the work of several different musicians known as Jacotin. The most plausible hypothesis is that the composer was Jacotin Le Bel (also recorded as Level), a singer in the papal chapel in Rome and at the church of San Luigi dei Francesi between 1516 and 1521, possibly identical with Jacotin Le Bel, singer and canon of the French royal chapel in Paris from 1532 to 1555. The strong presence of sacred works among the compositions attributed to Jacotin would support a close connection with the Church. His likely French nationality is suggested by the French form of his name, his service at the French church of San Luigi in Rome, his later activity in Paris, and the inclusion of French chansons among his works (both his sacred music and chansons were published primarily in Paris and Venice, and later also in Germany and the Low Countries). A further significant clue is that a motet by Jacotin, published in Venice in 1519, is dedicated to King Louis XII of France, (who had died in 1515). In light of this evidence, attempts to identify Jacotin with Jachet de Mantua, Jacquet de Berchem, Jaches de Wert, or possibly J. Arcadelt lack convincing support. Equally unlikely is the identification of Jacotin with Jacob Godebrye, known as Jacotyn, a singer at Antwerp Cathedral from 1479 until his death on 24 March 1529, since the style of the surviving chansons attributed to Jacotin suggests a later date of composition. 

Jacotin’s secular works are typical examples of the so-called Parisian chanson. These simple songs, often featuring light-hearted or frivolous texts and sometimes based on popular monophonic tunes, are frequently written in a predominantly chordal texture, though the composer also employs straightforward imitation. In this respect, Jacotin was one of the many contributors to this richly preserved repertory. In his motets and multi-sectional magnificat settings, traditional polyphony plays a more prominent role. In individual verses of the magnificats, Jacotin often omits one or two voices, creating extended duets in various combinations of parts and thereby achieving considerable textural variety.

Literature: F.X. Haberl Die römische„Schola Cantorum” und die päpstlichen Kapellsänger his zur Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts, “Vierteljahrsschrift für Musikwissenschaft” III, 1887; E. Motta Musici alla corte degli Sforza, “Archivio Storico Lombardo” XIV, 1887; M. Brenet Deux comptes de la chapelle-musique des rois de France, “Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft” VI, 1904/05; L. de Burbure La musique à Anvers aux XIVe, XVe et XVIe siècles, “Annales de l’Académie Royale d’Archéologie de Belgique” LVIII, 1906; H.W. Frey Die Regesten zur päpstlichen Kapelle unter Leo X und zu seiner Privatkapelle, “Die Musikforschung” VIII, 1955; H.W. Frey Die Kapellmeister an der französischen Nationalkirche S. Luigi dei Francesi in Rom im 16. Jahrhundert, “Archiv für Musikwissenschaft” XXII, 1965; E.E. Lowinsky The Medici Codex of 1518, «Monuments of Renaissance Music» III–V, 1968; L.F. Bernstein „La courone et fleur des chansons a troys”. A Mirror of the French Chanson in Italy in the Years between O. Petrucci and A. Gardano, “Journal of the American Musicological Society” XXVI, 1973.