componist

Fossa, Johann de

Johann de Fossa (Jean de Fosses?) was born c. 1540 in the Low Countries too: probably in Fosses, near Namur in Wallony. Very little is known about his musical education. Most probably he studied with Giovanni Castileti (Jean Guyot de Châtelet, 1512-1588), either in Liège (where records exist of a chaplain de Fossa) or in Vienna, where Castileti was imperial Kapellmeister too.
There are several places in literature where the name De Fossa occurs, but uncertain is whether these persons are one and the same.
De Fossa was Unterkapellmeister (assistant Chorus Master) in Munich under Lassus, and he succeeded Lassus in 1594 until he died in 1603.
De Fossa was raised in the French-speaking part of the Low Countries as is to be derived from the text setting under the music: the emphasis on the last syllable, like nowhere else in Europe.
Cees Wagemakers, 2017