La Rue, Pierre de

-1518

Born in Picardy about the middle of the Fifteenth Century. He was a fellow-student of Josquin des Pres in the school of Okeghem. He appears as having been in the service of the Court of Burgundy as chapel-singer at different times between 1477 and 1502. In 1501 he was a prebend of Courtrai and also at Namur until 1510. Having been in the service of Charles V. until 1512, he then entered that of Margaret of Austria, with whom he became a great favorite. Margaret of Austria caused some handsome copies to be made of his masses, and they are now in the libraries of Vienna and Brussels. As a contrapuntal composer he is considered as second only to Josquin, though the number of his works is not nearly so great. Much that he wrote has never been printed, there being in existence about thirty-six masses, twenty-five motets, and ten secular pieces.