# Early Music Alphabet (Sampler, pre-1650)



## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

This thread should be easily digestible & a good way to sample early music.
There are 3-5 composers for all letters except X & Y, with comments on these particular composers welcome afterwards.

*Index of Composers*:
*A1 - Alexander Agricola 15th/16thC........page 1*
A2 - Gregorio Allegri - 16th/17thC
A3 - Jacques Arcadelt - 16thC
A4 - F. Andrieu - late 14thC
A5 - Peter Abelard 11th/12thC
*B1 - William Byrd - 16th/17thC..................page 1*
B2 - John Bull - 16th/17thC
B3 - John Browne - 15th/16thC
B4 - Gilles Binchois - 15thC
B5 - Notker Balbulus - 9th/10thC
*C1 - Francesca Caccini - 17thC ................. page 1*
C2 - Jacob Clemens Non Papa - 16thC
C3 - Thomas Campion - 16th/17thC
C4 - Giovanni Coprario (John Cooper) - 16th/17thC
C5 - Antonio de Cabezón - 16thC
*D1 - John Dunstable - 15thC ................... page 2*
D2 - John Dowland - 16th/17thC
D3 - Guillaume Dufay - 15thC
D4 - Baldassare Donato - 16thC
D5 - Donato Da Cascia 14thC
*E1 - Michael East - 16th/17thC.......................page 2*
E2 - Bartolomé de Escobedo - 16thC
E3 - Jacob Van Eyck - 17thC
E4 - Christian Erbach - 16th/17thC
E5 - Johannes Eccard - 16th/17thC
*F1 - Pierre Fontaine - 14th/15thC......................page 2*
F2 - Girolamo Frescobaldi - 16th/17thC
F3 - Antoine de Févin - 15th/16thC
F4 - John Farmer - 16thC
F5 - Thomas Ford - 16th/17thC
*G1 - Giovanni Gabrieli - 16th/17thC..................page 3*
G2 - Godric of Finchale - 11th/12thC
G3 - Orlando Gibbons - 16th/17thC
G4 - Francisco Guerrero - 16thC
G5 - Carlo Gesualdo - 16th/17thC
*H1 - Hildegard of Bingen - 12thC.....................page 3*
H2 - Henry VIII of England - 16thC
H3 - Tobias Hume - 16th/17thC
H4 - Adam de la Halle - 13thC
H5 - Anthony Holborne - 16thC
*I-**1 - Marc'Antonio Ingegneri - 16thC......................page 3*
I-2 - 'In Dulce Jubilo' - 14thC lyrics, 16thC tune
I-3 - William Inglot - 16th/17thC
I-4 - Heinrich Isaac - 15th/16thC
I-5 - Simon Ives - 17thC
*J1 - Josquin Des Prez - 15th/16thC...................page 3*
J2 - John Jenkins - 17thC
J3 - Robert Jones - 16th/17thC
J4 - Clément Janequin - 16thC
J5 - Jacquet of Mantua - 16thC
*K1 - Leonhard Kleber - 16thC .............................page 4*
K2 - George Kirbye - 16th/17thC
K3 - Hans Kotter - 15th/16thC
K4 - Jacobus de Kerle (16thC)
K5 - Caspar Kittel (17thC)
*L1 - William Lawes (17thC) ..................................page 4*
L2 - Nicholas Ludford - 16thC
L3 - Orlando de Lassus - 16thC
L4 - Walter Lambe - 15thC
L5 - Alonso Lobo - 16th/17thC
*M1 - Guillaume de Machaut - 14thC............................page 4*
M2 - Claudio Monteverdi - 16th/17thC
M3 - Thomas Morley - 16thC
M4 - John Mundy - 16th/17thC
M5 - Tarquinio Merula - 17thC
*N1 - Giovanni Maria Nanini - 16thC ..........................page 4*
N2 - Ninot le Petit - 16thC
N3 - Luis de Narváez - 16thC
N4 - Cesare Negri - 16thC
N5 - Johannes Nucius/Nux - 16th/17thC
*O1 - Johannes Ockegham - 15thC .......................... page 5*
O2 - Jacob Obrecht - 15thC
O3 - Marbrianus de Orto - 15th/16thC
*P1 - Michael Praetorius -16th/17thC ........................ page 5*
P2 - Peter Philips - 16th/17thC
P3 - Jacopo Peri - 16th/17thC
P4 - Robert Parsons - 16thC
P5 - Pérotin - fl. c1200
*Q1 - Lucia Quintani (17thC) .................................... page 5*
Q2 - Paolo Quagliati (16th/17thC)
Q3 - Johannes de Quadris (15thC)
*R1 - Robert Ramsay (17thC) ................................... page 5*
R2 - Philip Rosseter (16th/17thC)
R3 - Jean Richafort - 15th/16thC
R4 - Cipriano de Rore - 16thC
R5 - Jacob Regnart - 16thC
*S1 - Tylman Susato - 16thC ................................. page 5*
S2 - John Sheppard - 16thC
S3 - Samuel Scheidt - 17thC
S4 - Johann Hermann Schein - 17thC
S5 - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - 16th/17thC
*T1 - Giovanni Maria Trabaci - 16th/17thC ......................... page 6*
T2 - John Taverner - 16thC
T3 - Christopher Tye - 16thC
T4 - Thomas Tallis - 16thC
T5 - Thomas Tomkins - 16th/17thC
*U1 - Alexander Utendal - 16thC ................................ page 6*
U2 - Francesco Usper - 16th/17thC
U3 - Juan de Urrede - 15thC
U4 - Vincenzo Ugolini 16th/17thC
*V1 - Philippe Verdelot - 16thC ...................... page 6*
V2 - Tomás Luis de Victoria - 16th/17thC
V3 - Antonio Valente - 16thC
V4 - Johann Vierdanck - 17thC
V5 - Philippe de Vitry - 14thC
*W1 - Adrian Willaert - 16thC ........................ page 6*
W2 - Giaches de Wert - 16thC
W3 - John Ward - 17thC
W4 - Gaspar van Weerbeke - 15th/16thC
W5 - Thomas Weelkes - 16th/17thC
*XYZ1 - Nicolaus Zacharie ........................... page 7*
XYZ2 - Zacara da Teramo - 14th/15thC
XYZ-3 Gioseffo Zarlino -16thC
XYZ-4 Mikołaj Zieleński - 16th/17thC


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Post A1: Alexander Agricola, Fortuna Desperata*. He lived between 1457/8 and 1506 in the Netherlands (Ghent & Cambrai). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Agricola

I know this song from an LP of Tudor Music we used to have (I'll chase it up & add it later).

I love this song for its melody and its sad, reflective quality. Existential Angst in a polite and palatable form.
Here are some examples on YouTube.











and


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*Post A2 : Gregorio Allegri 1582 –1652* : a Roman Catholic priest, he was born and died in Rome.

_Miserere mei, Deus_, a setting of Vulgate Psalm 50 for two choirs of five and four voices respectively, singing alternately and joining to sing the ending in 9-part polyphony.






(There are a number of comments on you tube about the idiosyncratic choice of images.)

Although written in the Baroque period, this represents a pinnacle of the renaissance style. A strange eerie piece with the contrasting lines lifting it to heights of harmony (and doing something to the hairs on the back of one's neck). Justly famous and not just because of the secrecy surrounding it.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

Post A3 - Jacques Arcadelt - "a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance - He was one of the most famous of the early composers of madrigals; his first book of madrigals, published within a decade of the appearance of the earliest examples of the form, was the most widely printed collection of madrigals of the entire era -principally known for the madrigal _Il bianco e dolce cigno_ "

Lovely, transcendent work - Along with the video, I've included a YouTube link which allows anyone access to the complete 3 CD set -






Link to label authorized recording of all 60 selections - 



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lELXDUta2f0Y-GH-JIhKNh4Szp2ISYvgc


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Post A4: F. Andrieu* - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Andrieu - late fourteenth century, French. Possibly his first name was François.
His only extant work (on current knowledge) is 'Armes, Amours, O Flour des Flours', a double ballade lament for the death of Guillaume de Machaut in 1377.

I wasn't aware of this man. This thread spurred me on to find another composer whose name begins with A. But this song is gorgeous. Joyful because it's beautiful and glories in beauty - sad because it makes me aware of the transience of beauty.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*Post A5: Peter Abelard 1079 - 1142 *: Medieval polymath

_O Quanta Qualia_ is the only surviving piece from the hymn book Abelard wrote for the religious community that Héloïse joined. It is a wonderful evocation of the joys and journey toward the New Jerusalem.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Post A6*:
The story of Abelard & Eloise is such an amazing, intriguing, tragic & psychologically difficult story. It raises some of questions that always beset me when listening to or considering religious music - chiefly, would I enjoy this music as much if I lacked my Christian faith, but as a subsidiary to this, were the composers just making a quick buck in the cultural milieu that they lived in, or where they men & women of faith who aspired to worship God in music?

It is perfectly possible for listeners to divorce appreciation of religious music from their personal belief - it's just that in my case, it isn't.

I didn't actually know that Abelard was a composer, and I shall try to listen to some of his other works.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Another day, another letter.

*B1 William Byrd 1543 -1623 *: Major English composer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd

This piece is taken from the 1591 My Ladye Nevells Booke. To quote IMSLP - "The Battell, BK 94 seems to have been inspired by The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne a series of engravings by John Derricke published in 1581 depicting Henry Sidney's campaign of 1578 against Turlough Luineach O'Neill, King of Tyrone."

The Irish March is a fine stirring piece.

Here is a keyboard version






The Irish March has also become a show piece for Irish pipers. Here it is by the folk group Planxty


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Post B2*: *John Bull *(1562/63 – 1628)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bull_(composer)



John Bull - Fantasia in D:





I love this sort of Elizabethan keyboard music - the patterning is intellectually satisfying, but there is no robotic neatness about it, but changes of rhythm and pauses and a trying out of themes that gives it organic life. Bull composed for the virginals, but the jagged tone of the harpsichord on this video is an extra attraction for me - bracing, like iced tonic water.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*B3 John Browne (1480-1505) :* Scholar of Eton College. Little is known of his life. All of his extant works are found in the earlier folios of the Eton Choirbook, dating from between 1490 and 1500.

Listening to his Stabat Mater one can only agree with early music scholar Peter Phillips that this is "subtle, almost mystical" and "extreme in ways which apparently have no parallel, either in England or abroad."


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*B4 - Gilles Binchois* - (c. 1400 – 20 September 1460) - "was a Franco-Flemish composer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois and his colleague Guillaume Du Fay were deeply influenced by the _contenance angloise_ style of John Dunstaple. Binchois is often considered to be among finest melodists of the 15th century; reflecting on his style the Encyclopædia Britannica comments that "Binchois cultivated the gently subtle rhythm, the suavely graceful melody, and the smooth treatment of dissonance of his English contemporaries". Modern musicologists generally hold Binchois, along with Du Fay and John Dunstable as the three major European composers of the early 15th-century."






Link to complete album - *Gilles Binchois - Chansons*

Ensemble Gilles Binchois/Dominique Vellard



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kj-TMfmq3YgBlpC_KC7Lw6XiQ78rEwuJ0


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

*B5 Notker Balbulus (c. 840 – 6 April 912) *

He was a Benedictine monk. According to Wikipedia, "his 'Liber Hymnorum', created between 881 and 887, is an early collection of Sequences, which he called "hymns", mnemonic poems for remembering the series of pitches sung during a melisma in plainchant, especially in the Alleluia."

This must be some of the earliest music which has survived in notation which we can still decipher. I would be interested if anyone knows of other examples of music from before the year 1000.

NB I hope this is acceptable as a letter B, if not feel free to replace it.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

B6 - Technically, Notker 'Balbulus' ('The Stammerer') ought to appear under N, as you'd never refer to him as Balbulus on its own, but you might call him simply 'Notker'. (This is an edit because I'm just back, tired, from a trip to the seaside and it's only just now dawned on me what you meant, Marcos.)

All the same, let it stand - this thread is only meant to be a fun way of organising a shortish sampler.
And the music is *very* acceptable. 

I'd never heard of Notker Balbulus, and gosh what an early date. I enjoyed listening to your video very much.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notker_the_Stammerer



It's lovely that people are joining this thread & I hope we can go on sharing with each other and learning from each other. Thank you.

B7-10 could be further discussion/critical comments and then tomorrow it will be 5 composers beginning with C - surnames, or distinguishing forenames (see OP).

Looking forward to it.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

Ingélou said:


> B6 - *Very* acceptable.
> 
> I'd never heard of Notker Balbulus, and gosh what an early date. I am listening to your video now, Marcos, and enjoying it very much.
> 
> ...


*B7*

He's better known as "Notker the Stammerer" - 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notker_the_Stammerer



which must have really been quite a stammer to have survived as a nickname for over a thousand years. I was doing some research for a planned game covering this time period and had difficulty finding any material that definitively identified his as an actual composer. Even the Wiki page lists him as "possibly a composer" and I was unable to find any information which identified actual compositions.

This is an additional quote from the page - "His _Liber Hymnorum_, created between 881 and 887, is an early collection of _Sequences_, which he called "hymns", mnemonic poems for remembering the series of pitches sung during a melisma in plainchant, especially in the Alleluia. It is unknown how many or which of the works contained in the collection are his. The hymn _Media Vita_ was erroneously attributed to him late in the Middle Ages."

"Ekkehard IV wrote of fifty sequences composed by Notker. He was formerly considered to have been the inventor of the sequence, a new species of religious lyric, but this is now considered doubtful, though he did introduce the genre into Germany."

From what I've read it would appear that his primary claim to fame is as a literary scholar and curator.

He's the first entry on this page - 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medieval_composers



and his "Surviving works" are coloured yellow signifying "Uncertain status as composer"

The above list is an invaluable source when attempting to identify composers and their works.


This is the companion list for Renaissance composers - 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Renaissance_composers


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*C1 - Francesca Caccini *(1587-1641) - daughter of the composer Giulio Caccini. She wrote 16 works for the stage but, as Wiki says, 'All but _La liberazione di Ruggiero_ and some excerpts from _La Tancia_ and _Il passatempo_ published in the 1618 collection are believed lost.' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesca_Caccini#Works

*Wiki* also comments: 'Although her music is not especially notable for the expressive dissonances made fashionable by her contemporary Monteverdi, Caccini was a master of dramatic harmonic surprise: in her music it is harmony, more than counterpoint, that most powerfully communicates affect.'

Here's her guestbook on TC - Francesca Caccini (1587 - 1641)

Obviously, some of my interest in her - she was nicknamed 'La Cecchina', the songbird - is because she is one of those rare birds, a female composer at an early date. But my admiration for this song is sincere - so sad, so beautiful.
Ah, the joy of melancholy.

*Francesca Caccini - Lasciatemi Qui Solo





*


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*C2 Jacob Clemens Non Papa (1510 - 1556)* : Dutch composer, little is known of his life. Best known for the _Souterliedekens_ a complete set of the 150 psalms in Dutch. They are the only Protestant part-music in Dutch during the Renaissance.






Fascinating clip showing the original monophonic setting, the folk tune and then finally the three part setting of Clemens. A lovely quiet and reflective piece of music.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*C3 - Thomas Campion - (12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620)* - was an English composer, poet, and physician. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques for dancing, and an authoritative technical treatise on music. 

While Campion had attained a considerable reputation in his own day, in the years that followed his death his works sank into complete oblivion. No doubt this was due to the nature of the media in which he mainly worked, the masque and the song-book. The masque was an amusement at any time too costly to be popular, and during the commonwealth period it was practically extinguished. The vogue of the song-books was even more ephemeral, and, as in the case of the masque, the Puritan ascendancy, with its distaste for all secular music, effectively put an end to the madrigal. 

Transcendent music - Never fails to provide an escape from where I happen to be and which then leads me to where I need to be...












Link to the complete album - 

*An Old Belief*

Parry -Campion - McDowall

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers 



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lmzlW7wizWmxGVkx5prX8Txgw1XJCj0Qs


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*C4 Giovanni Coprario/ John Cooper:* (1575-1626)

English composer & viol player
'Among Coprario's works are fantasias, suites and other works for viols and violins, and two collections of songs, _Funeral Teares_ (1606) and _Songs of Mourning: Bewailing the Untimely Death of Prince Henry_ (1613). He also penned a treatise on composition, _Rules how to Compose_.' - quoted from Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coprario

*John Coprario, Fantasia à 4 ex C Viol Consort*
Measured & patterned beauty.






*John Coprario: Funeral Teares*
Nicely played & sung, this lovely song.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*C5 Antonio de Cabezón (1510 - 1566)* : Blind from childhood, he quickly rose to prominence as performer and was eventually employed by the Spanish royal family. He was the first major Iberian keyboard composer.






A delightful set of variations.

And the inevitable folia - always a delight.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

C6 - Discussion Post:



Shaughnessy said:


> *C3 - Thomas Campion - (12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620)* -
> Transcendent music - Never fails to provide an escape from where I happen to be and which then leads me to where I need to be...


I love Thomas Campion's lyrics - some of them were in the anthology of Elizabethan poetry that I studied at A-level. I was charmed by their elegance and wit, and the tunes that go with them are simple but pleasing in the way they set off and emphasise those lyrics.

Scholars seem to vary on which tunes in the _1601 Book of Ayres_ were written by Thomas Campion and which by his friend Philip Rosseter, the court lutenist, whom he made his sole heir when he was dying. Ironically, the music for one of his other books, _Songs of Mourning: Bewailing the Untimely Death of Prince Henry, _came from John Coprario, another on today's list. The Wiki article is accompanied by a portrait of a lute-player which is reckoned to be Campion (see below), and yet in another article I read that it can't even be proved that Campion played the lute.










There's no TC guestbook for Campion as yet, so there's an opening for a fan of his music, who'd seem to need powers of speculation too!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*D1 John Dunstable, 1390 – 1453* : Information on Dunstable's life is largely non-existent or speculative. Much English church music was lost in the dissolution of the monasteries. That so much of Dunstable's work survives in continental editions is an indication and his fame and its popularity.

This is the famous isorhythmic motet which combines the hymn _Veni creator spiritus_ and the sequence _Veni sancte spiritus_ :






Dunstable's unusual treatment of harmony and the equality of the vocal parts is displayed here. Although a beautiful sound and a brilliant technical exercise, the combination of the two parts merely muddies the sense of what is being sung. One can see why polyphony was rejected as distracting from the essential focus on scriptural text .


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*D2: John Dowland *(1563 - 1626)
Possibly born near Dublin, or in Westminster of Irish stock; lutenist and songwriter - 'semper Dowland semper dolens' - always Dowland, always doleful.

Based on my own experience, I can't help thinking that anyone who hears him, loves him. 
His most famous work is *Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares*, published in 1604. 

The YouTube Video begins with *Lachrimae Antiqua*, probably the most famous tune. The blend of melody, harmony, pace is simply angelic and it always does make me feel reflectively melancholy. It does what it says on the tin!


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*D3: **Guillaume Du Fay* - also *Dufay*, *Du Fayt*; 5 August 1397(?) – 27 November 1474) was a French composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. He is considered the leading European composer of his time, during which his music was widely performed and copied. He was well-associated with composers of the Burgundian School, particularly his colleague Gilles Binchois, but was never a regular member of the Burgundian chapel himself. Like Binchois, Du Fay was deeply influenced by the _contenance angloise_ style of John Dunstaple, and synthesized it with a wide variety of other styles, including that of the famous _Missa Caput_, and the techniques of his younger contemporaries Johannes Ockeghem and Antoine Busnois.

Du Fay composed in most of the common forms of the day, including masses, motets, Magnificats, hymns, simple chant settings in fauxbourdon, and antiphons within the area of sacred music, and rondeaux, ballades, virelais and a few other chanson types within the realm of secular music. 

Of Du Fay's masses, his _Missa se la face ay pale_ and _Missa L'Homme armé_ are listed on AllMusic as essential compositions. 






Link to complete album - 

*Dufay: Les Messes à Teneur*

Cut Circle, Jesse Rodin



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kNgqTyO1xvymN_58XJWPSTeaw7XlRbYuQ


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*D4: Baldassare Donato* : 1525-1530 – 1603)
Italian composer & singer of the Venetian school. According to Wiki, the Venetian school showed progressive trends, and Donato was even more progressive. He developed a light secular form called the villanella, a form of madrigal that was sometimes danced to, which uses 'vigorous cross-rhythms', though his sacred music was written in more conservative style.

The Music & Influence Section in the Wiki article on Donato explains in what way he was 'progressive' and in what ways he used traditional forms of polyphony.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldassare_Donato#:~:text=Baldassare%20Donato%20(also%20Donati)%20(,cappella%20of%20the%20prestigious%20St


.
I wasn't able to find a lot on YouTube, but here are a couple of short videos as samples of his work.
Both have a glorious, heart-lifting 'full-on' sound.

*Donato, Baldassare - Quatro dei, cantata a 4*






*O Dolce Vita mia - Baldassare Donato- Schola Martialensis*


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*D5 Donato da Cascia* (fl. c. 1350 – 1370) : (also da Firenze or da Florentia) an Italian composer of the Trecento.He was probably also a priest, and the picture that survives of him in the Squarcialupi Codex shows him in the robes of the Benedictine order.






Most of his surviving musical is secular and this is a nice little two voice madrigal.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*D6: Comment Post:*

Dunstable, Dowland, and Dufay are the Big Names here, and especially Dufay. I haven't listened to much Dufay at all and feel daunted by all the music that I have missed. 

The other two composers - to make up the numbers, we had to scrape the barrel, but it's still nice to have some names. 

But tomorrow will be E - an even more hard-to-find letter. 

To allow some leeway, let's say that each day one should try to find at least three Composers with samples. Five will always be welcome, but that should take some of the pressure off. 

Best wishes for a peaceful night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*E1 Michael East 1580–1648* : English organist and composer. He wrote madrigals, published in Morley's _The Triumphs of Oriana_. His most highly regarded works are his five-part fantasies for viols.






A very nice viol fantasia well played.






Nice interplay of voices in this madrigal.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*E2 - **Bartolomé de Escobedo - (1515 – August 11, 1563)* - was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born in Zamora, studied at Salamanca where he was a singer, and in 1536 joined the papal choir in Rome as only the second Spaniard to be admitted after Cristóbal de Morales. He had his share of difficulties while in Rome, mostly due to his short temper and illness. Records from the Vatican, the _Diarii Sistini_, show that he was fined on two occasions for calling a fellow singer an "ar$e" and a "fat pig", and that he was inexplicably excommunicated for one day in 1546. Despite this, he was well regarded as a theorist and was famously involved in judging the public debate of 1551 between Nicola Vicentino and Vicenzo Lusitano over the relevance of ancient Greek modes to 16th century music.

It's a genuine shame that after five hundred years have passed, this is the sole extent of his less than flattering reputation but the work selected here - _Missa Philippus Rex Hispanie_ - is wonderful - a genuine delight - and completely unexpected from someone who managed to get himself "inexplicably excommunicated for one day in 1546".






Link to the complete work - 



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lF_gBaa4lRnil_ZMk3ko2hZ0DDg7O3WOE


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*E3: Jacob van Eyck - (c. 1590 – 26 March 1657)* was a Dutch nobleman and blind musician. He was one of the best-known musicians of the Dutch Golden Age, working as a carillon player and technician, an organist, a recorder virtuoso, and a composer. He was an expert in bell casting and tuning, and taught Pieter and François Hemony how to tune a carillon. Van Eyck is credited with developing the modern carillon together with the brothers in 1644, when they cast the first tuned carillon in Zutphen. He is also known for his collection of 143 melodies for recorder, _Der Fluyten Lust-hof_, the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history.

This is "Derde Doen Daphne D'over Schoone Maeght" as played on the recorder -







and this is the same song "Derde Doen Daphne D'over Schoone Maeght" as played on the carillon -






Once you hear the carillon version you'll quickly understand why there are very few - if any - recorder and carillon duets...

Link to complete album -



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_khLqOLexj2D7QKVMUtr6qoxk_7LmJjNUE


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*E4: Christian Erbach 1568-1635*
German organist & composer - the influence on his work is primarily Venetian, according to Wiki. 




__





Loading…






en.wikipedia.org





*Christian Erbach - Ricercar quarti toni alla chromatica*





This is lovely - tout simple!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*E5 Johannes Eccard (1553–1611)* : German composer and kapellmeister. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel. 

The presentation in the temple






Great piece of choral(e) singing.

Christ lag in Todesbanden






Eccard's setting of Luther's Hymn is excellent. The piece is better known in Bach's more ornate version but this is a straightforward setting of the hymn.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

E6 - Comment post - additional full album alternative available for listening -










*Michael East: Amavi*

Fieri Consort, Chelys Consort of Viols

Link to complete album - 



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m7GH4zA5fqNzbKY6AKGGkD60uKXTwdUNo


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

E7 - Comment post - additional full album alternative available for listening - 









*Eccard: Mit Freude musizieren*

Sacred & Secular Works

Opella Musica & Ensemble NOEMA, Gregor Meyer

Link to complete album - 





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www.youtube.com


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*F1: Pierre Fontaine* (c. 1380 - c. 1450)




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en.wikipedia.org




Wiki says that he was a 'French composer of the transitional era between the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance and a member of the Burgundian School of composers. While he was well known at the time, most of his music has probably been lost. All of his surviving music is secular, and all his compositions are chansons.'

Here's one of Fontaine's Chansons, _J'aime bien celui que s'en va_:






I have nothing profound to say about this, except that I think it's a gorgeous tune with parts, and I only wish I could get the music and we could play it in our local folk music group.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*F2* *Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi* 1583 -1643 : An Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. His work influenced Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Henry Purcell, and other major composers. 

Both pieces are taken from his 1615 _Toccate e partite_. Wiki describes this as establishing expressive keyboard style; unfortunately both players have taken this to heart. The videos are best listened to rather than watched.

The second toccata






Gentle and tuneful. The music is a delightful display of harpsichord effects.

The seventh toccata






A much more thoughtful piece. A ripple of notes expressing a melancholy mood.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*F3 - Antoine de Févin* (ca. 1470 – late 1511 or early 1512) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary. 

All of Févin's surviving music is vocal. He wrote masses, motets and chansons. Stylistically his music is similar to Josquin's in its clarity of texture and design, and its relatively progressive nature: Févin evidently wrote in the most current styles, adopting the method of contrasting imitative sections with homophonic sections which came into prominence around 1490. Unlike Josquin, he was less concerned with the careful setting of text than with formal structure; his setting of individual words is occasionally clumsy, though his larger-scale structures are easy to follow. He also particularly liked the device of using vocal duets to contrast with the full sonority of the choir. 

Some of Févin's music uses the technique of free contrapuntal fantasy, later perfected by Josquin, where strict imitation is absent; fragments of a cantus firmus pervade the texture, giving a feeling of overall unity and complete equality of all the voices.

Of his music, 14 masses (one of which is a Requiem Mass), 3 lamentations, 3 Magnificats, 14 motets and 17 chansons survive.






*Févin: Requiem d’Anne de Bretagne*

Doulce Mémoire, Denis Raisin Dadre (direction)

Link to complete album - 



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kE-_psUpxi162BqtP0MS0WyiJ5zMlkfsI



"On the death of Anne of Brittany, her husband King Louis XII honoured her with exceptional funeral ceremonies lasting forty days, which sealed forever her image as Queen of France and Duchess of Brittany.

As he prepared this programme centring on the Missa pro defunctis of Antoine de Févin, and read the exceptionally vivid narrative by the herald of Anne of Brittany (whom her subjects nicknamed simply ‘Bretaigne’!), Denis Raisin Dadre realised that beyond all this official mourning staged by the royal authority, there was also a silent sorrow, that of the Bretons who had lost their duchess and were also in the process of losing their duchy’s independence.

He wanted to make the voices of the people heard behind the voices of the king’s singers, and so he asked Yann-Fañch Kemener to contribute some traditional Breton gwerzioù.

These solo songs act as a counterpoint to the complex polyphony which expresses all the pomp of royalty.

His voice allows us to hear the Breton people, so attached to their Duchess Anne who had bequeathed them her heart and who are still extraordinarily attached to her today."
- Presto Music


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*F4 John Farmer* (c. 1570 – c. 1601) : An important composer of the English Madrigal School.

Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone






A delightful pastoral madrigal. With a fairly light texture there's a nice interplay of voices.

"Fair Nymphs I Heard One Telling" (For 6 Voices) - no.14 From Madrigales; The Triumphes Of Oriana (1601)






As the texture becomes more complex, the signing style becomes "fruitier". I find this sort of jolly chortle offputting.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*F5: Thomas Ford* (c.1580-c.1648)

English composer, lutenist, viol player & poet, serving the court of Henry, Prince of Wales, and after his death, the court of Charles I, before he acceded and afterwards, until 1642, the outbreak of the civil war.

There is a pleasant site here, which includes videos of both instrumental pieces - *The Rossignols, Sir Richard Weston's Pavane*; *Mr Southcote's Pavane*; and some songs: *Farre, Sweet, Cruel*; *Go, Passions, to the Cruel Faire*; and two versions of *Despaire & Delight/ There is a Lady Sweet & Kind *(see the third video, below):








Another lute website - Thomas Ford


Wikipedia: Thomas Ford (1580 – 1648) was an English composer, lutenist, viol player and poet. Ford was attached to the court of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of James I, who died in 1612. He was musician to the household of Prince Henry from 1610 to 1612, musician to the household of




sites.google.com





I am listening to the lute pieces now, and they are charmingly patterned and appealing.

Wiki says:
'Ford wrote anthems, for three to six voices; four sacred canons; 35 part-songs; six fantasias for five parts; and a few other pieces for viols. His most important collection was probably the _Musicke of Sundrie Kindes_ (London, 1607), which was in two parts. The first book included lute ayres, described as "Aries for 4 voices to the Lute, Orphorion, or Basse-viol, with a Dialogue for two Voices..."; the second part contained dances such as "Pavens, Galiards, Almaines, Toies, Jigges, Thumpes, and such like..." scored for combinations of viols.'




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en.wikipedia.org





*Thomas Ford - « Come, Phyllis, come into these bow'rs » - Lutes consort and voices*





Satisfying craftsmanship in the interweaving of instrumental & vocal parts.

*Since First I Saw Your Face - Ford's most famous song*:





It's an entrancing tune that fits the words beautifully, but I can't find a version on YouTube that satisfies me. This is a 'modern' treatment but the 'authentic olde-worlde' videos are so much more annoying! 

*Another famous song of rather similar type - There is a Lady Sweet & Kind:*





It's justly famous however - romantic and pretty; chocolate box stuff, but then I like chocolate.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*F6 - Comment - *You may enjoy this recording* -* which appears to be closer to what you may be seeking -












*The Sypres Curten of the Night*

Elizabethan & Jacobean Lute Songs

Michael Chance (counter-tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)

Link to complete album -



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lzGFlZfN6wXhYkq7HWYeqLRK9xjNCo3n8



This page from Presto Music goes into greater detail for the track listings -









The Sypres Curten of the Night: Elizabethan & Jacobean Lute Songs


The Sypres Curten of the Night. Chandos: CHAN0538. Buy CD or download online. Michael Chance (counter-tenor), Christopher Wilson (lute)



www.prestomusic.com


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*F7*: Thank you. I look forward to listening to the Michael Chance, as he was a patron of Norwich Baroque & we had the good fortune to see him in concert with Emma Kirkby in Norwich Cathedral a few years ago. Happy days!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*G1 Giovanni Gabrieli 1554 – 1612* : An Italian composer and organist. Gabrielli is on the cusp between the older Renaissance styles and the Baroque. 

Gabrieli was one of the first composers to write choral works including parts for instrumental ensembles; the motet _In ecclesiis_, as an example, calls for two choirs, soloists, organ, brass, and strings.He used the unusual layout of the San Marco church, with its two choir lofts facing each other, to create striking spatial effects.






Certainly makes for a lovely sound.

_O magnum mysterium_ is a responsorial chant from the Matins of Christmas. It is much simpler






but very beautiful.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*G2: Godric of Finchale* (c.1070-c1170)

Adventurer, hermit, poet & popular saint who also wrote four songs in Old English - the oldest songs in English for which the music survives, recorded by Reginald of Durham.

I love these songs and find them evocative, beautiful, & slightly eerie. Of course, much of my response is due to knowing the context, having studied Old English at Durham University, and visited Finchale Abbey on a few occasions as a student and afterwards, when Taggart & I lived in Durham early in our married life. Finchale is a beautiful place.

*"Sainte Marië Viërgenë" - "Crist and St. Marië" - "Sainte Nicholas, Godes Druth" *





*Crist and Sainte Marie by Saint Godric of Finchale*













Watch as 900-year-old song comes to life at Finchale Abbey


The ruins of Finchale Abbey rang with a 900-year-old song when it was brought to life in a performance. The unfamiliar early Middle English tones of St Godric's song were performed as part of the St Cuthbert Festival




explorar.co.uk


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*G3 Orlando Gibbons 1583 – 1625* : English composer and keyboard player. One of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. 

Pavan & Galliard 'Lord Salisbury' - This coupling of slow & fast dances was popular all over Europe from 1540 to 1650. They were then succeeded by the pairing of Allemande & Courante. 






Delightful playing and a lovely contrast between the two dances. A lovely piece of music.

Nunc Dimittis - by way of contrast.






Lovely anthem from his Short Service for evensong.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*G4* - *Francisco Guerrero* (October 4 (?), 1528 – November 8, 1599) was a Spanish Catholic priest and composer of the Renaissance. 

Guerrero's music was both sacred and secular, unlike that of Victoria and Morales, the two other Spanish 16th-century composers of the first rank. He wrote numerous secular songs and instrumental pieces, in addition to masses, motets, and Passions. He was able to capture an astonishing variety of moods in his music, from ecstasy to despair, longing, joy, and devotional stillness; his music remained popular for hundreds of years, especially in cathedrals in Latin America. Stylistically he preferred homophonic textures, rather like his Spanish contemporaries, and he wrote memorable, singable lines. One interesting feature of his style is how he anticipated functional harmonic usage: there is a case of a Magnificat discovered in Lima, Peru, once thought to be an anonymous 18th century work, which turned out to be a work of his. - Wikipedia 












*Flight of Angels*

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers

Link to complete album - 





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www.youtube.com





*Works*

Guerrero, Francisco: Duo Seraphim
Guerrero, Francisco: Laudate Dominum
Guerrero, Francisco: Maria Magdalene
Guerrero, Francisco: Missa Congratulamini mihi: Agnus Dei I
Guerrero, Francisco: Missa Congratulamini mihi: Agnus Dei II
Guerrero, Francisco: Missa de la batalla escoutez: Credo
Guerrero, Francisco: Missa Surge propera: Gloria
Guerrero, Francisco: Vexilla Regis
Lobo, A: Ave Maria
Lobo, A: Ave Regina caelorum
Lobo, A: Libera me
Lobo, A: Missa Maria Magdalene: Kyrie
Lobo, A: Versa est in luctum


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Carlo Gesualdo* (1566 - 1613)

Gesualdo will probably always be remembered mainly for being a murderer - he killed his first wife and her lover on finding them in flagrante delicto.
But *apart from that ...* he wrote some wonderful & original music - madrigals and sacred music that 'use a chromatic language not heard again until the late nineteenth century', according to Wiki.




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Here's a short but brilliantly watchable video that discusses the composer & his work, particularly how far he can be considered different from the composers of his time & an important influence:






*Sacred Music: Miserere*




Sombre & reflective music that completely suits its title; beautiful & riveting in its dissonances.


*Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) - The Fifth Book of Madrigals (1611) - Felicissimo sonno*





Again, stunning - such a texture to get one's musical-appreciation teeth into. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*S'io non miro non moro:*





I enjoyed listening, but this one is too baleful in its dissonances for my taste. But the listener can't help but be interested and wonder what was going through the composer's mind.

Wiki says: 'The evidence that Gesualdo was tortured by guilt for the remainder of his life is considerable, and he may have given expression to it in his music. One of the most obvious characteristics of his music is the extravagant text setting of words representing extremes of emotion: "love", "pain", "death", "ecstasy", "agony" and other similar words occur frequently in his madrigal texts, most of which he probably wrote himself. While this type of word-painting is common among madrigalists of the late 16th century, it reached an extreme development in Gesualdo's music.'

But who can know what he really felt?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*H1.* *Hildegard of Bingen* (1098-1179)
Abbess, Visionary, Polymath & Composer of Sacred Music.

Wiki says that her music: 'is monophonic... Its style ... characterized by soaring melodies that can push the boundaries of traditional Gregorian chant and ... stand outside the normal practices of monophonic monastic chant... Another feature of Hildegard's music that both reflects the twelfth-century evolution of chant, and pushes that evolution further, is that it is highly melismatic, often with recurrent melodic units. ... Hildegard's music lacks any indication of tempo or rhythm...'




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en.wikipedia.org





I get the impression that Hildegard is very much a la mode in today's world, but also that not enough is known about how she compares with her contemporaries or how her works were performed, so that though she has been very much recorded of recent years, nobody can say - at present - how 'authentic' these interpretations are.

Like everyone else (it seems), when I listen to Hildegard's work I am inspired and impressed.
I've picked a short video as an exemplar - this one is beautiful & numinous.

*Hildegard von Bingen - O Rubor Sanguinis/Favius Distillans*


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*H2 Henry VIII 1491 - 1547* : King of England and occasional composer.

Henry VIII was highly respected as a musician and composer. The main source of his works is the manuscript, known as the Henry VIII Songbook which was probably compiled around 1518, and includes 20 songs and 13 instrumental pieces ascribed to ‘The Kynge H’. These include some well known pieces such as Green groweth the holly, Helas madame, Pastime with good company and Taunder naken. Helas madame appears in the Bayeux Manuscript, compiled during the final decades of the 15th century. Taunder naken is a well known standard. Green groweth the holly may well be by Henry but...

The one piece that is definitely accepted as Henry's is 'Pastyme With Good Companye'.






A pleasant little song.

The most famous piece ascribed to Henry is Greensleeves. This is, however, based on an Italian tune style of the 1560's. Nice story though.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*H3 Tobias Hume c1579 – 1645* : Scottish composer, viol player and soldier. Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Hume

Captain Hume's Galliard






Delightful piece of viol playing.

Concerto Caledonia The Earle of Pembrookes Galiard; The Souldiers Song; The Souldiers Galliard






The first galliard is sprightly and delightful. Lovely mix of instruments. The song is .. so-so - mainly the jolly style. The final galliard is nice but not as good as the first. A good display of Hume's talents.

There's an excellent article on Hume here.


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## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

*H4 - Adam de la Halle* - (1245–1250 – 1285–1288/after 1306) was a French poet-composer _trouvère_.

Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and progressive composer, resulting in a complex legacy: he cultivated admired representatives of older trouvère genres, but also experimented with newer dramatic works. 

Adam represented the final generation of the _trouvère_ tradition and "has long been regarded as one of the most important musical and literary figures of thirteenth-century Europe". 

Adam's literary and musical works include chansons and jeux-partis (poetic debates) in the style of the _trouvères_; polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony; and a musical play, _Jeu de Robin et Marion_ (c. 1282–83), which is considered the earliest surviving secular French play with music. 
- Wikipedia - 



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_de_la_Halle









Link to complete album -



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n6mhH0mIeKdeomenGMID8I2SeJL1OaZOQ


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*H5: Anthony Holborne* (c.1545-1602)
composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Elizabeth I.
According to Wiki, his '_Pavans, Galliards, Almains and other short Aeirs, both grave and light, in five parts, for Viols, Violins, or other Musicall Winde Instruments_ was published in 1599 and is the largest surviving collection of its kind.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Holborne

His most famous piece is The Fairy Round, which I adore for its lively blithe quality. It's even been sent out into space as an example of human culture, on the Voyager space probes. This speedy version is by Jordi Savall.





Here are some of Holborne lute tunes - measured, charming & very enjoyable:


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*I1. Marc'Antonio Ingegneri 1535 - 1592* : Italian composer and teacher of Monteverdi. His sacred works (generally) reflect the trends of the Council of Trent towards a simple style. His madrigals are conservative reflecting his training under Cipriano de Rore and ignoring the chromaticism of Luzzaschi and Marenzio .

Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc'Antonio_Ingegneri

Tenebrae factae sunt






Delightful piece of choral writing.

Exultate Deo






Soaring singing reflecting the text. (Psalm 80)


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*I-2: *_*In Dulce Jubilo*_

Medieval Carol - in its original setting, a macaronic text of Latin and German, thought to have been written by the German mystic Heinrich Seuse in about 1328. According to Wiki, *'The tune, Zahn no. 4947, first appears in Codex 1305, a manuscript in Leipzig University Library', *although it may have been circulating in Europe prior to that date. It appeared subsequently in hymnbooks of 1533 & 1537, and in 1545 another verse was added, possibly by Martin Luther. The melody also appears in a Swedish/Latin version in the Finnish songbook Piae Cantiones in 1582.
_


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_dulci_jubilo







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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*I-3: William Inglott* (1553/4 - 1621)

Elizabethan Organist, at Norwich Cathedral & then Hereford. Few of his works survive - there are two keyboard pieces in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book & the musicologist Ian Payne describes Inglott's variations there as "well crafted, richly polyphonic, and technically demanding". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Inglott)





The 'octave virginal' used on this video has a delicious tone, and the variations on the theme are very satisfying.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*I**4 Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450 – 1517)* : A composer of of south Netherlandish origin. A significant contemporary of Josquin des Prez, Isaac influenced the development of music in Germany. The main characteristic of Isaac's music is its variety.

Alla battaglia






Nicely stirring with a lovely martial atmosphere.

Rorate caeli ('Drop down, ye heavens') the opening words of Isaiah 45:8 in the Vulgate used at various points in the Advent liturgy.






Delightful piece of polyphony with the text being clear.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*I-5: Simon Ives* (1600-1662)
Active in the court of Charles I - composed pastoral dialogues, part songs, glees & organ works & 'music for the theatre, and a considerable amount of music for solo lyra viol or that was transcribed for lyra viol.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Ives#:~:text=Simon Ives (sometimes spelled Yves,glees, and works for organ.

The music reproduced below may be later than 1650 but was the best example of his work that I could find online. 

*Duo in a-minor for two bass viols by Simon Ives (1600 - 1662)*





A pleasant tune with a rich molasses sound.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*J1 - Josquin des Prez*, c.1450/55 - 1521
Singer & Composer of the Franco-Flemish school, now often called simply Josquin. 
According to Wiki, he built on the work of his predecessors Guillaume Du Fay & Johannes Ockeghem to develop 'a complex style of expressive & often imitative polyphony... (with) increased emphasis on the relationship between text and music, and (he) departed from the early Renaissance emphasis on melismatic lines, preferring to use shorter, repeated motifs between voices... His compositions are chiefly vocal, including masses, motets & a variety of secular chansons.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josquin_des_Prez

Josquin is the flavour of the Now - he was reevaluated in the twentieth century early music revival as a key influential composer. That has led to some recent scholars questioning his 'apotheosis' at the expense of his contemporaries 'particularly in light of hundreds of attributions now considered dubious'. (Wiki) But he is still feted, recorded by many talented early music ensembles, and the 500th anniversary of his death was celebrated worldwide last year. 

*Josquin des Prez - Missa Pange Lingua*




Listening to this makes me fully understand Josquin's 'apotheosis'. It is celestial! 

*Motets**: 'Out of Josquin's entire oeuvre, his motets remain his most celebrated and influential works.' (Wiki)*

*De Profundis (Psalm 129)*:




What do I want from a sung De Profundis? Solemn beauty that makes me reflect sadly on mortality while simultaneously appreciating the wonders of music and life. And that's what I get here.

*Secular Chansons* - since many of these are based on popular songs, problems of attribution abound. As an example of Josquin's art, I'm choosing 'Faulte d'argent', in which Josquin uses the technique of taking a popular song and writing it as a canon with itself, in two inner voices; he then writes new melodic material above and around it, to a new text. (see the Wiki article).
A bit like altering a recipe so that it ends up with three new ingredients & the original idea extended and the amounts changed. But hey, who cares - the result is even more delicious.





Alas, I know too little about Josquin & have only listened to a few recordings.
So I hope someone reading this will be able to make more knowledgeable assessments and recommend some other performances.
Thank you.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*J2 John Jenkins 1592 -1678* : English composer. Spanning the period from Byrd to Purcell, Jenkins was musically conservative being most influenced by Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger, Thomas Lupo, John Coprario and Orlando Gibbons. He revived the_ In Nomine_ form in the 1640s

Newark Seidge - Galliard c 1647






A delightful galliard with a pleasant bass effect.

In Nomine in g for 6 voices






Delightful multi voice version.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*J3: Robert Jones* c.1577-1617
One of the most prolific of English lute-song composers. 
'He published five volumes of simple and melodious lute songs, and one of madrigals; he also contributed to _The Triumphs of Oriana_ and Leighton's _Teares_. His 27 madrigals are mostly to texts about birds – birds merry, sweet, shrill, crowing or melancholic.' Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jones_(composer)

Three of his songs can be found on Another Lute Website: 








Another lute website - Robert Jones


Wikipedia: Robert Jones (c. 1577 – 1617) was an English lutenist and composer, the most prolific of the English lute song composers (along with Thomas Campion). He received the degree of B.Mus from Oxford in 1597 (St. Edmund Hall). He ran a school in London . (read more)




sites.google.com





And some more below - they are trifles, but charming pass-times. 
Cupid's Song





Will said to his Mammy:
I love this song - funny & lively - ever since I heard it on a collection of songs that we borrowed from a record library; I hadn't realised that it was by Jones:


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*J4. Clément Janequin *(c. 1485 – 1558)
Celebrated French composer of popular _chansons_ - his fame helped by the development of music printing at this date. 
'The programmatic chansons for which Janequin is famous were long, sectional pieces, and usually cleverly imitated natural or man-made sounds. _Le chant des oiseaux_ imitates bird-calls; _La chasse_ the sounds of a hunt; and _La bataille_ (_Escoutez tous gentilz_), probably the most famous, ... imitates battle noises, including trumpet calls, cannon fire and the cries of the wounded. Onomatopoeic effects ... became a commonplace in later 16th century music, and carried over into the Baroque era; indeed "battle music" was to become a cliché, but it first came into prominence with Janequin.' 
Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clément_Janequin

Le Chant des Oiseaux:




Striking; enjoyable.

La Chasse:




A clever piece of music that I discovered shortly after joining TC. But I can hardly bear to listen to it - too realistic! Poor prey!

La Bataille (Escoutez tous gentilz):




Such texture, such well-organised effects. Brilliant.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*J5 Jacquet of Mantua 1483 – 1559* : French composer of the Renaissance, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was an influential member of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, and represents well the transitional polyphonic style between those two composers.

Jacquet wrote almost exclusively sacred vocal music. His craftsmanship is careful, and his counterpoint is fluid and graceful; parts are well-balanced, and occasional homophonic sections break the prevailing polyphonic texture. Most of his music is full-textured, with all voices singing. 

Motet a5, "Aspice Domine"






This shows clearly Jacquet's use of texture and the ability to have all the voices singing clearly in harmony.

Alleluia surrexit Dominus a4 from the Easter season.






Lovely light and joyful Easter anthem.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*K1: Leonhard Kleber* -1495-1556

German organist; probably a composer too & a pupil of the blind organist Arnolt Schlick at Heidelberg. 

'In 1524 Kleber produced his most famous work, a huge tablature containing 112 separate compositions, mostly by other composers. It was compiled between 1521 and 1524, and contains 332 pages; several hands are identifiable in the manuscript, though none have been identified. None of the music is attributed to its composer, although most has been identified; some of the anonymous pieces may be by Kleber himself.' - Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Kleber 

So it's clear that Kleber's importance is to organ music history. A few of the pieces which might be Kleber's can be found on YouTube. They are pleasant but short & unremarkable. 

*Kum Hayliger Geist*





*Eight Short Pieces by Leonhard Kleber* (performed on digital harpsichord)


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*K2 George Kirbye 1565 – 1634* : English composer of the late Tudor period and early Jacobean era. He was one of the members of the English Madrigal School. He also wrote sacred music. Kirbye wrote psalm settings for East's psalter. He was employed by East to arrange tunes featured in his psalter, and it is his arrangement, with the melody in the tenor, of Tye's melody to accompany Psalm 84 "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" which is today sung to While Shepherds watched their flocks by night.






Lovely tune and a fascinating piece of trivia.

Kirbye avoided the light style of Morley, preferring the Italian models provided by Marenzio. He brought into the madrigal the serious style of pre-madrigal English music, writing in a minor mode, and with a careful attention to text setting.

"With Angel's Face And Brightness" No.20 From Madrigales; The Triumphes Of Oriana (1601)






Delightful richly textured madrigal.

"Up then Melpomene" - verse by Edmund Spencer, set to music by George Kirbye from The first set of English madrigalls to 4-6 voyces by Kirbye (1597)






Another example of his madrigal style. Lovely mix of voices soaring round the text. A "serious" recording, it starts with W H Auden intoning the text and then lifts into the madrigal.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*K3: Hans Kotter* (1480-1541)

German organist & composer. Another (see Kleber, above) who published an organ book of pieces by others but included some short preludes of his own. 


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Kotter



There's very little on YouTube, but this one, 'Proemium in re', is short and sweet. 





'Proemium in fa' has a lot more oomph!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*K4 Jacobus de Kerle c1531 - 1591* : Flemish composer and organist.

The _Preces speciales_ were composed by Kerle at the request of the Bishop of Augsburg and one of the greatest opponents of a ban on polyphonic music. They are not liturgical music, but rather devotional music, in this case a sung prayer to God for the Council [of Trent] (_preces_ I-III), the Union of Christian People (_preces_ IV-V), the Remission of Sins (_preces_ VI), or Against Hostile Enemies of the Church (_preces_ VII-X). Although he did not take part in their discussions, the performance of the _Preces Speciales_ reportedly influenced the deliberations of the Council Fathers on sacred music.

Preces Speciales Primum Responsorium Pro Concilio






The YouTube page has an excellent discussion of these pieces. It is easy to see why they were so popular.

All of de Kerle's extant music is vocal polyphony. It combines the stylistic elements of the generation after Josquin with that of late Renaissance Italian composers such as Palestrina. De Kerle did not make as much use of simple homophony and direct text-setting, nor did he often employ the heavy chromaticism of the late 16th-century madrigal, and his compositions display a measure of restraint and clarity that mark them as heavily indebted to Northern contrapuntal practice.

This Dies Ira is a fine example of his style






Lovely flowing lines and melodies.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*K5 Caspar Kittel* (1503-1639)
German theorbist, pupil of Heinrich Schutz

*"Coridon, der gieng betrübet"*




Beautiful interweaving of the instrumental music & the singer, Bernarda Fink, a mezzo-soprano. She has a voice that I love - no shrillness but instead an expressive mellowness & artistry.

*Arien und Kantaten, Op. 1: Aria I. "Mein Lieb, wie schöne bist doch du" (Canto solo)*





Elegant & expressive, though I find this voice a little shrill - the song comes from a cd directed by René Jacobs, which looks very interesting.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*L1: William Lawes* - 1602-1645
Composer of secular and sacred music at the court of Charles I; shot by a Parliamentarian in the rout of the Royalists at Rowton Heath. 

His poignant end probably does inform my response, but I find his music beautiful and moving. 

His harp consorts (we have a cd) are some of my favourite Lawes pieces:
*Harp Consort No. 8*:





Here is a video that I discovered today - *3 dances for Lyra Viol* written by William Lawes.





This isn't what I'd normally expect from dances, but there is a rich texture and a reflective quality that pleases me.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*L2 Nicholas Ludford *c.1485-1557 : English composer. Sometimes described as "the best Tudor composer you've never heard of". Ludford was a contemporary of Fayrfax and Taverner. Together Ludford and Fayrfax dominate the Lambeth and Caius choirbooks. Ludford's music, while rarely very florid, is noticeably more so than Fayrfax's; his surviving output is more varied, for it contains some six-part writing and the set of three part Lady Masses; and he frequently sets the Mass _Credo_ complete. 
Ludford stopped composing in 1535 following the changes in the Henrician church. His anonymity is due to a number of factors - he was not a graduate, he was not a member of the Chapel Royal, he was a devout Catholic.

HOASM has a very good article on his work - http://www.hoasm.org/IVM/Ludford.html

Ave Maria, Gratia Plena






This delightful Marian antiphon shows his style.

Credo - Missa Regnum mundi






Lovely soaring credo displaying a notable grace and fluency.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*L3: Orlando de Lassus* - 1532-1594

According to Wiki, 'The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina & Tomas Luis de Victoria as the leading composers of the later Renaissance. Immensely prolific, his music varies considerably in style and genres, which gave him unprecedented popularity throughout Europe.' 
Apparently, though, there is no surviving instrumental music by this composer. 


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlande_de_Lassus



The Tears of St Peter - *Lagrime di San Pietro* - are a famous cycle of 20 madrigals & a concluding motet by de Lassus. 
Here's a short sample, which I enjoyed, though I was not greatly moved.





*Orlando Lassus: Su-Su-Per-Per*:




It would help if I knew what this was about, but it's lively and pleasing. 

A famous drinking song of his - it appears, with English words, in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part Two.
*Un jour vis un foulon*:




Lively, but a bit too frothy!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*L4: Walter Lambe* (1450–1? – after Michaelmas 1504) 
English composer; born in Salisbury; King's Scholar at Eton College; by 1477 he was a clerk at Holy Trinity College Arundel & two years later moved to St George's Chapel Windsor. His works are well represented in the Eton Choirbook, & some appear also in the Lambeth Choirbook & Caius Choirbook. (from Wiki)

Here's his *Magnificat* - it is utterly glorious.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*L5 Alonso Lobo *1555 1617 : A Spanish composer of the late Renaissance. 

He was highly regarded at the time, and Victoria himself considered him to be his equal. Lobo's music combines the smooth contrapuntal technique of Palestrina with the sombre intensity of Victoria.

His best-known work, _Versa est in luctum_, was written on the death of Philip II in 1598.






Lots of sombre intensity here: a wall of gorgeous sound, an appropriately majestic work of mourning. The motet would have been sung between the sermon at the end of the funeral and the final absolution after which the body was taken for burial.

Ave regina coelorum






A much simpler and lighter piece but a delightful Marian anthem.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*M1 Guillaume de Machaut *1300 – 1377 : French composer and poet.

Machaut is regarded as the last and greatest of the French 14th century poet-composers. A member of the _ars nova_ movement in music, he developed the motet, and various secular forms including the rondel and the ballade. Machaut lived more like a trouvère than a cleric, traveling widely with and for his patrons and writing his poetry and music on command for courtly occasions. This explains the paucity of religious music in his output. 

Machaut's _Messe de Nostre Dame_, is the earliest known complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass attributable to a single composer. Here is the Gloria:






Lovely clear setting with an excellent interplay of voices.

_Douce Dame Jolie_ is a virelai, belonging to the style _ars nova_, and is one of the most often heard medieval tunes today.






The singing is accompanied by the harp and recorder. Nice example of a medieval chanson.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*M2: Claudio Monteverdi *(1567-1643)
'Italian composer, string player, choirmaster & priest. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance & Baroque periods of music history.'


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Monteverdi



Monteverdi is huge & to be explored at leisure.

*Vespro Della Beata Vergine - Claudio Monteverdi - John Eliot Gardiner*




*This is sublime & justly famous.* 

*L'Orfeo* (John Eliot Gardiner):





My Response (from thread For Love of the Baroque, page 13, post #248 -
For love of the Baroque... )

*I found the music haunting - lyrical - occasionally a little monotonous in its use of vocal trills and frills. This is semi-staged but the acting is superb - with huge benefits from the close-up cameras...*

_*I was just thinking that the whole story is a bit static and not dramatic enough when the news of Eurydice's death is brought in - the emotional impact shown in the acting and the music is very powerful...

Orpheus's song hailing Charon, with its blend of lyrics and instrumental accompaniment, is strikingly beautiful. Trumpets! A wonderful harp solo. Charon's refusal - a bass voice - has a big impact.

Proserpina's prayer to Pluto is lovely and beautifully sung. The moment of Orfeo's doubt and looking back - the fate pronounced - Eurydice's sadness as she contemplates her chance of life lost - all dramatic and moving. Orfeo's anguish is palpable, full of discords - then the fanfare of brass and chorus announcing that Orfeo vanquished the Underworld only to be vanquished by his own love - it's so solemn & beautiful.

Act 5 - Orfeo's heartrending song of realisation is so moving, sung on a dark stage. The exquisite song with Echo was stunning... The appearance of Apollo and the song-conversation between them is very touching and reflective about life. The final joyous dancing and singing gives a wonderful ending to a wonderful production and a beautiful opera.*_


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*M3 Thomas Morley *1557 – 1602 : English composer, theorist, singer and organist. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School.

Morley was highly talented. He also had an excellent career. The son of a Norwich brewer, he trained at Norwich Cathedral. He then moved to St Paul's to study under Byrd. He graduated BMus from Oxford and then became organist at St Paul's. He acquired a printing patent after the death of Byrd which he assigned to Thomas East.

Morley lived for a time in the same parish as Shakespeare but no connection has been proven. Neither is it known whether his famous setting of "It was a lover and his lass" from _As You Like It_ was ever used in a performance during the playwright's lifetime.






Lovely jolly piece of music.

Now is the month of maying






Really lifts the spirits!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*M4 John Mundy *c1550 – 1630 : English composer, virginalist and organist

John Mundy was the son and pupil of William Mundy. He was organist at Eton, and in 1585 moved to St George's, Windsor. He received the degree of D.Mus at Oxford in 1624.

Mundy was one of the earliest English madrigalists. He published a volume of _Songs and Psalms_ in 1594, and contributed a madrigal, _Lightly she whipped o'er the dales_, to _The Triumphs of Oriana_.






A sprightly little piece. Lovely clean lines.

Mundy is represented by five pieces in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. His _Goe from my window_ variations are a particularly fine example of the genre.






Nicely played. A great example of the English variation style of this period - the melody driving along as the variations develop.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*M5: Tarquinio Merula* (1594/5 - 1665)

Italian composer, organist & violinist. Mainly active in Cremona - he'd blotted his copybook in Bergamo, in trouble for indecency - but stylistically he was a member of the Venetian School. 
According to Wiki, 'Merula was a key figure in the early development of several forms which were to mature later in the Baroque era, such as the cantata, the aria, the sonatas da chiesa & da camera, variations on a ground bass, & the sinfonia.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarquinio_Merula#:~:text=Tarquinio Merula (24 November 1595,member of the Venetian school.

*Canzoni overo Sonate Concertate per Chiesa e Camera, Book 3 Op. 12 (1637)*




Delightful, feathery, sprightly baroque music.

*Canzonetta Spirituale sopra alla nanna:*




Dramatic and moving singing & playing, though I prefer the voice in its lower register.

*Beneath the Video, it explains**: *
_*'Tarquinio Merula was among the first wave of Italian composers of the early seventeenth-century to apply the new expressive techniques of the seconda prattica to sacred music. While the genre canzonetta spirituale is not strictly part of any liturgical service, it is among the many devotional songs that use the power of expressive word painting to depict a religious story. Canzona Spirituale sopra alla nanna comes across as a simple lullaby, sung by the Virgin Mary to baby Jesus. The gentle two-note ostinato repeats throughout the piece in the bass line, and at first we are led to believe that this is nothing more than a sweet lullaby between mother and son. Yet as the lullaby progresses, Mary urges Jesus to sleep now, for she already knows that in his future there will be much suffering. The affect becomes increasingly agitated, with each verse telling a different part of the story of the suffering that Jesus would later endure.'*_


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*N1 Giovanni Maria Nanino *c1543 - 1607 : Italian composer and teacher. Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Maria_Nanino

Giovanni Maria Nanino was the older brother of composer Giovanni Bernardino Nanino. He and his brother established what is thought to be the first Italian-run public music school in Rome and many future composers studied with him and sang in his choirs, including Antonio Brunelli, and Gregorio Allegri (composer of the famous Miserere).

Nanino's output as a composer was not large. His music—especially his madrigals—were extremely popular at the time. Most collections of madrigals published at that time included at least one contribution by Nanino, often in the most prominent position in the book—even ahead of Palestrina.

He also wrote some sacred music.

Here is his Gradual and Tract from the Requiem mass.






Lovely sombre sound.

The motet Hodie nobis caelorum Rex - Gloria in excelsis Deo






Lively and spritely - delightful.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*N2 Ninot le Petit *fl. ca. 1500 – 1520 : French compose associated with the French royal chapel.

Ninot preferred clear harmonies, a texture occasionally broken by long duets, and contrasting sections in triple meter. The chansons are light and open in texture, foreshadowing the developments in the genre later in the century.

Mon amy m'avoit promis






Lovely interplay of voices. This version treats the (somewhat rude) chanson seriously rather the chortling of other versions.

Psallite noe iudei credite - a Christmas anthem






Full of the joy of Christmas. Good example of his style.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*N3 Luis de Narváez* (_fl_. 1526–1549)
Spanish composer & player of the vihuela (15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar but tuned like a lute.)









Discussion of the Vihuela can be found on this link:


History of the Guitar



'Highly regarded during his lifetime, Narváez is known today for _Los seys libros del Delphin_, a collection of polyphonic music for the vihuela which includes the earliest known variations. He is also ... the earliest composer for vihuela to adapt the contemporary Italian style of lute music.' Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_de_Narváez

These videos of music for vihuela from the composer's famous book are lyrical and charming.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*N4 Cesare Negri *c. 1535 – c. 1605 : Italian dancer, choreographer and composer. Nicknamed _il Trombone_ - someone "who likes to blow his own horn".

He wrote _Le Grazie d'Amore_, the first text on ballet theory to expound the principle of the five basic positions. It was republished in 1604 as _Nuove Inventioni di Balli_ (New Inventions of the Dance). Both included tunes. His most famous is Bianco Fiore for lute from the 1604 edition.






Lovely spritely dancey piece.

Catena d'Amore - from 1602 edition






Nice lute piece. Shows what he was capable of.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*N5: Johannes Nucius *or* Nux* (c. 1556 –1620)
German composer and music theorist.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Nucius



I cannot find any music videos online but here is a short video discussing Nucius' theory of rhetoric:





A cd of his sacred motets has been recorded by the Alsfelder Vokalensemble:


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*O1: Johannes Ockeghem* (c.1410-1497)
'Ockeghem was the most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume du Fay and Josquin des Pres and he was - with his colleague Antoine Busnois - the leading European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Ockeghem

Many of Ockeghem's works have not survived & there is also the problem of attribution - some of the works formerly considered to be Ockeghem's are now believed to be by other composers. On current knowledge, we have by Ockeghem 14 masses, 20 chansons & less than 10 motets.

The *Missa Prolatium* is one of Ockeghem's most famous works. The Hilliard Ensemble have recorded this. Here is the Kyrie from YouTube:




This is a lovely blend of voices, a really heavenly sound.

*Salve Regina*:




Celestial sound again, but a bit monadic for my impatient ear.

*Chanson: Ma Bouche Rit*:




I do like the tune and the singer here. It has that 'strange' & evocative medieval sound.

*There are more videos & links plus some entertaining posts on Ockeghem's Composer Guestbook on Talk Classical:








Ockeghem


Great composer, said to have a great bass voice himself. What is happening in the last video is that there are two melodies each being sung by two voices each (soprano/alto and tenor/bass) and each voice in turn is singing at different speeds from each other. Which is awesome.




www.talkclassical.com




*


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*O2 Jacob Obrecht* c1457-1505 : Flemish composer of masses, motets and songs.

He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe of the late 15th century and was only eclipsed after his death by Josquin des Prez.[ He was invited to visit Ferrara by Duke Ercole I d'Este, who attempted to persuade him to stay. He returned to Bruges; only in 1504 did he go back to Ferrara, where the following year he fell victim to the plague.

Obrecht's style is an example of the contrapuntal extravagance of the late 15th century.

_Salve Regina_






Lovely example of chant. Nice clear treatment of the text lifted by delightful melodies.

Missa L'homme armé - Kyrie

Standard parody mass using an existing tune as the basis of the composition.






Lovely tunes but the text disappears. Contrapuntal brilliance at the expense of clarity. Nice to listen to but not for a mass.

His late four-voice mass, _Missa Maria zart_ is based on a devotional song popular in the Tyrol. Requiring more than an hour to perform, it is considered among his finest works. Although as one of the longest polyphonic settings of the Mass Ordinary ever written, it seems a personal extravagance rather than a devotional setting.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*O3 Marbrianus de Orto* c. 1460 – 1529 : Franco-Flemish composer and singer. 

A Papal singer from 1484 to 1494, and singer to Philip the Handsome of Burgundy , he also held ecclesiastical posts in Flanders and became chaplain to the future Emperor Charles V in 1515. A volume of his Masses was published in 1505. His chansons, motets and Lamentations were included in anthologies of the time. His style has technical similarities to that of Josquin.

Salve regis Mater / Hic sacerdos






Jordi Savall with bells on. The jangling at the start was disconcerting, but this is a delightful piece. Lovely interplay of voices and soaring melodies. Beautiful.

Dulces exuviae - De labyrintho






Setting of Dido's Lament from the Aeneid ((Book IV, lines 651-660). 

Beautiful and slightly eerie. Wki notes that it is characterised by extensive chromaticism. (Although not mentioned on the CD cover, this is de Orto's setting.)


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*P1: Michael Praetorius* (1571-1621)
Prolific German composer, organist & musical theorist; developed musical forms based on protestant hymns.
*'Terpsichore, a compendium of more than 300 instrumental dances is his most widely known and recorded work today; ... his sole surviving secular work from a projected multi-volume collection.' 
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Praetorius*

I love Terpsichore. It's lithe & blithe & always lifts my spirits.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*P2 Peter Philips* 1561-1628 : English composer, keyboard player and priest.

Philips started as a boy chorister at St Paul's under the catholic Sebastian Westcott. Philips was a was a beneficiary of Westcott's will in 1582 and he left England shortly after. He travelled widely, working in Rome in the service of Alessandro Farnese and as organist at the English Jesuit College. There he met Lord Paget in 1585 and travelled widely settling in Antwerp in 1590, the year of Lord Paget's death.

Pavan in memory of Lord Paget






Delightful slow melancholy pavan showing Philips' mastery of harpsichord music.

Philips married shortly afterwards but struggled financially. In 1597 he was employed in Brussels as organist to the chapel of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and his fortunes improved. After the death of his wife and children, he became a priest (1601 or 1609??). His last set of madrigals was published in 1603 and thereafter all his works are sacred songs.

Salve Regina






This from his 1612 _Cantiones Sacrae_ for five voices. Lovely clear setting and beautiful melodies and part writing.

The YouTube comment is very good



> The Salve Regina is graphically and emotionally treated. The word 'clamamus' the exiled children of Eve, crying out, appears as the climax of a series of imitative entries while 'suspiramus' (we sigh) is punctuated by rests in an almost madrigalian depiction of the idea. The closing acclamations in the last part of the motet, O Clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria, are given loving treatment as a sign of devotion and reverence to the Blessed Virgin.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*P3: Jacopo Peri *- 1561-1633
Italian singer & composer, also known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, is famous for writing the first 'operas' the first being Dafne c. 1597. His style is transitional between the renaissance and baroque. 




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en.wikipedia.org





Here is *The Messenger Scene from Euridice (1600)* the first opera to have survived. This is of great interest to see how musical fashions change, but the music languishes a bit too much for my taste:


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*P4 Robert Parsons* c1535 – 1572 : English composer.

Parsons started at the Chapel Royal. He lived in troubled times. In 1549, the new Book of Common Prayer replaced the old Latin liturgy with prayers in English.This new liturgy required new music and musicians of the Chapel Royal such as Thomas Tallis, John Sheppard, and Parsons were called upon to demonstrate that the new Protestantism was no less splendid than the old Catholic religion. During the reign of Mary Tudor (1553–1558), a revival of Catholic practice encouraged a return to Latin music, but after Elizabeth I ascended to the throne of England in 1558, vernacular English liturgy and music came back into favour. 

Parsons is believed to have died in January 1572, when he fell into the then swollen River Trent at Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire and drowned.

Both the pieces chosen are probably from the Marian period.

Latin Magnificat






Lovely clean lines. Delightful interplay of voices.

Ave Maria 






Again shows his mastery of polyphony. This is one of his best known pieces and justifiably so.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*P5: Pérotin* (fl. c. 1200)
'Composer associated with the Notre Dame school of polyphony of polyphony in Paris and the broader ars antiqua musical style of high medieval music. He is credited with developing the polyphonic practices of his predecessor, Léonin, with the introduction of three and four-part harmonies.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pérotin

There is a guestbook for this composer on Talk Classical: Pérotin

*Beata Viscera*:




Beautiful - arresting - numinous.

*Viderunt Omnes*
'a Gregorian chant based on Psalm 98, sung as the gradual at the Masses of Christmas Day & historically on its octave, the Feast of the Circumcision.' The Perotin setting is famous (with Leonin's) as being among the earliest pieces of polyphony by known composers. 'Their music, known as organum, adds florid counterpoint to the Gregorian melody of the intonation and verse, portions normally sung by the cantors, the remainder of the chant being sung unchanged by the choir.' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viderunt_omnes




Performed here by the Hilliard Ensemble. I find the music clever & playful & interesting but I don't care for 'the florid counterpoint', preferring the bits where the choir is singing the chant unchanged (see above). But Taggart thinks it was 'gorgeous' so no doubt I'm missing the point.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Q1: Lucia Quinciani* (fl. 1611)
Italian composer who may have worked in Venice or Verona, the earliest known female publisher of monody. 
'She is known only by one composition, a setting of "Udite lagrimosi spirti d’Averno, udite", from Giovanni Battista Guarini's _Il pastor fido_, found in Marcantonio Negri's _Affetti amorosi. _second volume (1611), in which Negri refers to Quinciani as his student.' - Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucia_Quinciani





A tantalising glimpse of the renaissance Italian musical world; this is very nice.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*Q2:* *Paolo Quagliati* (c. 1555 – 1628) 
Italian composer, 'one of the first to write solo madrigals in the conservative musical centre of Rome...Of his surviving larger-scale works, one of the most interesting is _La sfera armoniosa_, which includes ... 25 separate sections, including vocal solos and duets, all with an accompanying violin part.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Quagliati

*La sfera armoniosa - Madrigal 'O Primavera'*:




Elegant arrangement of voice and violin. 

*Toccata dell'ottavo tono (chitarrone & harp)*




A meditative conversation between stringed instruments; as one of the comments below the videos says, 'Absolutely beautiful - bravo.'


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*Q3 Johannes de Quadris* pre1410 – 1457? : Italian composer.

De Quadris was an early exponent of polyphony at the basilica of St. Mark's in Venice. He wrote the earliest known a polyphonic setting of the Magnificat for four voices. 

Both of these pieces are taken from the _Lamentations _ascribed to him by contemporary sources






Dolefully melodic.






Although a lament, this is a lovely and delightful tune.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*R1 Robert Ramsey* c1590 – 1644 : Scottish-born composer and organist. 

His family were probably court musicians to James VI of Scotland who followed him to London. Ramsey graduated BMus. (Cambridge) 1616. Organist of Trinity College (Cambridge) 1628-44. Master of the Children at Trinity College (Cambridge) 1637-44. 

His most well-known work is "How are the mighty fallen", which is regularly performed in cathedrals and churches in England. 






Delightful piece of church music.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*R2 - Philip Rosseter* (1568-1623)
English composer; court lutenist for James I of England; theatrical manager for the Children of the Chapel Royal. 'Rosseter is best known for _A Book of Ayres_ which was written with Thomas Campion and published in 1601.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Rosseter

*Galliard (played by Julian Bream)*




Just gorgeous in its beautiful kaleidoscope patterning.

*'What then is love but mourning'* - sung by Peter Pears.




Beautiful - thoughtful - melancholy.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*R3: Jean Richafort* (c1480 - c1547)
Studied with Josquin & his most famous work is a requiem in his memory. 'he followed his style in many ways. In some of his music he used fragments of Josquin's compositions as a tribute. Richafort's compositional techniques are typical of the period (smooth polyphony, pervasive imitation, etc.) but he was unusually attentive to the clear setting of text so the words could be understood.'




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en.wikipedia.org





*Requiem in Memoriam Josquin Desprez*




Serene & Celestial.

*L'amour de moy *




Charming.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*R4 Cipriano de Rore* c1515 - 1565 : Franco-Flemish composer. Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipriano_de_Rore

Nothing certain is known of his early life. He sang in the choir of St Mark's in the 1540's and studied with Willaert. In 1547 he became director of music to Duke Ercole II of Ferrara. After the Duke's death, Rore took up a similar court post at Parma in 1560. In 1563 he succeeded Willaert as _maestro di cappella_ at St Mark's, but finding the duties too onerous he returned to his previous post at Parma in 1564.

His sacred music is generally conservative. His madrigals are historically far more important. His work led to that of Monteverdi. de Rore avoided frivolous topics preferring serious material including the works of Petrarch, and tragedies presented at Ferrara. de Rore blended the contrapuntal complexity of Low Countries polyphonic style with Italian poetic texts to create a newly expressive vernacular genre Wiki is a little confused about his style saying that "he often ignored the structure of the line, line division, and rhyme, deeming it unnecessary that the musical and poetic lines correspond" while at the same time praising his "careful text setting".

_Mon petit cueur_






1550 _Treziesme livre contenant vingt et deux chansons_, no. 7 Densely textured with 8 voices interweaving - a delightful sound.

Da le belle contrade






1566 (posthumous) Madrigali à 5 voci, Libro 5: No. 2

Only 5 voices this time, but very beautiful. The YouTube link has the text of the sonnet.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*R5: Jacob Regnart* (1540s - 1599:
Flemish composer who worked in Austria & Bohemia; wrote both sacred & secular music. 




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*Litania Deiparae Virginis Mariae*




Harmonious blend of instruments & voices - I love it!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*S1: Tylman Susato* (c.1510/15 - after 1570)
Renaissance instrumentalist and publisher of music in Antwerp. Known for his dance music, and also for masses & motets in the typical polyphonic style of the time. Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tielman_Susato#Works

*The Danserye*:




Lively - stirring - memorable tunes - this is right up my street!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*S2 John Sheppard* c.1520 – 1558 : English composer.

Nothing is known of his parentage or place of birth. He is assumed to be much younger than Tallis, since he is not represented in the Peterhouse part books of 1540. From 1543-1547 he was master of the choristers at Magdalen College Oxford before joining the choir at the Chapel Royal in London. He sang at Edward VI's funeral and at the coronation of Mary I. He was awarded liveries for both the funeral of Queen Mary and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. However, we do not know if he attended the funeral on the 13 December. He made his will on 1 December and was buried on 21 December 1558.

Libera nos, salva nos (Second setting)






This was most likely written during his tenure as master of the choristers at Madgalen College, Oxford, where the statues decreed that this text be recited twice a day. Delightful piece of English church music.

In pace, in idipsum dormiam






Lovely calm music suiting the text..


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*S3: Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)*
German composer & organist of the early Baroque era.
Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Scheidt

Here's my entry for him on my thread *For Love of The Baroque*, page 19, post #363:








For love of the Baroque...


What I had remembered correctly was how expressive the music [AoF] is in his [Leonhardt's] hands -- but I'd forgotten the variety of emotions he finds in the different fugues, which are sometimes vigorous and radiant, sometimes meditative . . . . I wonder whether Rubsam's lute harpsichord...




www.talkclassical.com





Here is his guestbook on TC: Samuel Scheidt (1587 - 1654)
There are only two posts on it, but if any reader wants to discuss the composer further, or to recommend other works, it would be a good place to post. 

*Samuel SCHEIDT - LUDI MUSICI - HESPÈRION XX & Jordi SAVALL*




My comment from 2018: _'*I knew this would be good. As one of the comments on the YouTube video put it, 'anything Jordi Savall touches becomes gold'... - It's very nice. I love this full bodied rich instrumental sound. Lovely.' *_I'm listening again now, and ... er.. like... wow! **


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*S4: Johann Hermann Schein* (1586-1630)
German Composer of the early Baroque period.
'He was born in Grunhain & died in Leipzig. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German music, and was one of the most polished composers of the period.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Hermann_Schein

There's no composer guestbook for Schein as yet on TC - which seems a pity. 

Here's a video of a live performance during the Covid era -
_(Details: Padouana -Allemande -Tripla -Wenn ich durch ach mein Liebesqual -Padouana -O Seidene Harelein - Courente -Gagliarda -Juch holla, freut euch mit mir Ensemble MUSICA BASILIENSIS mimiko vom 16.06.2021 offene kirche elisabethen Baseö)_





The instrumental music at the start is well-blended, melodic & generally gorgeous. There's singing part way through - lovely tunes, but I find one of the voices a little shrill.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*S5 Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck* 1562 – 1621 : Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue. 

Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Pieterszoon_Sweelinck Guest book - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

Although an organist, Sweelinck did not play in church as the Calvinists opposed the use of music. Psalm tunes were played before and after services to make sure that people were familiar with them. Sweelinck wrote settings for most of the psalter although it was incomplete on his death.

Sweelinck is most famous as a "maker of organists". His pupils, although not usually composers, represented the gold standard of organ playing.

Although he lived in Amsterdam, rarely leaving except to test organs and give advice, he was friends with both Peter Philips and John Bull who introduced him to English keyboard styles. He is the only non-British composer in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Many of his pieces were intended as study pieces for his pupils.

This setting of Psalm 23 appears in the Susanne van Soldt Manuscript 






A lovely and stately version of the psalm.

This Fantasia Chromatica






shows the variety and quality of his keyboard writing.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*T1: Giovanni Maria Trabaci *(c1575 - 1647)
Italian composer & organist, with over 300 surviving works in more than ten publications; especially important for his keyboard music.




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*Giovanni Maria Trabaci, Partite sopra Ruggero (1603), Marco Mencoboni harpsichord*:




Brilliant cascades of glorious sound.

And another one - more measured, more thoughtful; still fabulous. 
*Giovanni Maria Trabaci, Ricercata dell'ottavo tono, Marco Mencoboni harpsichord.*


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*T2 John Taverner* c. 1490 - 1545 : English composer and organist 

Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taverner Guest book John Taverner 1490 - 1545

Taverner went to Boston in 1524 as a singer. In 1526, Taverner became the first Organist and Master of the Choristers at Christ Church, Oxford, appointed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. When Wolsey fell out of favour, Taverner left the college and returned to Boston living as a small landowner. All his works date from the 1520's.

_Western Wynde_






Taverner's _Western Wynde_ mass is unusual for the period because the theme tune appears in each of the four parts, excepting the alto, at different times. This selection is really beautiful and shows his skill.

_In Nomine_






The first example of the unique English instrumental form, the In Nomine, taken from the "In Nomine Domine" section of the Benedictus from Taverner's Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas This is a a lovely piece for the organ.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*T3 Christopher Tye* c.1505 – c1573 : English composer and organist. Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Tye

He trained at the University of Cambridge and became the master of the choir at Ely Cathedral. He is noted as the music teacher of Edward VI of England. He had a strong connection to Dr. Richard Cox, who was a passionate church reformer and a tutor of King Edward. After Queen Mary's death he returned to Ely. Cox had returned from exile and was the Bishop. Tye was ordained and stopped composing.

In Nomine No. 20, 'Crye'






Tye was seen as a skilled organist and wrote a set of 20 In Nomine's. This is a spritely piece which demonstrates what can be done with a simple tune.

Nunc Dimittis






Delightful piece of church music in English. This would have been part of evensong. The score is found in the Tudway collection who assigns it to 1545 which seems far too early for an English version.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*T4 Thomas Tallis* c. 1505 – 1585 : English composer. Tallis is considered one of England's greatest composers. Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tallis

There are suggestions that Tallis sang as a child of the chapel in the Chapel Royal. He was probably a chorister at the Benedictine Priory in Dover, where he was employed at an early age. He avoided the religious controversies that raged around him throughout his career as composer and performer for Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. He remained an unreformed Roman Catholic. Tallis taught the composer William Byrd. In 1575, Elizabeth granted Tallis and Byrd a 21-year monopoly for polyphonic music and a patent to print and publish "set songe or songes in parts", one of the first arrangements of its kind in England. 

Tallis had the ability to smoothly switch styles. Starting in the 1530's with Marian anthems and then moving to a simple Cranmerian style. (It is amusing to note that the strictures of the reformers about polyphonic music were to be echoed by the Council of Trent. ) Then on to the new Liturgy under Edward. Back to the Sarum rite under Mary. Finally the prayer book settings under Elizabeth. While the reformers preferred a simpler style concentrating on the Psalter, the queen was happy to have Latin antiphons at her services.

If ye love me






Lovely simple piece of singing. This is a setting for an a cappella choir of four voice parts essentially homophonic but with some elaboration and imitation. It dates from about 1550.

Spem In Alium






The date of composition is unknown. The style is basically homophonic but the text is from the Sarum rite. Wiki puts up an argument for a Marian date which seems reasonable. The piece is a joy to listen to with the mix of solo parts, single choirs and full on sound.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*T5 Thomas Tomkins* 1572 - 1656 : Welsh composer and organist

Tomkins probably became a choirboy at St Davids in 1578; he later studied with William Byrd. He was appointed organist of Worcester Cathedral in 1597. Tomkins graduated BMus at Oxford in 1607, and became a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal between 1617 and 1620; he was its organist in 1621 under his friend and senior organist, Orlando Gibbons. . He continued, however, to hold his Worcester post until 1646. After the siege of Worcester, Tomkins retired to a country living and later lived with his son. The survival of his music was ensured by the posthumous publication, overseen by his son Nathaniel, of _Musica Deo Sacra et Ecclesiae Anglicanae. It _contains five services, five psalm tunes, the Preces and two proper psalms, and ninety-four anthems.

In 1625, on the death of James VI and I, the gentlemen of the Chapel Royal had to prepare the music for the funeral of James and the coronation of Charles I. Gibbons had a stroke and died which put a strain on Tomkins. Luckily (for Tomkins), the coronation had to be postponed because of a plague outbreak giving him time to compose most of the eight anthems used for the service.

When David heard






Superb lament.

Funeral Sentences






Excellent version of Cranmer's burial service.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*U1: Alexander Utendal* (1543/45 – 7 May 1581) 
Flemish composer at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II (of Tyrol/ Further Austria); mostly composed sacred works. 




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*Jubilate Deo a 8*:




A short burst of heaven. 

*Mors Tua, Mors Christi*: 




These voices & the arrangement have a lovely quality.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*U2 Francesco Usper* 1561 – 1641 : Italian composer and organist.

A pupil of Andrea Gabrieli (uncle of the famous one), he worked as organist at S. Salvador in Venice from 1614, and in 1622-3 was deputy organist at St Mark's. In 1627 he became director of the Scuola di S. Giovanni Evangelista. He published madrigals, church music, and instrumental music in up to eight parts, including a fine sinfonia for two violins, four viole, recorder and chitarrone which has brilliant concertino passages.

Composizioni armoniche Op. 3, Sonata in loco antiphonae à 8






Lovely set of harmonies,showing the way to the baroque style.

La Battaglia per cantar e sonar à 8






Nice mix of voices and instruments.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*U3: Juan de Urrede* (c.1430-after 1482)
Flemish Composer active in Spain - born Johannes de Wreede in Bruges. 
'One of his compositions for four voices was widely performed in the sixteenth century, and became the basis for a number of keyboard works and masses by Spanish composers. Although he wrote sacred songs, he was better known for courtly songs.' - Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Urrede

*Juan de Urrede "De vos i de mi quexoso " (Cancionero de Palacio)*
(There is useful biographical information in the video description.)




A pretty tune, and nicely sung. 

*Juan de Urrede- Muy triste será mi vida (Cancionero de La Colombina)*




Very pleasant listening.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

U4 *Vincenzo Ugolini* 1578 - 1638 : Italian composer .

Ugolini started at the choir school of S. Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, and was employed there as a bass in May 1600. He was _maestro di cappella_ of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome (1603-9), and was employed at Benevenuto Cathedral from 1610. From 1614 he was director of music to Cardinal Arrigoni in Rome, where he served as _maestro di cappella_ of S. Luigi dei Francesi from 1616 to 1620, and again from 1631 until his death. He was _maestro_ of the Cappella Giulia at St. Peter's from 1620 to 1626. 

Ugolini wrote Masses, motets, Psalms, hymns, antiphons, sacred songs, and madrigals. Some were for one to four voices with continuo in the new manner, and some for eight to twelve voices in a dignified and old-fashioned style. 

Beata es Virgo Maria






A 12 voice motet. Stately and elegant.

Motet Exultate omnes






Spritely and lively suiting the test.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*V1: Philippe Verdelot* (1480/5 - 1530/40)
'French composer of the Renaissance who spent most of his life in Italy. He is commonly considered to be the father of the Italian madrigal, and certainly was one of its earliest and most prolific composers.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Verdelot

*Philippe Verdelot - Intavolature de li Madrigali (Venezia,1536)*
(lute & counter-tenor)




Rich, melodic & generally gorgeous!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*V2 Tomás Luis de Victoria* c1548 – c1611 : Spanish composer and organist. 

He began as a choirboy at Avila Cathedral, Victoria went to Rome around 1565, receiving a grant from Philip II and entered the Jesuit Collegio Germanico; he met Palestrina and may well have studied with him. The Collegio Germanico hired him in 1571 to teach music, and in 1575 he was appointed _maestro di cappella_ there. Ordained a priest in 1575, he joined the Congregazione dei Preti dell'Oratorio.

In 1587 King Philip II of Spain appointed Victoria as chaplain to his sister, the Dowager Empress Maria at the Monasterio de las Descalzas de S. Clara at Madrid . The _Officium defunctorum,_ in 6 voices (Madrid, 1605), was composed on the death of Empress Maria. After that, Victoria became organist to the convent. 

Victoria succeeded in publishing nearly his entire oeuvre during his lifetime showing that he had the support of wealthy patrons. He was also granted time off to travel to Rome to supervise the publication of his music.

Victoria was praised by Padre Martini for his melodic phrases and his joyful inventions. Victoria was a master at overlapping and dividing choirs with multiple parts with a gradual decreasing of rhythmic distance throughout. Not only does Victoria incorporate intricate parts for the voices, but the organ is almost treated like a soloist in many of his choral pieces. 

Nunc dimittis






Beautiful and lucid.

Salve Regina






Lovely interplay of voices


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*V3: Antonio Valente* (fl. 1565–80)
Italian Renaissance organist & composer. He was blind from childhood & served as organist of Sant'Angelo a Nilo in Naples in 1565-90. During that time he published two collections of keyboard instruments music: _Intavolatura de cimbalo_ (1 fantasia, 6 ricercares, Salve regina, 3 intabulations, 6 sets of variations, and 3 dances; 1575) and _Versi spirituali_ (43 versets; 1580). Nothing else is known about his life.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Valente

*Gallarda Napolitana*




This is absolutely gorgeous - it's Jordi Savall, so naturally! 

*Antonio Valente - Fantasia (1576)/ Catalina Vicens, Live*




Delightful - twangly heaven.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*V4: Johann Vierdanck* (1605-1646)
German violinist, cornettist & composer
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Vierdanck

*Johann Vierdanck - Canzona, Passamezzo, Capriccio*




Full of life - changing rhythms, tunes that lift the spirits, a sensitive performance.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*V5 Philippe de Vitry* 1291 – 1361 : French composer-poet and music theorist in the _ars nova_ style. 

Details of his early life are vague. He was prominent in the French court serving as a secretary and advisor; he also held several canonries. He served for a time in the papal retinue at Avignon starting with Clement VI. He was also a diplomat and a soldier. In 1351 he became Bishop of Meaux, east of Paris. He was acquainted with many lights of the age, including Petrarch and the famous mathematician, philosopher and music theorist Nicole Oresme. 

Vitry is primarily concerned with expanding the rhythmic resources offered to composers; he introduces new rhythmic schemes, along with a new mensural notation which was to play an important role for more than a hundred years after his death. Vitry is credited with a large role in the development of the motet. In this regard, he prefigures Machaut in the use of isorhythm .

Wiki indicates that Vitry can only be credited with a limited number of works.

Garrit Gallus/In nova fert/Neuma






"Garrit Gallus/In nova fert/Neuma," composed in 1315 was written as a part of the _Roman de Fauvel_. The_ Roman de Fauvel_ is an animal fable about a corrupt donkey who is the ruler of a disorderly world. Lovely piece imitating the sounds of the cockerel.

Tuba sacre/In arboris/Virgo sum






This motet has three parts, all with different text. de Vitry sets this isorhythmic motet apart from others, of the time, by using only Latin texts. In general, early 14th century motets have three different texts in three different languages. Beautiful interplay of voices.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*W1: Adrian Willaert *(c. 1490 – 1562)
Flemish composer, mainly active in Italy, and the founder of the Venetian school.
'Willaert was one of the most versatile composers of the Renaissance, writing music in almost every extant style and form. In force of personality, and with his central position as _maestro di cappella_ at St. Mark's, he became the most influential musician in Europe between the death of Josquin and the time of Palestrina. Some of Willaert's motets and _chanzoni franciose a quarto sopra doi _(double canonic chansons) had been published as early as 1520 in Venice. Willaert owes much of his fame in sacred music to his motets.'
Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Willaert

*Adrian Willaert - 'O magnum mysterium'. Cappella Marciana*




Lovely choral music - evocative & pure-voiced.

*O Dolce Vita Mia (Kings Singers) *




Gorgeous texture; beautiful.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*W2:* *Giaches de Wert*  (1535 – 1596) 
Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active in Italy... connected with the progressive musical centre of Ferrara, he was one of the leaders in developing the style of the late Renaissance madrigal.' He influenced Monteverdi & his later music helped shape the formation of the development of early baroque music. 
Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giaches_de_Wert

*A Collection of his Madrigals here (Septimo Libro)*:




What a glorious sound!


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*W3 John Ward* 1590-1638 English composer. Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ward_(composer)

His life was spent in the employ of Sir Henry Fanshawe, who as Remembrancer of the Exchequer was an important official, and was also a 'great lover of music.' 

Ward seems to have been thought of by his contemporaries as a 'gentleman' rather than a professional musician. But the tribute paid to him by Thomas Tomkins (who in 1622 dedicated a madrigal to him) is evidence of high regard from a professional composer whose own techniques were often unconventional and resisted the more immediately pleasing conventions of his period. 

His madrigals are remarkable for their fine texts, broad melodic lines and originality.

4-part fantasia no. 3 






Delightful spritely viol music.

Come Sable Night






Lovely mix of voices.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

*W4 Gaspar van Weerbeke* c. 1445 – 1516 : Netherlandish composer. 

Weerbeke was of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, but unique in his blending of the contemporary Italian style with the older Burgundian style of Dufay. From 1472 he was in the service of the Sforza family in Milan, with Josquin and Compère. His style shows great euphony and harmonic clarity, though he was also skilled in canon and the notational intricacies of northern music.

Gaspar van Weerbeke composed this motet to St. Sebastian in the late fifteenth century. St. Sebastian was frequently invoked for protection against plague in medieval and Renaissance Europe. According to the saint’s legend, Sebastian was a third-century officer of the imperial guard of the Roman emperor Diocletian, who was martyred for his faith. His association with the plague was established through a posthumous miracle (c. 680 CE), in which Pavia (and the region of Lombardy) were freed from the plague following prayers to Sebastian. This miracle is cited in the text of Weerbeke’s motet; the reference to Lombardy may also indicate that the motet was composed during one of his periods of employment in Milan.

O beate Sebastiane, miles beatissime, cuius precibus tota patria lombardie fuit liberata pestifera peste.

O saint Sebastian, [you are the] most blessed soldier whose gifts freed the entire land of Lombardy from destructive plague.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*W5 Thomas Weelkes *1576 – 1623 English composer and organist. Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Weelkes

Thomas Weelkes, is without doubt one of England's finest composers. Like Purcell, he had a vivid imagination and love of experiment, and died prematurely at the peak of his creative powers. Weelkes was appointed organist of Winchester College in 1598. In July 1602 he graduated BMus from Oxford. by 1602 he was organist and master of the choristers at Chichester Cathedral, where he ended his days, dismissed from his post on grounds of his being a habitual common drunkard and a notorious swearer and blasphemer. We do not know if these debauched habits were the cause of the stagnation in his career or the result of it. 

After an incredible flowering of madrigals between 1597 and 1608, Weelkes concentrated on church music, drinking and swearing. In 1616, he was dismissed for being drunk at the organ but was re-instated. He was again reported in 1619. After his wife's death in 1622, he was back at Chichester but spending time in London where he died in 1623.

_When David heard_ 






Lovely church anthem beautifully sung.

_To Shorten Winter's Sadness_






Nice little madrigal.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

There don't appear to be any notable composers in this time-slot for X and Y, so we're putting the end of the Alphabet together. Then our alphabet will be complete & we'll put up an index and leave the thread open for comments relating to the alphabetic samples. That's because we want a short 'taster-thread' for this era of music. (We will close the thread if it reaches 200 posts.)

Any *general *comments about Early Music, or comments about composers other than those on this thread, would probably best be put in 'For Love of Early Music', which is an ongoing 'magazine' type thread.
For Love of Early Music
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*XYZ-1: Nicolaus Zacharie* (c.1400 – 1466)
Italian composer of the early Renaissance.
'Until recently he had been confused with the earlier composer Zacara da Teramo, but recent research has established his identity; he was one of a few native Italian composers working in the early 15th century whose work has survived.'

'Only three works by Zacharie have survived with reliable attribution: a motet, a Gloria, and a secular song, a ballata. The longest is the motet _Letetur plebs_. It begins with a long passage in imitation, but the rest of the composition uses none at all. As is true of much music from southern and central Italy of the quattrocento, there is very little French influence; the influence of the _ars subtilior_ is not to be found in Zacharie's surviving music.'
Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Zacharie

*Già per gran nobeltà triunpho e fama*




This is a little gem - sparkling, beautifully faceted - and I love it.

*Gloria*:




Gorgeous - let's hope that some more pieces by this composer come to light.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*XYZ-2: Zacara da Teramo* (c.1350/1360 – 1413/1416)
Italian composer, singer, & papal secretary.
'He was one of the most active Italian composers around 1400, and his style bridged the periods of the Trecento, _ars subtilior_, and beginnings of the musical Renaissance.'
Wiki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacara_da_Teramo

Short Introductory Video:





*Gloria*:




From a live performance; this is a nice piece of music.

*Antonio Zacara da Teramo - Ballata "Ferito già d´un amoroso dardo" (ca.1410)*




Pleasing arrangement & texture of voices. 

Zacara looks like an interesting composer & I'd like to hear more of him.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*XYZ-3 Gioseffo Zarlino *1517 – 1590 : Italian music theorist and composer.

Became a Franciscan monk, and went to Venice in 1541 to study with Willaert. From 1565 onwards he was _maestro di cappella_ at St Mark's. He was an outstanding theorist of international influence. His main work, _Istitutioni harmoniche_ (1558) discusses intervals, modes, word underlay (the relation of words to music) and the art of counterpoint.

*Pater Noster*






Starts with the Gregorian chant on Mode VIII followed by Gioseffo Zarlino's 7-part setting of the Pater Noster. Glorious example of counterpoint and delightful singing.

*Veni Sancte Spiritus*






The sequence for Pentecost sometimes ascribed to Stephen Langton. Splendid piece of counterpoint, lovely mix of voices. The sequence is praised for its "pleasant brevity" and this runs over 9 minutes indicating the need for simpler church music.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

*XYZ-4 Mikołaj Zieleński* c1550 - 1615 : Polish composer, organist and _Kapellmeister._

In the service of the Archbishop of Gniezno from 1608 to 1615 , who at the King's instigation sent him to study with Gabrieli . Venetian influence is present in his volume of Offertory settings, all for two 4-part choirs except for a Magnificat for three choirs with eight trombones.

*Magnificat*






No trombones, but still a beautiful piece. The Venetian influences are clear and the voices soar in a glorious harmony.

*Salve festa dies*






An Easter processional hymn by Venantius Fortunatus. Set for 8 voices and published in 1611. Splendid example of paschal joy in the many Alleluias.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

*This concludes the Early Music Alphabetic Sampler*. There's room for comments on composers on the list, or further recommendations of works by those composers, so the thread will be left open for now. Please, though, if you want to talk about other early music composers or make general points, post on the thread 'For Love of Early Music' - For Love of Early Music - or start a new thread.

We hope this thread will be useful for those whose interest in early music is new - but anyway, we have enjoyed compiling it & learned quite a lot too. Live long & prosper! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Index of Composers*:
A1 - Alexander Agricola 15th/16thC........page 1
A2 - Gregorio Allegri - 16th/17thC
A3 - Jacques Arcadelt - 16thC
A4 - F. Andrieu - late 14thC
A5 - Peter Abelard 11th/12thC
B1 - William Byrd - 16th/17thC..................page 1
B2 - John Bull - 16th/17thC
B3 - John Browne - 15th/16thC
B4 - Gilles Binchois - 15thC
B5 - Notker Balbulus - 9th/10thC
C1 - Francesca Caccini - 17thC ................. page 1
C2 - Jacob Clemens Non Papa - 16thC
C3 - Thomas Campion - 16th/17thC
C4 - Giovanni Coprario (John Cooper) - 16th/17thC
C5 - Antonio de Cabezón - 16thC
D1 - John Dunstable - 15thC ................... page 2
D2 - John Dowland - 16th/17thC
D3 - Guillaume Dufay - 15thC
D4 - Baldassare Donato - 16thC
D5 - Donato Da Cascia 14thC
E1 - Michael East - 16th/17thC.......................page 2
E2 - Bartolomé de Escobedo - 16thC
E3 - Jacob Van Eyck - 17thC
E4 - Christian Erbach - 16th/17thC
E5 - Johannes Eccard - 16th/17thC
F1 - Pierre Fontaine - 14th/15thC......................page 2
F2 - Girolamo Frescobaldi - 16th/17thC
F3 - Antoine de Févin - 15th/16thC
F4 - John Farmer - 16thC
F5 - Thomas Ford - 16th/17thC
G1 - Giovanni Gabrieli - 16th/17thC..................page 3
G2 - Godric of Finchale - 11th/12thC
G3 - Orlando Gibbons - 16th/17thC
G4 - Francisco Guerrero - 16thC
G5 - Carlo Gesualdo - 16th/17thC
H1 - Hildegard of Bingen - 12thC.....................page 3 
H2 - Henry VIII of England - 16thC
H3 - Tobias Hume - 16th/17thC
H4 - Adam de la Halle - 13thC
H5 - Anthony Holborne - 16thC
I1 - Marc'Antonio Ingegneri - 16thC......................page 3
I-2 - 'In Dulce Jubilo' - 14thC lyrics, 16thC tune
I-3 - William Inglot - 16th/17thC
I-4 - Heinrich Isaac - 15th/16thC
I-5 - Simon Ives - 17thC
J1 - Josquin Des Prez - 15th/16thC...................page 3
J2 - John Jenkins - 17thC
J3 - Robert Jones - 16th/17thC
J4 - Clément Janequin - 16thC
J5 - Jacquet of Mantua - 16thC
K1 - Leonhard Kleber - 16thC .............................page 4
K2 - George Kirbye - 16th/17thC
K3 - Hans Kotter - 15th/16thC
K4 - Jacobus de Kerle (16thC)
K5 - Caspar Kittel (17thC)
L1 - William Lawes (17thC) ..................................page 4
L2 - Nicholas Ludford - 16thC
L3 - Orlando de Lassus - 16thC
L4 - Walter Lambe - 15thC
L5 - Alonso Lobo - 16th/17thC
M1 - Guillaume de Machaut - 14thC............................page 4
M2 - Claudio Monteverdi - 16th/17thC
M3 - Thomas Morley - 16thC
M4 - John Mundy - 16th/17thC
M5 - Tarquinio Merula - 17thC
N1 - Giovanni Maria Nanini - 16thC ..........................page 4
N2 - Ninot le Petit - 16thC
N3 - Luis de Narváez - 16thC
N4 - Cesare Negri - 16thC
N5 - Johannes Nucius/Nux - 16th/17thC
O1 - Johannes Ockegham - 15thC .......................... page 5
O2 - Jacob Obrecht - 15thC
O3 - Marbrianus de Orto - 15th/16thC
P1 - Michael Praetorius -16th/17thC ........................ page 5
P2 - Peter Philips - 16th/17thC
P3 - Jacopo Peri - 16th/17thC
P4 - Robert Parsons - 16thC
P5 - Pérotin - fl. c1200
Q1 - Lucia Quintani (17thC) .................................... page 5
Q2 - Paolo Quagliati (16th/17thC)
Q3 - Johannes de Quadris (15thC)
R1 - Robert Ramsay (17thC) ................................... page 5
R2 - Philip Rosseter (16th/17thC)
R3 - Jean Richafort - 15th/16thC
R4 - Cipriano de Rore - 16thC
R5 - Jacob Regnart - 16thC
S1 - Tylman Susato - 16thC ................................. page 5
S2 - John Sheppard - 16thC
S3 - Samuel Scheidt - 17thC
S4 - Johann Hermann Schein - 17thC
S5 - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - 16th/17thC
T1 - Giovanni Maria Trabaci - 16th/17thC ......................... page 6
T2 - John Taverner - 16thC
T3 - Christopher Tye - 16thC
T4 - Thomas Tallis - 16thC
T5 - Thomas Tomkins - 16th/17thC
U1 - Alexander Utendal - 16thC ................................ page 6
U2 - Francesco Usper - 16th/17thC
U3 - Juan de Urrede - 15thC
U4 - Vincenzo Ugolini 16th/17thC
V1 - Philippe Verdelot - 16thC ...................... page 6
V2 - Tomás Luis de Victoria - 16th/17thC
V3 - Antonio Valente - 16thC
V4 - Johann Vierdanck - 17thC
V5 - Philippe de Vitry - 14thC
W1 - Adrian Willaert - 16thC ........................ page 6
W2 - Giaches de Wert - 16thC
W3 - John Ward - 17thC
W4 - Gaspar van Weerbeke - 15th/16thC
W5 - Thomas Weelkes - 16th/17thC
XYZ1 - Nicolaus Zacharie ........................... page 7
XYZ2 - Zacara da Teramo - 14th/15thC
XYZ-3 Gioseffo Zarlino -16thC
XYZ-4 Mikołaj Zieleński - 16th/17thC


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