Maessens [Maessins],Pieter [Massenus Moderatus, Petrus] Page 1 of 2

Maessens [Maessins], Pieter

[Massenus Moderatus, Petrus]
(b Ghent, c1505; d Benfeld, 10 Dec 1562). South Netherlandish composer. He
began his career as a choirboy in the chapel of the Archduchess Margaret of
Austria. After some years at university he became a soldier of fortune, fighting
with the armies of Charles V. He took part in the relief of Vienna in 1529, and
in the following year accompanied the emperor to his coronation in Bologna. In
1535 he was rewarded by the emperor for bravery and distinguished by the
title ‘eques auratus’. In 1538 he went with the Spanish army to Flanders and,
while there, ended his military career. In 1539 he received the minor orders of
the priesthood in Tournai so that on 19 July 1540 he could take up duties as
Kapellmeister in the service of the chapter of Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk in Kortrijk.
At the same time, he also took over the inventorying of the church's music, for
his predecessor Jan van den Piedt (Johannes Pes) had been dismissed for
misconduct. Maessens was dismissed at Easter 1543 for neglect of his duties
and excessive drinking.
A year earlier, in July 1542, Ferdinand I had requested the Regent of the
Netherlands, Maria of Hungary, to find him a capable man to assist his chief
Kapellmeister Arnold von Bruck in the Viennese court chapel. On her
recommendation, Maessens obtained the post of second Kapellmeister on 1
March 1543. When Bruck retired, Maessens was appointed Kapellmeister on 1
January 1546, a post he probably held until his death. Jean Guyot succeeded
him on 1 November 1563.
As Kapellmeister Maessens made several journeys to recruit singers both for
the emperor's chapel and also, from 1550, for that of Maximilian II at Prague.
As various documents show, Maessens took some interest in the welfare of his
choirboys: in 1555 he proposed a separate school for the boys recruited to
court service, but it is not known whether the scheme came to fruition.
Maessens's activity as Kapellmeister moved Ferdinand I to raise him to the
hereditary nobility with the title ‘von Massenberg’. Among his pupils were
Petrus Speilier, Matthias Zaphelius, Thomas von Winkl and Johann
Bauernfeind, and Pierre Reulx from his time at Kortrijk.
Although no single publication was devoted to him, his works survive in many
sources from different places. His grasp of contrapuntal devices is shown
particularly in the secular motet Discessu – Quid maius, which can be
performed in 16 different ways from the one written version. In addition to his
musical work, evidences of considerable literary activity have also been
preserved. A little book with Latin prayers, Piae et breves orationis dominicae
declarationes, first appeared in 1556 and was reprinted three years later.
Another literary work, an astronomical Calendarium, was also printed in 1556.
Towards the end of 1562 the emperor guaranteed Maessens a printing
privilege for a number of ‘libri sancti’. None of these works has survived.
WORKS
Edition: Pieter Maessins: Sämtliche Werke, ed. M. Eybl and O. Wessely, DTO, cxlix (1995)

sacred
Domine Jesu Christe – Quia dixisti, 5vv, E
In dedicatione huius templi, 5vv, E
Memor esto verti tui, 6vv, E

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Maessens [Maessins],Pieter [Massenus Moderatus, Petrus] Page 2 of 2

O praeclarum nomen Benedic anima mea, 4vv, E

Per signum crucis, 9vv, E
Quicquid appositum est – Gloria tibi Domine, 3vv, E
Salve suprema Trinitas, 4vv, E
Surge propera amica mea, 5vv, E
Tota pulchra es, 5vv, E
Veni sancte spiritus, 6vv, E
Veni sponsa Christi – Veni electa mea, 6vv
secular
Discessu – Quid maius, 6vv, E
En venant de Lyon, 16vv, E
doubtful works
Arentes irrigate fauces, ?4vv, MS added to Lassus's Novae cantiones (Munich,
1577), formerly in Liegnitz, Ritterakademie, now ?PL-WRu (A, T only); Confiteantur
tibi Domine, D-Rp B 220–22; Consecratio mensae, 4vv, 15417 Domine Jesu
Christe, respice, 5vv, Rp A.R. 877 (inc.); Ego Dominus, 4vv, E; Ne reminiscaris
Domine, 5vv, E; O bone Jesu, salvator mundi, 4vv, E
works with conflicting attributions
Accesserunt ad Jesum, attrib. Maessens in D-Z, attrib. Clemens non Papa in Rp,
NL-L, 15555, 15562, 15587, 15591
Gaudent in coelis, attrib. Maessens in 15468, attrib. Clemens non Papa in B-LVu
NL-L, 154915, 155415
O Christe redemptor, attrib. Maessens in D-LEu, attrib. Jean Mouton in 15191,
15215
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P. Bergmans: ‘Petrus Massenus Moderatus, maître de chapelle de Ferdinand
Ier’, Analectes Belgiques: Notices et documents pour servir à l’histoire
littéraire et bibliographique de la Belgique (Ghent, 1896), 77ff
G. Caullet: Musiciens de la collégiale Notre-Dame à Courtrai d’après leurs
testaments (Courtrai and Bruges, 1911), 13
A. Smijers: ‘Die kaiserliche Hofmusik-Kapelle von 1543–1619’, SMw, ix
(1922), 43–81; pubd separately (Vienna, 1922)
J. Schmidt-Görg: ‘Die Acta capitularia der Notre-Dame-Kirche zu Kortrijk als
musikgeschichtliche Quelle’, Vlaams Jb voor muziekgeschiedenis, i
(1939), 21–80, esp. 48
O. Wessely: Arnold von Bruck: Leben und Umwelt (Habilitationsschrift, U. of
Vienna, 1958)
O. Wessely: ‘Beiträge zur Lebensgeschichte von Pieter Maessins’, Gestalt
und Wirklichkeit: Festgabe für Ferdinand Weinhandl, ed. R. Mühler and J.
Fischl (Berlin, 1967), 437–51
H. Leuchtmann: ‘Der Tod des kaiserlichen Kapellmeisters Pieter Maessins
(Petrus Massenus von Massenberg)’, AcM, xli (1969), 239–40
A. Dunning: Die Staatsmotette 1480–1555 (Utrecht, 1970)
ALBERT DUNNING

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