Jheronimus Vinders

Who is Jheronimus Vinders?

Jheronimus Vinders was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at Ghent. He was a minor member of the generation after Josquin des Prez, and he also composed a notable lament on the more famous composer's death.

Next to nothing is known about his life, except that he was the singing-master at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-op-de-rade, the guild at St. Baaf cathedral, in Ghent, in 1525 and 1526. That city was a prominent center of music-making throughout the Renaissance, and produced many famous composers and singers.

Vinders' music has both progressive features, such as the pervasive imitation which was to characterize the compositions of the generation of Gombert and Clemens non Papa, and unusually conservative elements, such as use of the cantus-firmus technique, which had been old-fashioned since around 1500 or even before. Sometimes he combined both the conservative and progressive elements together in the same work, such as in his mass based on the famous tune Fors seulement, which uses both cantus-firmus and parody together.