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800
Gregorian Chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unacommpained sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in the western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions. Although popular legend credits Pope Gregory I with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of the Old Roman chant and Gallician chant. -
Period: 992 to 1050
Guido d´Arezzo
Guido d'Arezzo was an Italian music theorist and teacher, renowned for developing the musical staff notation system. Living during the medieval period, he faced challenges in teaching and memorizing Gregorian chants. To simplify this process, he introduced a four-line staff, assigning each line and space a specific pitch. Additionally, Guido invented solmization syllables (do, re, mi) to aid singing and sight-reading. -
Period: 1098 to 1179
Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard von Bingen was a German medieval polymath. She excelled as a composer, theologian, mystic, and herbalist. Hildegard composed liturgical music, including the renowned "Ordo Virtutum," and wrote on theology, producing visionary works such as "Scivias." Recognized for her mystical experiences, she corresponded with influential figures of her time. -
Period: 1130 to 1190
Bernart de Ventadorn
Bernart de Ventadorn was a medieval troubadour, a poet-musician from Occitania (southern France). Renowned for his courtly love poetry, he served various noble courts, including that of Eleanor of Aquitaine. His lyrics often explored themes of unattainable love, chivalry, and devotion. -
Period: 1150 to 1201
Leonin
Leonin, also known as Leoninus, was a medieval composer associated with the Notre Dame School of polyphony in the 12th century. He played an important role in the development of early Western classical music, particularly in the context of organum. Leonin's significant contribution is found in the "Magnus Liber Organi" -
Period: 1155 to 1230
Perotin
Perotin was a medieval French composer associated with the Notre-Dame School of polyphony during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Renowned for his contributions to Ars Antiqua, Perotin played a pivotal role in the development of polyphonic music. His innovative techniques included the use of organum, where multiple voices sang in intricate patterns. -
1170
Ars antiqua
Ars antiqua is a term used by modern scholars to refer to the Medieval music of Europe during the High Middle Ages, between approximately 1170 and 1310. This covers the period of the Notre-Dame school of polyphony, and the subsequent years which saw the early development of the motet, a highly varied choral musical composition. Usually the term ars antiqua is restriced to sacred or polyphonic music, excluding the secular monophonic songs of the troubadours and trouvères. -
Period: 1221 to 1284
Alfonso X el Sabio
Alfonso X, known as Alfonso the Wise, was a 13th-century monarch in the Kingdom of Castile and Leon, part of modern-day Spain. He ascended the throne in 1252, gaining recognition for his cultural and intellectual contributions. Alfonso patronized scholars and initiated the Alfonsine School, fostering advancements in astronomy, medicine, and law. -
Period: 1300 to 1377
Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut was a French medieval poet and composer. Renowned as a key figure in the Ars Nova musical and literary movement, he contributed significantly to the development of polyphonic music. Machaut's compositions include secular and sacred works, with his notable Messe de Nostre Dame considered one of the earliest complete settings of the Ordinary of the Mass by a single composer. -
1318
Ars Nova
Ars Nova, a Latin term meaning "new art," refers to a 14th-century European musical movement, especially in France and Italy. It emerged as an innovation in musical notation and artistic expression. Characterized by more complex rhythms, new musical forms, and an emphasis on the composer's individual expression. -
Period: 1325 to 1397
Francesco Landini
Francesco Landini was an Italian composer, organist, and poet of the late medieval era. Renowned for his contributions to the ars nova musical style, Landini was a blind musician who played a key role in the cultural and artistic life of 14th-century Florence. He composed secular and sacred music, with a focus on madrigals. -
Period: 1400 to 1468
Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg was a German inventor and printer who introduced printing to Europe with his mechanical movable-type printing press around 1440. His innovation revolutionized the production of books and facilitated the spread of knowledge, laying the foundation for the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment. Gutenberg's invention enabled the mass production of books, making them more affordable and accessible. -
Period: 1468 to 1529
Juan del Encina
Juan del Encina was a Spanish poet, musician, and playwright during the Renaissance. Renowned as a leading figure in the Spanish Golden Age, Encina's works primarily revolved around pastoral and dramatic themes. He served in the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, contributing significantly to the development of Spanish secular music. -
Period: 1483 to 1546
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German monk, theologian, and key figure in the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century. Born in 1483, he challenged the Catholic Church's practices, particularly the sale of indulgences, by nailing his 95 Theses to a church door in 1517. Luther's ideas sparked widespread religious reform, emphasizing salvation through faith alone and the authority of the Bible. His translation of the Bible into German made it accessible to a broader audience. -
Dec 10, 1492
Descubrimiento de Ámerica
Colon discovers America but he thinks that is the indias, the discover of America changed the world. -
Period: 1500 to 1553
Cristóbal de Morales
Cristóbal de Morales was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance known for his significant contributions to sacred polyphony. His compositions, including masses, motets, and chansons, reflect a mastery of counterpoint and harmonic innovation. Morales held prominent positions in Spain and Rome, serving in the Papal Chapel and later as a choir director in Seville. Known for his emotionally expressive and intricate compositions. -
Period: 1510 to 1566
Antonio de Cabezón
Antonio de Cabezón was a Spanish composer and organist of the Renaissance era. Known for his keyboard and instrumental works, he served the Spanish royal court as organist to several monarchs. Cabezón's compositions, particularly for the harpsichord and organ, reflected the prevailing musical styles of his time, showcasing a blend of Gothic and Renaissance elements. -
Period: 1525 to
Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an influential Italian Renaissance composer and musician. Known for his polyphonic choral works, he played a pivotal role in shaping Western classical music. Palestrina's compositions, particularly his Masses and motets, exemplified a balanced and harmonious style that sought to preserve the clarity of sacred texts. -
Period: 1532 to
Orlando di Lasso
Orlando di Lasso was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance era. Known for his versatile and prolific output, Lasso's musical compositions ranged from sacred to secular, including masses, motets, and chansons. Serving various European courts, he spent significant time in Munich as the court composer for Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria. -
Period: 1532 to
Andrea Gabrieli
Andrea Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist of the Renaissance period. Known for his contributions to Venetian polychoral music, he played an important role in the development of the Venetian School. Serving as the principal organist at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Gabrieli crafted grand, spatially distributed compositions that exploited the unique acoustics of the church. -
Period: 1544 to
Maddalena Casulana
Maddalena Casulana was an Italian composer and lutenist during the Renaissance. Recognized as the first female composer to have her music printed and published, Casulana broke gender barriers in a male-dominated field. Born in Siena, her works include madrigals and other vocal compositions that showcase her musical prowess. Casulana's achievements challenged societal norms, contributing to the evolving role of women in the arts during her time. -
Period: 1548 to
Tomas Luis de Victoria
Tomás Luis de Victoria was a Spanish Renaissance composer and one of the most prominent figures in sacred polyphony. Known for his choral compositions, Victoria's works epitomize the late Renaissance style. He spent much of his life in Rome, where he served as a priest and musician. Victoria's compositions, including motets and masses, exhibit a deep religious fervor and a mastery of counterpoint. -
Period: 1554 to
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. Known for his innovative contributions to the Venetian School of music, he played an important role in the development of the Baroque style. Gabrieli's compositions, particularly for brass instruments, showcased elaborate use of multiple choirs and spatial arrangements, anticipating the grandiose style of the Baroque period. -
Period: 1566 to
Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo was an Italian composer and nobleman of the late Renaissance. Known for his expressive madrigals, he pushed musical boundaries with dissonant harmonies and chromaticism. Despite his musical innovation, Gesualdo's personal life overshadowed his artistic achievements. Infamous for murdering his wife and her lover in a fit of jealousy, he lived a troubled existence marked by scandal. -
Claudio Giovanni
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. 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 and Baroque periods of music history. -
Giacomo Carissimi
Giacomo Carissimi was an Italian composer and music teacher. Carissimi established the characteristic features of the Latin oratorio and was a prolific composer of masses, motets, and cantatas. He was highly influential in musical developments in northern European countries through his pupils, like Kerll in Germany and Charpentier in France, and the wide dissemination of his music. -
Barbara Strozzi
Barbara Strozzi was an Italian composer and singer of the Baroque Period. During her lifetime, Strozzi published eight volumes of her own music, and had more secular music in print than any other composer of the era. This was achieved without any support from the Church and with no consistent patronage from the nobility. -
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell was an English composer of Baroque music.
Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest English opera composers. No later native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, William Walton and Benjamin Britten in the 20th century. -
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, Vivaldi ranks amongst the greatest Baroque composers and his influence during his lifetime was widespread accross Europo, giving origin to many imitators and admirers. He pioreered many developments in orchestration, violin technique and programmatic music. He consolided the emerging concerto form into a widely accepted and followed idiom. -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period.He is known for his orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Temped Clavier; organ works such as the Schubler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. -
George Federic Handel
George Federic Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age. -
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history. at least in terms of surviving oeuvre. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time, and he was compared favourably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally.