There is little to no evidence for any teaching that Obrecht had done. The only secure evidence comes from his early teachings prior to 1484. Glareanus provides evidence to his teaching of Dominus Erasmus of Rotterdam in his Dodekachordon (1547). Pieter Opmeer also confirms this information in 1611 in his Opus Chronographium.[4]

In September of 1484, Jacob Obrecht accepted a position at Cambrai Cathedral as the master of the choirboys. Shortly after his arrival at the Cathedral, he sought to take the position of succentorship at St. Donatian in Bruges. On October 13, 1485Obrecht was installed at Bruges and left his position at Cambrai Cathedral. During his early years at Bruges, Obrecht composed three masses. These masses include: De Sancto Martino, De SanctoDonatinao, and Missa Salve diva Parens’. In August of 1487, Obrecht requested a six month leave of absence from St. Donatian to travel to Ferrara, upon an invitation from DukeErcole d’ Este, an enormous supporter of Obrecht’s work. This leave of absence was granted to Obrecht, but he overstayed at Ferrara and did not return to Bruges until August of 1488. He was dismissed from St. Donatian a few years later in May of 1490 for reasons that are very unclear.

His career continued in June of 1492 at the church of Our Lady at Antwerp where he was active as choirmaster. In June or July of 1497, he was attracted by the musical patronage elsewhere and went to Bergen op Zoom. In December of 1498, he went back to Bruges to recleaim the job of succentor at St. Donatian. He continued this job until he became seriously ill and submitted his resignation in September 1500. His resignation was granted, and he was rewarded with three benefices acknowledging him of his services to the church and his fame as a composer.

Toward the end of his career, Obrecht went back to Antwerp as the choirmaster at the Church of Our Lady from June 1501 to 1503. There is a record of a payment by the treasury of Emperor Maximilian I revealing that Obrecht was in Innsbruck in October 1503. In September 1504, Obrecht served Duke Ercoled’Este in Ferrara until the Duke’s death in January 1505, which left Obrecht without a job.Obrecht had an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a post atMantua, but died in late June or July of 1505 from the plague at Ferrara.[5]

The masses that Jacob Obrecht composed around 1490 represent a turning point in his career. His works were widely known throughout Europe by 1500 as well. Petrucci published some of Obrecht’s works in the Odhecaton in 1501. Five of Obrecht’s masses also constitute the entire contents of MisseObrecht, published in 1503. Glareanus cited Obrecht’s complete works in Podecachordon as well. Obrecht’s music continued to be cited by theorists well into the 17^th century.

JacobObrecht wrote 27 masses that are regarded as authentic. Most of his masses were written for four voices, although two were written for three voices. One his masses, Missa Sub Tuum Presidium, begins with three voices and adds a voice in each successive movement. The last movement of this mass ends with seven voices all together. His masses, sacred and secular, are virtually all based on cantus firmi. Some cantus firmi that he used are divided into segments, treated separately in the various movements, and then united at the end of the mass. An example of this technique can be seen in Missa Maria Zart. Obrecht takes his cantus firmi from secular and sacred music. In his piece MissaePlurimorumCarminum, he derives the cantus firmus from a secular tune and in MissaSubtuum Presidium he derives the cantus firmus from Gregorian chant. The only mass that Obrecht freely composed was Missa Salve Diva Parens. He also occasionally used a head-motive to unify the mass. In Missa de SanctoDonatiano, Obrecht uses a six measure head-motive as a duo that opens each movement. Typical characteristics of his masses also include: clearly defined cadences, imitation, sequencing, and harmonic structures of strong chordal movement. [6]

Along with writing 27 masses, Jacob Obrecht composed 26 authentic motets. His motets have a lot of the same style characteristics of his masses. Most of his motets are based on cantus firmi and a few can be dated circa 1488 based on their texts. He wrote several secular pieces as well. At least 19 of these works were written with Flemish text and appear to be based on popular works. Five of his secular works have French texts and are either based on a popular song or freely composed. [7]

There are two editions of Obrecht’s music that can be used as reference today. The first edition is Werken edited by Johannes Wolf. It was written between 1908 and 1921, and consists of five volumes of masses, one volume of motets, one volume of secular works, and one volume of miscellaneous works. This is the most comprehensive edition of Obrecht’s works; however, it is not the most up-to-date. Another edition of Obrecht’s works is The New Obrecht Edition. This edition, edited by Chris Maas, is still in progress and will take many years to complete. It already contains five volumes of masses, but is anticipated to have 17 volumes upon completion. This edition also consists of two volumes of motets, one volume of secular works, and one volume of textless works. [8]

JacobObrecht composed many masses, motets, and secular works. As a composer, he has often been associated with great composers such asJosquin De prez and Johannes Ockeghem. The musical and style characteristics that Jacob Obrecht brought to the Renaissance made quite an impact on music history.