Elzear Genet (c. 1470-1548) sang in the papal chapel under Pope Julius II, and thereafter in the court of the French king Louis XII. On November 5, 1513, he became the first composer to be named Master of the Papal Chapel. Working for Pope Leo X, who, in the Medici tradition, was a lavish patron of the arts, Genet's musical output became exclusively sacred. Although Genet was the first composer to publish his collected works, his music has unjustly fallen into near-oblivion. By the late 16th century, Genet's works had been replaced with newer settings by Palestrina and other composers. Sadly, there are no documented performances of his music again until the early 19th century. |