As a composer, Pierre de La Rue ranks in the company of Josquin, Obrecht, Agricola, and Isaac. This was not only because of his time frame but also because of the diversity and quality of his compositions. The genres that he broached included masses, mass movements, magnificats, lamentations, motets, and chansons. Throughout his service career, La Rue was a tenor at Sienna and 's-Hertogenosch cathedrals, joining the Marian Brotherhood (1492-1493) in service to the Burgundian court as "Cantor Romanorum Regis" (singer of the Roman king). He did not leave the service of the court until his retirement in 1516. In his settings of masses, motets, chansons, and magnificats, La Rue did not waver in his use of voices. Acceding more to simplicity, he gave preference to two voices, particularly when setting them in contrast to other groupings, i.e., four, five, or six voices. Most of his compositions, however, were arranged for four voices. He would rarely utilize imitation (when used, he would set it in all voices), but for the most part used cantus firmus and canons. La Rue also contrasted homophony with more complex polyphony and, outside of the developments of Josquin, would not let the music convey the text. On the contrary, La Rue used the music to recapitulate that which one could infer from the text by controlling the pace of the rhythm rather than the harmonies or melodic lines. La Rue became an important influence on the succeeding generation of composers, as did his contemporary Josquin. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi