Tugdual Menon
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Tugdual Menon (also in sources Tuttvalle, Tugdualo, Tudual, Tuttuale, Tuduuale, Jugdulus), was a French composer (Bretain, before 1502-Ferrara, 1566-68). It seems that he was teacher of the great organist Claudio Merulo [1].
[edit] Life
Menon was born in Britain before 1502, but in early 20's of XVI century he went in Italy and he resided in Correggio, a small town near Reggio Emilia, predominated by Da Correggio's family. He was married with a woman called Giulia (we don't know her surname), and in 1521 he had a daughter, Margherita, baptized with count Sigismondo II d'Este as Godfather. He had eleven children, the 4th one of them called Sigismondo Quirino (St. Quirino was Patron Saint of Correggio). Obviously he was close to Este's of Modena and Ferrara, and to Count Boiardo of Scandiano, who gave him hospitality in 1543. He was also property owner in Correggio's land, therefore we can opine that he lived for a long time and with deeply interests in Correggio.
In 1548 he was certainly in Ferrara, at the court of Renate of France, and he lived there for a short time. In 1550 we find him in Cambrai, France, and two years later he came back in Correggio. One year later, he was in Ferrara again, where he died probably in 1567.
[edit] Music
He wrote a book of 44 Madrigals "a 4" voices dedicated to Renate of France (1548), and a madrigal for an anthology dedicated to incoronation of duke Ercole II Este (1534). He had a great culture and it seems he was teacher of Gaspara Stampa, the famous Italian poet of Renaissance. We can appreciate his music only on Madrigals of 1548, that appear of high grade, with a lot of melodic jumps, pauses, and counteract notes.
[edit] References and further reading
- Giuseppe Martini, Claudio Merulo, Parma, Ordine Costantiniano di S. Giorgio, 2005 (pp.36-37)
- Cécile Vendramini: Les offrandes musicales à Renée de France, fille de Louis XII, Paris, 1997 (pp. 199-205)
