Bálint Bakfark
Bálint Bakfark arrived in the world around 1507 within the walls of Brassó, Transylvania. This city now bears the name Brașov and sits inside modern Romania. He entered life as an orphan with no parents to guide his early years. The Greff family took him in and raised him under their roof. His education unfolded at the court of John Zápolya in Buda. He remained there until the year 1540 ended. During this long stay he may have traveled once to Italy but records do not confirm the trip.
Sometime during the 1540s Bakfark journeyed toward Paris seeking work. He found the position of lutenist to the king already filled by another man. He left France behind and moved eastward into Jagiellon Poland in 1549. King Sigismund II Augustus employed him as a court lutenist immediately. From that point until 1566 he traveled extensively across Renaissance Europe. His reputation grew steadily while he remained faithful to his employer. Other monarchs made numerous efforts to win him away from the Polish court. The riches bestowed on him by Sigismund likely influenced his decision to stay attached to the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius.
What happened to him in 1566 remains unclear to historians today. He clearly did something to provoke the wrath of the king. He scarcely had time to flee before Polish army troops ransacked his house. Those soldiers destroyed all his possessions inside the building. After this event he lived for a while in Vienna. He then returned to Transylvania but not for long. In 1571 he moved to Padua in Italy where he stayed until his death.
Bakfark died during the plague of 1576 in the city of Padua. The exact date of his passing falls between the 15th and the 22nd of August. As was common practice at the time all possessions of plague victims were destroyed by fire. Most of his manuscript music burned along with his belongings. This loss meant that very little of his written work survived the disaster. His name appears in contemporary sources as Valentin Bakfark or Valentin Greff alias Bakfark from 1565 onward.
While Bakfark almost certainly wrote an enormous amount of music very little was printed. A commonly given reason states it was simply too difficult for others to play. His surviving works include ten fantasies composed for solo lute. He also left seven madrigals and eight chansons for the instrument. Fourteen motets complete the list of his extant compositions. These pieces exist in amazingly faithful polyphonic arrangements for lute alone. He transcribed vocal motets by Josquin des Prez into arrangements for the lute. Clemens non Papa, Nicolas Gombert, and Orlando di Lasso provided other source material for his transcriptions.
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Common questions
When and where was Bálint Bakfark born?
Bálint Bakfark arrived in the world around 1507 within the walls of Brassó, Transylvania. This city now bears the name Brașov and sits inside modern Romania.
Who employed Bálint Bakfark as a court lutenist after he left France?
King Sigismund II Augustus employed him as a court lutenist immediately upon his arrival in Jagiellon Poland in 1549. From that point until 1566 he traveled extensively across Renaissance Europe while remaining faithful to this employer.
What happened to Bálint Bakfark's house and possessions in 1566?
Polish army troops ransacked his house and destroyed all his possessions inside the building after he provoked the wrath of the king. He fled the event and lived for a while in Vienna before returning to Transylvania.
Where did Bálint Bakfark die during the plague of 1576?
Bakfark died during the plague of 1576 in the city of Padua. The exact date of his passing falls between the 15th and the 22nd of August.
How many surviving works by Bálint Bakfark exist today?
His surviving works include ten fantasies composed for solo lute, seven madrigals, eight chansons, and fourteen motets. These pieces exist in amazingly faithful polyphonic arrangements for lute alone.