Maillard: Collected Sacred Works

This volume completes our series of the sacred works of Jean Maillard, a composer whose expressive style bears traces of Josquin and points toward the works of Lassus. The chief source of these works is the Spanish manuscript Barcelona 682 (olim 385), perhaps originating not much earlier than 1572. It is represented herein with two Magnificats and twenty motets, two with contrafacta. All of these works are unica or, in one case, appear only in another Spanish manuscript, facts that strongly suggest a biographical link between Maillard and Spain that still awaits clarification. Although no archival evidence has yet been discovered concerning Maillard's employment in Spain (or anywhere else), one may be struck by internal evidence in the present volume: the simple and practical nature of some motets—works with men's voice parts written in cantus planus style, works in which chant alternates with quite short sections of polyphony, contrafacta dedicated to Saint Augustine—that may well suggest some connection to an Augustinian church not far from Barcelona. In addition to the pieces from Barcelona 682, we include Maillard's remaining two Magnificats, a set of Lamentations, and three five-voice motets. All of the works in this collection have heretofore been unavailable in modern editions.