Jean de Chaynée (also known as Johannes Chainee, born around 1540 in Liège, died Oct. 14, 1577, in Maastricht) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance. He was enrolled as a duodenus at Saint-Lambert Cathedral in Liège beginning in 1550. On Sept. 20, 1558, the cathedral chapter granted him the benefice of an altar reserved for musicians. That same year, the new succentor, Johann Castileti (Jean Guyot de Châtelet), took up his post at Saint-Lambert. Chaynée certainly received composition lessons from him. In 1561–62, he stood in for his teacher as lead singer. The following year, both were in Vienna in the service of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), Castileti as a composer and Chaynée as a cantor. Unfortunately, following the emperor’s death on July 25, 1564, the chapel had to be disbanded. Castileti returned to Liège, while Chaynée entered the service of Archduke Charles II in Graz. He is listed in the court registers of Graz from 1567 until June 29, 1573; he then resigned. During this time, he spent several months as a sexton at the Collegiate Church of Graz. In the final years of his life, he worked in Maastricht, where he died in 1577.
Most of Jean de Chaynée’s surviving works are sacred vocal pieces (motets) found in contemporary manuscripts.
