Leonel Power
January 1, 1370 - June 5, 1445 (age 75)
Biography
It is thought that Power was an elder contemporary of Dunstable whom together forged the English musical style of the early to middle fifteenth century. Power served in the home of the Duke of Clarence, until 1421, and then in the fraternity of Christ Church in Canterbury (1423) where he lead the choir. Power composed in excess of forty pieces in most of the genres of the day. Movements within the mass cycle, however, appear to comprise the majority of his works: solo movements, mass pairings and multi-movement masses. He and Dunstable were among the first to unify the movements of the Ordinaries of the mass. "Alma Redemptoris mater" is clearly ascribed to Power and exemplifies one of the first unified mass cycles. Characteristics of Power's compositions include simple discant settings with the middle voice carrying the melody, four and five voice settings that were not constricted by formal structures, balanced rhythms, complex upper parts supported by slow moving lower parts and a unification of the Ars Nova and Ars Subtilior. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi
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