Richard Hygons

(c.1435-c.1509)

Richard Hygons was vicar choral at Wells from 1459 until about 1509, a relatively obscure post.

Richard Hygons's Salve reginain the Eton Choirbook is interesting primarily because its tenor is the 'Caput' melisma which Dufay had used in his Mass of that name. While Ockeghem and Obrecht in their Caput Masses maintained the same rhythmic layout as Dufay, Hygons's scheme is his own, apart from occasional correspondences with Dufay's. Choice of cantus firmus and knowledge that he was active in 1459 prompt us to group Hygons with the older Eton composers; his style argues less definitely in this direction.





A Partial Richard Hygons Discography  |  IV M: England Through 1635   |  Latin Church Music 1460-1575: The Composers