Surname
Merques (de)
Given Name
Nicolas
Active period
1433 - 1445
Workplace
Arras
Biography
Bradley1992, p. 448 & 454: Colinetus, chanteur de la chapelle de Félix V en 1445 est Nicolas de Merques, chanteur mentionné au concile de Bâle en 1433 et en 1436.
• NG2: Merques, Nicolas [Nicholas de, C., C. de] (fl 1433--45). French composer. The names 'Nicholas' and 'C. Merques' appear in 15th-century music manuscripts; the name 'K. Merques' appears only in modern musicological literature, and has arisen owing to a misreading of the index of the inventory of the Trent manuscripts (in DTO, xiv--xv, Jg.vii/1--2, 1900/R) where the first composition listed under the surname Merques is a Kyrie, abbreviated K. Nicolas and C. Merques may be the same, since 'C.' could mean either Colin, the diminutive, or Claus, the German equivalent of Nicolas, as was suggested by van den Borren. A singer and cleric from Arras named Nicolas de Merques entered the chapel of the Council of Basle in November 1433 and remained until at least 1436; in 1444--5 he was in the chapel of the antipope Felix V. The style of the 14 works attributed to him or to C. Merques suggests that they were composed in the mid-1430s, and there is no stylistic reason to doubt that anything under the surname Merques, including works attributed to C. Merques, is by Nicolas Merques of Arras. BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Haller and others, eds.: Concilium basiliense: Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte des Concils von Basel (Basle, 1896--1936/R) C. van den Borren: Le manuscrit musical M. 222 C. 22 de la Bibliotheque de Strasbourg (Antwerp, 1924) K.E. Mixter: 'Johannes Brassart: a Biographical and Bibliographical Study', MD, xviii (1964), 37--62, esp. 47 T.R. Ward: 'The Structure of the Manuscript Trent 92-I', MD, xxix (1975), 127--47 R. Bradley: 'Musique et musiciens a la cour de Felix V', Amedee VIII - Felix V premier duc de Savoie et pape: Ripaille - Lausanne 1990, ed. B. Andenmatten and A. Paravicini Bagliani (Lausanne, 1992), 447--55 . TOM R. WARD
• Haller Concilium Basiliensis, II, p. 516: Die lune IXa mesis novembris millesimo CCCCxxxiij° per reverendos patres domino Bellicensem et Albinganensem episcopos, ad infrascripta per sacrum concilium Basiliense deputatos, honorabiles et discreti viri domini magistri Johannes Brasart presbiter Leodiensis, Guillermus Amire Rothomagensis diocesis, Jacobus de Villa dominica Remensis et Nicoalus de Merques Attrebatensis, clerici tamen cantories ydonei et sufficientes in capelle sacri concilii Basiliensis recepti…
• NG2: Merques, Nicolas [Nicholas de, C., C. de] (fl 1433--45). French composer. The names 'Nicholas' and 'C. Merques' appear in 15th-century music manuscripts; the name 'K. Merques' appears only in modern musicological literature, and has arisen owing to a misreading of the index of the inventory of the Trent manuscripts (in DTO, xiv--xv, Jg.vii/1--2, 1900/R) where the first composition listed under the surname Merques is a Kyrie, abbreviated K. Nicolas and C. Merques may be the same, since 'C.' could mean either Colin, the diminutive, or Claus, the German equivalent of Nicolas, as was suggested by van den Borren. A singer and cleric from Arras named Nicolas de Merques entered the chapel of the Council of Basle in November 1433 and remained until at least 1436; in 1444--5 he was in the chapel of the antipope Felix V. The style of the 14 works attributed to him or to C. Merques suggests that they were composed in the mid-1430s, and there is no stylistic reason to doubt that anything under the surname Merques, including works attributed to C. Merques, is by Nicolas Merques of Arras. BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Haller and others, eds.: Concilium basiliense: Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte des Concils von Basel (Basle, 1896--1936/R) C. van den Borren: Le manuscrit musical M. 222 C. 22 de la Bibliotheque de Strasbourg (Antwerp, 1924) K.E. Mixter: 'Johannes Brassart: a Biographical and Bibliographical Study', MD, xviii (1964), 37--62, esp. 47 T.R. Ward: 'The Structure of the Manuscript Trent 92-I', MD, xxix (1975), 127--47 R. Bradley: 'Musique et musiciens a la cour de Felix V', Amedee VIII - Felix V premier duc de Savoie et pape: Ripaille - Lausanne 1990, ed. B. Andenmatten and A. Paravicini Bagliani (Lausanne, 1992), 447--55 . TOM R. WARD
• Haller Concilium Basiliensis, II, p. 516: Die lune IXa mesis novembris millesimo CCCCxxxiij° per reverendos patres domino Bellicensem et Albinganensem episcopos, ad infrascripta per sacrum concilium Basiliense deputatos, honorabiles et discreti viri domini magistri Johannes Brasart presbiter Leodiensis, Guillermus Amire Rothomagensis diocesis, Jacobus de Villa dominica Remensis et Nicoalus de Merques Attrebatensis, clerici tamen cantories ydonei et sufficientes in capelle sacri concilii Basiliensis recepti…