Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/254

242 HISTORY OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE lifeless, concrete material of stone, wood, or metal, so in music, by the same conformity to law and orderly development, out of the bare mathematics of sound the most wonderful harmonies were let loose. The merit of perfecting the harmony of many voices is due to South Germany, where the high-class music of the Minnesingers, as well as popular songs, were more plentiful and vigorous than elsewhere, and where organ-building and organ-playing were earliest brought to perfection. The ' Lochamer Song Book,' which is one of the oldest musical works, dating from the commencement of the fifteenth century, is a monument of considerable artistic proficiency ; but the many exquisite melodies contained in it are collected, not only from South Germany, but also from the Netherlands. Another con- temporary witness to the musical proficiency of the Low Countries is a book of songs published at Augsburg in the year 1458. William Du Fay, of Hainault (1474), Jacob Obrecht, supposed to have been born on the Ehine (1507), and Johann Ockenheim, from Flanders (1512), are con- sidered the pioneers of all musical schools down to our time. The works of Ockenheim combine a profound knowledge of ecclesiastical music with wonderful skill in harmony and rich original melody. We seem to hear his very soul breathing in his compositions, so full are they of tender sentiment and of deepest feeling. His greatest pupil was Josquin de Pres, whose praises were loudly sung by his contemporaries. ' His genius,' said Heinrich Loritz of Glarus, in his ' Dodeca- chordia,' ' was such that he could do what he liked ; no one exceeded him in power of expression or dexterity