By the end of the fifteenth century, composers using pre-existing material frequently treated that material as a point of departure rather than as a source on which to base an entire piece. This trend is evident in the group of compositions based on the chanson Allez regrets by Hayne van Ghizeghem. The three known intabulations based on this chanson all carefully follow the model with little structural deviation, although there is a great deal of elaboration in the borrowed melodic material. In the five chansons based on Allez regrets, each begins with a literal quotation from the superius and tenor of the model. Throughout the remainder of the new pieces, one voice is borrowed from the original and the others are freely composed, resulting in a greater amount of experimentation with the existing material than was found in the intabulations. Five known masses are based on Allez regrets, and employ a variety of techniques in using the borrowed material, including quotation, paraphrase, cantus firmus, and use of melodic material as points of imitation. These varying usages result in a wide range of resemblance to the model, and point to the potential of Allez regrets for use in many compositional contexts.

Works: Capirola: A les regres (165-68); Gerle: Ales regres (165-68); Kleber: Ales regres (165-68); Agricola: Allez regrets (169); Anonymous: Allez regrets (169); Organi: Allez regrets (170); Senfl: Allez regrets (170); Compère: Venes regretz (170-71), Missa Allez regrets (172-73); Bruhier: Missa Carminum (172); Anonymous: Missa Allez regrets (172); Prioris: Missa Allez regrets (172); Josquin: Missa Allez regrets (173-74); Scompianus: Missa Allez regrets (175).

Sources: Ghizeghem: Allez regrets.

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Sherri Winks