Josquin des Prez Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In which century was Josquin des Prez primarily active as a composer?
A. 13th century
B. 14th century
C. 15th century
D. 16th century
Answer: C. 15th century
Q2. Josquin des Prez is most closely associated with which musical era?
A. Renaissance
B. Baroque
C. Classical
D. Medieval
Answer: A. Renaissance
Q3. In which region was Josquin des Prez likely born?
A. Italy
B. France
C. Germany
D. Spain
Answer: B. France
Q4. What is the primary musical genre for which Josquin is best known?
A. Opera
B. Secular madrigals
C. Polyphonic sacred music
D. Instrumental sonatas
Answer: C. Polyphonic sacred music
Q5. Which of the following is a famous mass composed by Josquin des Prez?
A. Missa Solemnis
B. Missa L’homme armé super voces musicales
C. Mass in B Minor
D. Requiem Mass
Answer: B. Missa L’homme armé super voces musicales
Q6. What compositional technique is Josquin particularly noted for in his sacred music?
A. Monophony
B. Homophony
C. Imitative polyphony
D. Atonality
Answer: C. Imitative polyphony
Q7. Which court or institution did Josquin serve under in the 1480s?
A. The Papal Chapel in Rome
B. The Sforza family in Milan
C. The Court of Burgundy
D. The English Royal Court
Answer: B. The Sforza family in Milan
Q8. Josquin’s motet Ave Maria … Virgo serena is an example of what kind of composition?
A. Secular chanson
B. Instrumental dance
C. Sacred motet
D. Operatic aria
Answer: C. Sacred motet
Q9. What is a defining characteristic of Josquin’s compositional style?
A. Use of complex counterpoint
B. Reliance on monophonic textures
C. Exclusive use of secular themes
D. Minimal use of vocal music
Answer: A. Use of complex counterpoint
Q10. Which of the following works is NOT attributed to Josquin des Prez?
A. Missa Pange lingua
B. Missa La sol fa re mi
C. Missa Papae Marcelli
D. El Grillo
Answer: C. Missa Papae Marcelli
Q11. Josquin’s music was influential in the development of which musical form?
A. Symphony
B. Mass
C. Concerto
D. Oratorio
Answer: B. Mass
Q12. What was the primary language used in Josquin’s sacred compositions?
A. Italian
B. French
C. Latin
D. German
Answer: C. Latin
Q13. Which technique did Josquin use to unify sections of his masses?
A. Cantus firmus
B. Ostinato
C. Through-composition
D. Recitative
Answer: A. Cantus firmus
Q14. Where did Josquin spend the later years of his career, particularly in the early 1500s?
A. England
B. Austria
C. France
D. Spain
Answer: C. France
Q15. What is the title of Josquin’s motet that is often cited as a masterpiece of Renaissance polyphony?
A. Ave verum corpus
B. Ave Maria … Virgo serena
C. Stabat Mater
D. O magnum mysterium
Answer: B. Ave Maria … Virgo serena
Q16. Which of the following best describes the texture of Josquin’s motets?
A. Monophonic
B. Homophonic
C. Polyphonic
D. Heterophonic
Answer: C. Polyphonic
Q17. Which patron did Josquin serve during his time in Ferrara?
A. Duke Ercole I d’Este
B. Pope Julius II
C. King Henry VIII
D. Emperor Maximilian I
Answer: A. Duke Ercole I d’Este
Q18. What is the approximate year of Josquin des Prez’s death?
A. 1497
B. 1521
C. 1543
D. 1572
Answer: B. 1521
Q19. Which of Josquin’s works is a well-known secular chanson about a cricket?
A. Scaramella
B. Frottole
C. El Grillo
D. La deploration
Answer: C. El Grillo
Q20. What was a significant innovation in Josquin’s approach to text setting?
A. Ignoring text in favor of melody
B. Clear expression of the text through music
C. Strict adherence to monophonic chant
D. Use of instrumental accompaniment only
Answer: B. Clear expression of the text through music
Q21. Which musical form did Josquin help standardize during the Renaissance?
A. The fugue
B. The sonata
C. The cyclic mass
D. The cantata
Answer: C. The cyclic mass
Q22. Josquin’s Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae was composed for which patron?
A. Pope Sixtus IV
B. Ercole I d’Este
C. Lorenzo de’ Medici
D. Charles V
Answer: B. Ercole I d’Este
Q23. What is a notable feature of Josquin’s Missa L’homme armé?
A. Incorporation of a popular tune
B. Use of a single voice
C. Absence of sacred text
D. Use of modern harmony
Answer: A. Incorporation of a popular tune
Q24. Which city was a major center for music printing during Josquin’s lifetime, aiding the spread of his works?
A. Paris
B. Venice
C. London
D. Nuremberg
Answer: B. Venice
Q25. How did Josquin’s music influence later composers?
A. By introducing atonality
B. By focusing solely on instrumental music
C. By establishing polyphonic techniques
D. By rejecting sacred music traditions
Answer: C. By establishing polyphonic techniques