Little known today, to Othmar Luscinius, writing in 1536, Nicolaes Craen was a model of all that was best about the modern style of composition, particularly in his
Tota pulchra es: ‘Now Nicolaes Craen (a man, in truth, of outstanding natural qualities), has seemed to me, in his motet
Tota pulchra es, to have very successfully ignored the practices of the old musicians: and we shall be able to learn from this how laudably he has moved beyond even the ancient laws.’ For Luscinius, Craen’s ability lay in his method and skill in ‘composing harmonies’, providing a model to be followed by all aspiring composers of his day.
from notes by Andrew Kirkman © 2001
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