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Period: 480 to 524
Boethius
Boethius was a Roman writer and statesman. He was very important as a music theorist with his 'De institutione musica' in the early 500s. -
523
Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius, as a famous music theorist, also wrote the Consolation of Philosophy which gives thought as to why bad things happen to good people. This was a philosophical treatise that can change music history by providing a philosophical foundation for people to use this idea within their music. -
541
Plague of Justinian
This was a major plague in the Middle East and Mediterranean. This was very impactful in the sense that many of the musical origins come from ancient Rome and Greece. -
Period: 991 to 1033
Guido of Arezzo
Guido was a music theorist and was credited for creating a system of precise pitch notation through lines and spaces on a staff. He was an advocator for the use of syllables for sight-singing. His treastise, Micrologus, is the earliest and best treastise on musical composition of chant and polyphony. -
Period: 1098 to 1179
Bingen
Bingen was known as the first composer for a morality play. She was also known as the Sybil of the Rhine. She was a composer, theologian, and writer. Her compositions include 77 melodies, books, poetry, paintings, and a morality play. -
Period: 1130 to 1190
Ventadorn
Ventadorn was a famous troubadour, one of the finest troubadour poets. He is very important musically because his music has survived through the times more so than other 12th century poets. His works include 44 songs, and as we know of 18 melodies. -
Period: 1135 to 1201
Leoninus
Leoninus was a master of organum purum at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. Compositions include Magnus Laber, collection of organum. -
Period: 1170 to 1230
Vogelweide
Vogelweide was a poet and minnesinger. He worked in the Viennese court and was known to have written the earliest surviving minnesinger melody. His contemporaries considered him the leading composer and poet among minnesinger. -
Period: 1180 to 1238
Perotinus
Perotinus was a master of the discant organum at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. He was a supposed student of Leonin and wrote 3 and 4 voice organum. His identity is regarded as speculative. His genre of compositions include organum, clausulae, and conductus. -
Period: 1213 to 1239
d'Arras
d'Arras was a Trouvere. He wrote in several genres and forms. His genres include 23 poems and 13 melodies that have survived through the time period. -
Period: 1245 to 1285
Halle
Halle was one of the last trouveres and wrote in polyphony. He studied in Paris and wrote in a few genres. These genres consist of chansons, musical plays, rondeauz, and 7 motets. -
Period: 1291 to 1361
Vitry
Vitry was known as the inventor of a new art. He was a French composer, poet, theorist, and bishop. He established a new tradition of mensural notation. His composition and works include treatise: Ars Nova, motets, and some isorhythmic. -
Period: 1300 to 1377
Machaut
Machaut was the leading composer and poet of Ars Nova. His importance and innovations were important for the history of music. His works included the Mass of Notre Dame, over 400 poems, 23 motets, 19 lais, 42 ballades, 33 virelais, and 22 rondeaux. -
1315
Great Famine
The Great Famine was a disaster across large parts of Europe. This caused many deaths in Europe, where much of our music has originated from. -
Period: 1325 to 1397
Landini
Landini was known for his cadences. He was a virtuoso organist and was blind from an early age. He was an instrument maker and most celebrated musical personality of the Trecento. His compositions include 155 works, that were mostly ballate and madrigals. -
1346
Black Death Outbreak
With the rise of the Black Death, it was a very dangerous plague that wiped out a large population of Europe. With this, it made the composition of music very difficult during this time as this was highly contagious and had a very high death rate. -
Period: 1380 to 1440
Cordier
Cordier was a French composer. He wrote in an older style and in the new modern ars subtilior. His rondeau known as Belle bonne sage was published in musical notation in the shape of a heart. His written genres include Mass movement, 1 ballade and 9 rondeaux that have survived. -
Period: 1390 to 1453
Dunstaple
He was a leading English ocmposer. He created a new consonant style with the use of thirds and sixths that later became known as the Renaissance style. Many of his works were destroyed during the English Reformation during 1536-40. His works include 20 mass sections, 2 complete masses, 40 motets, and 2 secular songs. -
Period: 1397 to 1474
Du Fay
Du Fay was known as the first important Renaissance composer. He used older medieval cadences within the pieces. His compositions included 7 masses, 28 mass sections, 90 motets, 15 antiphons, 27 hymns, 87 chansons, 22 motets, and 13 isorhythmic. -
Period: 1410 to 1497
Ockeghem
Ockeghem was a bass singer and served 3 Kings, was very respected in his time. He did not use much imitation within his pieces and was regarded as an important teacher. His pieces include 13 masses, 5+ motets, 21 chansons, and requiem. -
Period: 1410 to 1517
Isaac
Isaac was a Franco-Flemish composer who influenced German music. He was a court composer to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in Vienna. He served in Florence as well. His works include 36 masses, German, French, and Italian songs, frottole, Choralis Constantinus which was an anthology of over 450 cant-based polyphonic motets. -
Period: 1430 to 1492
Busnois
Busnois' chansons represent a transition to a new Renaissance secular polyphony. He was widely known along with Ockeghem*. His works include 2 masses, 10 motets, 75 chansons, and Magnificat. -
Period: 1445 to 1518
Compere
He was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer. He worked in both France and Italy. He was possibly one of the earliest composers to use imitation prominently. His works include 2 masses, 4 mass sections, 3 motet cycles, 23 motets, Magnificats, and 49 chansons. -
1450
Perfected Printing Machine
Although printing was discovered earlier than this, by this time there as a perfected printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. -
Period: 1450 to 1521
des Prez
des Prez was considered to be the "best of the composers of our time" and "the master of the notes" by Martin Luther. He was said to have has no peers in music. His works include 18 masses, 50+ motets, 65 chansons of which 10 were instrumental. -
Period: 1452 to 1518
de la Rue
de la Rue was a leading composer at the Burgundian court and never worked in Italy. He was very famous during his time. He frequently used canon and ostinato within his music and preferred low sonorities. His pieces include 31 masses, 25 motets, 7 mass sections, requiem, and 30 chansons. -
Period: 1457 to 1505
Obrecht
Obrecht made important contributions to large-scale forms and their unity. He was Dutch but was regarded as an important composer of masses in Europe. His pieces include 26 masses, Marian antiphons, 32 motets, and 30 secular works. -
Period: 1466 to 1539
Petrucci
Petrucci was the first music printer and publisher. He preserved Renaissance music for us today. Although there are no listed pieces or genres he has worked with, his works was significant for the preservation of music history. -
Period: 1470 to 1534
Tromboncino
Tromboncino was a Italian composer at Mantua, Viccnza, Ferrara, and Florence. He was known to have murdered his wife and her lover in Viccnza. He was an important frottola composer who served Isabella d'Este. He worked on lamentations, 22 laude, dramatic works, and frottole. -
Period: 1480 to 1530
Verdelot
Verdelot was a French composer who worked in Italian cities. His work was important for the pioneering of madrigals. His early madrigals were often homorhythmic in style. His works include masses, 58 motets, and madrigals. -
Period: 1483 to 1546
Luther
Luther was a German theologian and composer. He was known as the founder of the Lutheran Church. He mainly worked with German hymns and other writings. -
Period: 1485 to 1558
Janequin
Janequin was a French man who served the King of France during his time. He was regarded as a master of French chanson and wrote famous programmatic chansons. As we know of, he has written 286 chansons. -
Period: 1490 to 1545
Taverner
Taverner was an English organist and choirmaster. He influenced the Lutheran faith and mainly wrote for Catholic liturgy. He was regarded as an important English composer in the first half of the 16th century. His works include masses, motets, Magnificat, and antiphons. -
Period: 1490 to 1562
Willaert
Williart was a composer and extraordinary teacher who worked in Venice at St. Marks Cathedral and served the Italian courts. His music was described as complex, had continuous polyphony, and was a strong advocate of textual expression. His works include masses, psalms, 173 motets, madrigals, hymns, chansons, and 18 ricercares. -
Period: 1505 to
Tallis
Tallis was an English organist and taught Byrd. He was a Catholic during Henry VIII's troubled years. He wrote both for Latin and reformed English liturgies. His works include 30 motets- one of which was written for 40 voices- 3 masses, Psalms, anthems, and Lamentations. -
Period: 1507 to 1568
Arcadelt
Arcadelt was Dutch and worked in both Rome and Paris. He was famous for his early madrigals and his 3 to 7-voice masses which were often written in the homorhythmic style. He was overall well published in the 16th century. His works include volumes of madrigals, chansons, and masses. -
Period: 1521 to
Monte
Monte was a Franco-Flemish and religious composer at the Viennese and Prague courts. He mixed both polyphony and homophony within his compositions and was regarded as one of the most prolific composers of the Renaissance. His works included at least 1038 secular madrigals, 38 masses, 319 motets, 144 sacred madrigals, and 45 chansons. -
Period: 1525 to
Palestrina
Palestrina was regarded as an icon of Renaissance music for future generations and composed in the Roman style. He responded to the requests o the Council of Trent to reform the Catholic church music. His compositions were mostly contrapuntal liturgical music. His works include 104 asses, 375 motets, as well as sacred and secular madrigals. -
Period: 1532 to
Lasso
Lasso was a composer who was employed by Gabrieli in 1575 and widely traveled. He wrote over 2000 compositions in all languages and was known as one of the most versatile and prolic composers in the 16th century. His works include 60 masses, 530 motets, 150 chansons, 175 Italian madrigals, 90 German Lieder, and 100 Magnificats. -
Period: 1532 to
Gabrieli
Gabrieli was an Italian organist, composer, and teacher. He worked in Venice and was the pupil of Willaert. He was described to be versatile and innovative. His works include masses, motets, Psalms, vocal concerti, madrigals, as well as keyboard and instrumental works. -
Period: 1534 to
Bardi
Bardi was a leader of the Florentine Camerata in the late 1570s-90s. He was an Italian critic, poet, composer, and playwrite. His works include 4 madrigals, dramatic works, a treatise, and also was the creator of Intermedi. -
Period: 1535 to
Wert
Wert was a Pupil of de Rore and served the Dukes of Manuta and Parma. Text declamation was important to him and influenced Monteverdi, who was a poet. His works include 15 volumes of madrigals, motets, and hymns. -
Period: 1540 to
Byrd
Byrd was an English composer. Though he was a Catholic composer, he wrote both Protestant and Catholic music in England. He was regarded as the greatest English composer of his time. His works include 3 masses, 175 motets, anthems, and antiphons. -
Period: 1553 to
Marenzio
Marenzio was the leading madrigal composer of the late 16th cnetury. He worked in Rome, Ferrara, Florence, and Warsaw- serving the King of Poland. He influenced the English madrigal. His works include 9 books of madrigals and 75 sacred motets. -
Period: 1559 to
Beaulieu
Beaulieu was a French composer and singer. He was one of the composers credited with writing the first ballet, Ballet comique de la Reine in 1581 with Salmon. There are no works listed, but by using this fact as inference- he has contributed to writing at least one ballet. -
Period: 1562 to
Sweelinck
Sweelinck was an organist in Amsterdam. He was a teacher and helped lay the foundations of German organ music. His works include 33 chansons, 19 madrigals, 153 Psalm settings, and 70 keyboard works.