Musste Josquin Josquin werden?: Zum Problem des Frühwerks

Writings of the last fifteen years have advanced two contrasting views of Josquin’s early development. One sees him as “a man who can write in many different styles but has not yet evolved something that is entirely his own”; against this, “from present perspective it would look very much as if Josquin started as Josquin.” The problem lies in the absence of any works in sources before ca. 1485, when the composer had already entered his fourth decade. In such an uncertain context, judgments like those quoted can serve as useful metaphors insofar as they bring individual observations and hypotheses under a common denominator. As criteria for establishing a body of early compositions, however, they become highly problematic.