composer

Florius, Franciscus

About Franciscus Florius’ youth there is also not much to tell. Most likely he is born in Maastricht (NL) as Franz Flori round 1530. The first records about him are from 1556, when he worked as a singer with Orlandus Lassus for Duke Albrecht V. He was better paid than Ludwig Daser. Florius was also a talented copyist for the Bavarian State Library for which he copied many choirbooks, especially those with the works by Lassus. These books he provided with a date of finishing, thus giving us a more precise date of origin. His sons Franz Jr, Johannes, Jacob and Georg became all singers and composers. ‘Our’ Franz Flori was the father. His Missa super ‘Waer maech sy syn’ is a parody mass on a Belgian song ‘Waer maech sy sijn de liefste mijn’ (Where would she be, my beloved?) for 3 voices. This melody has often been paraphrased for a sacred song called ‘Mijn God waer sal ick henen gaen’ (My God, where shall I go?).
Cees Wagemakers, 2019