-
100
Seikilos Epitaph
The Seikilos epitaph is an Ancient Greek inscription that preserves the oldest surviving complete musical composition, including musical notation. This song is an epitaph, meaning that it was written on a tomb. Seikilos copes with the loss of a loved one by acknowledging the powerlessness of the human condition. From our perspective, time is invincible, while life is a miracle we can only experience moment-by-moment. -
Period: 476 to 1479
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is the historical period of Western civilization between the 5th and 15th centuries. Its beginning is in the year 476, the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and its end in 1492, the year in which Columbus arrived to America. This long historical period, also known as feudalism, was a social, political and economic organization based on lands (tierras) and vassalage (vasallaje). -
680
Gregorian Chant
The gregorian chant is a type of plain chant, simple, monodic and with music subject to the text used in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. It has two main characteristics: is a song without instrumental accompaniment, and its monophonic; that means, that there is a single melodic line followed by all the singers. It was developed mainly in Italy. -
1050
Guido D'Arezzo
Guido D'Arezzo was an Italian monk and music theorist, considered one of the greatest innovators of medieval music. He was born in Arezzo, Italy, and dedicated his life to the study and teaching of music. He is especially known for his development of the musical notation system, the "square notation" a precursor to modern notation, and for his contribution to solfège. -
1098
Hildegard von Bingen
She was a Benedictine nun, abbess, mystic, theologian, writer, composer, and one of the most influential figures of the Middle Ages. She was born in Bermersheim, Germany, and showed exceptional abilities from an early age. At the age of 8, she was sent to a convent, where she spent most of her life. She had mystical visions, wrote several theological and scientific treatises, is known from her liturgical chants and was proclaimed Doctor of the Church, among other things. -
1135
Leonin
He was one of the first composers of the 12th century to develop the polyphonic style, creating works that combined melodies in a single chant. He was related to the Notre Dame Cathedral School (such us Perotin), as he was ordained in 1192 to be a priest. Leonin was a great teacher, composer and french poet, who used plainchant, monophonic religious music, to create the organa by adding one or more voices to the original melody in a technique called free organum. -
1135
Bernart de Ventadorn
He was a Provençal troubadour, regarded as one of the greatest exponents of medieval lyrical poetry. He was born at the castle of Ventadorn in the south of France and gained prominence at the court of the Counts of Toulouse. In his life stands out the fact that he was a troubadour, focusing primarily on the theme of courtly love, and that his music and poetry were groundbreaking in the troubadour tradition and had a lasting impact on the evolution of medieval lyrical poetry. -
Period: 1150 to 1320
Ars Antiqua
It is a musical period in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. It is a song for two or three voices of a contrapuntal nature. It has the peculiarity that each independent voice has a different text and a different rhythm, making it very lively and contrasting music. The main composer of this era was Guillaume de Machaut. -
1160
Perotin
Perotin is a 12th-century composer borned in Paris, France, known for his innovative use of polyphony in sacred music, especially in creating works for multiple voices. He was the most important composer of the Notre-Dame School in Paris along with Leonin. He revised the Grand livre d'organum (in Latin Magnus liber organi or Magnus liber, attributed to Leonin) between 1180 and 1190. -
1221
Alfonso X the Wise
Alfonso X the Wise was the king of León, Castile, and Galicia, and one of the most prominent figures of medieval Spain. He was born in Toledo and reigned from 1252 to 1284. In addition to being a monarch, he was a great intellectual, patron of the arts and sciences, and an influential legislator. He fostered knowledge and the arts, promoting the translation of classical and scientific works into Latin and Castilian, and he had created great musical works such us "Cantigas de Santa María". -
1300
Guillaume de Machaut
He was a French composer, poet, and one of the leading figures of the Ars Nova musical movement during the late Middle Ages. He is renowned for his contributions to both secular and sacred music. As a poet, Machaut wrote in French and composed "chansons", which were poetic songs often centered on themes of courtly love. He is best known for his "Messe de Nostre Dame", one of the earliest surviving complete settings of the Mass Ordinary by a single composer. -
Period: 1300 to
The Renaissance
It was a cultural, intellectual, and artistic movement that began in Italy and spread throughout Europe. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. It includes the revival of Classical Antiquity, scientific and intellectual advancements, such us the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg or Leonardo da Vinci, and the music, with the development of polyphony and the rise of composers like Joaquin des Prez, Palestrina, and Orlando di Lasso. -
Period: 1320 to 1380
Ars Nova
Ars nova is an expression due to the theorist Philippe de Vitry that designates musical production, both French and Italian, after the last works of the ars antiqua until the predominance of the Burgundian school. -
1325
Francesco Landini
He was an Italian composer, organist, and poet, widely considered one of the most important musicians of the 14th century. He is best known for his contributions to the Italian Trecento music style, which was characterized by intricate melodies and harmonies. Landini was borned in Florence, Italy, and was a prolific composer of secular music, particularly ballatas (a type of Italian song) and madrigals. -
1400
Johannes Gutenberg
He was a German inventor, printer, and publisher, best known for developing the movable-type printing press, a groundbreaking invention that revolutionized the production of books and the spread of knowledge. His most famous work is the Gutenberg Bible, printed around 1455, and his invention played a crucial role in the spread of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment. -
Jul 12, 1468
Juan del Encina
Juan del Encina was a musician, poet and playwright of the Spanish Pre-Renaissance period, who is considered one of the great creators of religious and secular polyphony of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. -
Nov 10, 1481
Martín Lutero
Martin Luther, born Martin Luder, was a theologian, philosopher and Augustinian Catholic friar who began and promoted the Protestant Reformation in Germany and whose teachings inspired the theological and cultural doctrine called Lutheranism.
Martin Luther in 1517, in which he attacked, above all, the Church's business of indulgences. Luther demanded that, instead of achieving redemption of sins with money, the believer should demonstrate inner repentance. -
1500
Cristóbal de Morales
Morales was the first Spanish composer to achieve international fame. His works were widely distributed throughout Europe, and many copies made the journey to the New World. Many writers and music theorists, centuries after his death, consider his music to be among the most perfect of the period. -
1510
Antonio de Cabezón
Antonio de Cabezón was a Spanish composer and organist, widely regarded as one of the most significant musicians of the Spanish Renaissance. He became blind at a young age. Despite this, he developed remarkable musical skills and became a renowned organist and composer. He is known for his instrumental music, especially for the organ and harpsichord. His compositions include masses, fantasias, dances, and improvisations. He is also known for his variations. -
1525
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
He was an Italian composer of the Renaissance, widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of sacred music. Palestrina is best known for his polyphonic choral music, especially his masses and motets and his work was considered a key element in the Council of Trent's reforms of liturgical music. -
1532
Orlando di Lasso
He was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, known for his prolific output of sacred and secular music, and for being one of the most important figures in European music during the 16th century. He was a highly versatile composer, writing in many genres, including masses, motets, madrigals, chansons, and lieder. His music is known for its emotional depth, intricate counterpoint, and ability to blend different national styles. -
1533
Andrea Gabrieli
Andrea Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. Uncle of perhaps the more famous composer Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the Venetian School of composers. He was highly influential in the dissemination of the Venetian style in both Italy and Germany. -
1544
Maddalena Casulana
Maddalena Casulana was an Italian composer, lute player and singer of the late Renaissance. She was the first female composer to have an entire volume of her music printed and published exclusively in the history of Western music. -
1548
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Chapel teacher, organist and one of the most relevant Spanish composers of all time, Tomás Luis de Victoria was born in Ávila around 1548. He learned the rudiments of music in the Avila cathedral, where he joined as a choir boy when he was about 10. years. He was trained first by the chapelmaster Jerónimo de Espinar and, after his death, his replacement, Bernardino de Ribera, a renowned composer who would greatly influence his pupil. -
1557
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist, born and died in Venice. One of the most influential musicians of his time, he represents the culmination of the Venetian school, framing the transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music.
In 1575, Gabrieli traveled to Munich, Germany, where he spent four years studying with the composer Orlando di Lasso and working for the Duke of Bavaria. -
Mar 30, 1566
Carlos Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was an Italian composer, one of the most significant figures of late Renaissance music with intensely expressive madrigals and sacred music pieces with a chromaticism that would not be heard again until the end of the 19th century. -
1567
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi, whose full name was Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (Cremona, baptized on 15 May 1567 – Venice, 29 November 1643), was an Italian composer, viola da gamba player, singer, choir director and priest. He composed both secular and sacred music and marked the transition between the polyphonic and madrigal tradition of the 16th century and the birth of lyric drama and opera in the 17th century. He is a crucial figure in the transition between Renaissance and Baroque music. -
Period: to
The Baroque
It was a cultural, artistic, and musical movement that originated in Italy and spread across Europe. It is characterized by its dramatic expression, ornate style, and emphasis on emotion. Baroque music saw the rise of opera, oratorio, and the concerto. Composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Claudio Monteverdi created highly structured yet expressive music. It also happened the consolidation of the Catholic Church's power. -
Giacomo Carissimi
Giacomo Carissimi was one of the most eminent Italian composers of the early Baroque period and a leading exponent of the Roman School. He was born in Marino, near Rome, in 1604 or 1605. -
Barbara Strozzi
Barbara Strozzi, also called Barbara Valle, was an Italian singer and composer of the Baroque period. During her lifetime, she published eight volumes of her own music and had more secular music in print than any other composer of the period. -
Stradivarius Violin
A Stradivarius violin is one of the stringed instruments made by members of the Italian Stradivari family, most notably by Antonio Stradivari. Stradivarius instruments are highly prized by the world's leading players and by antique collectors. -
Antonio Vivaldi
Nicknamed the “red priest” for being a priest and a redhead, Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in the Italian city of Venice. And along with the Germans Bach and Handel, the Venetian composer was the other great exponent of music during that artistic and aesthetic period of the 17th century. -
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann was a German Baroque composer, although his work also had characteristics of early Classicism. He is considered the most prolific composer in the history of music. Self-taught in music, he studied law at the University of Leipzig. -
Georg Friedrich Händel
Georg Friedrich Händel; in English George Frideric Handel was a German composer, later naturalized English, considered one of the leading figures in the history of music, especially Baroque music, and one of the most influential composers of Western and universal music. -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, musician, conductor, choirmaster, cantor and teacher of the Baroque period. He was the most important member of one of the most prominent musical families in history, with more than 35 famous composers: the Bach family. -
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell was an English Baroque composer. Considered one of the greatest English composers of all time, he incorporated French and Italian stylistic elements into his music, creating a distinctive English style of Baroque music.