1390 – 24 December 1453) was an English composer who was the leading composer of 15th century England and among the most influential composers of his time. He developed the contenance angloise style (“English manner”), which pioneered the prominent use of harmonies with thirds and sixths.

John Dunstable (ca. 1390-1453) was the most celebrated English composer of the entire 15th century. His works were known and imitated all over western Europe. Contemporary documentation of John Dunstable’s life is sparse.

Dunstable was the first English composer to have influence on other European composers. Copies of his works have been found in French and Italian codices or manuscripts. Both Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois were inspired by Dunstable’s unusual treatment of harmony and the equality of the vocal parts.

Dunstable is supposed to have accompanied John of Bedford to France, when he was regent there in the 1420s, and to have been influenced by two Burgundian musicians, Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois.

Dece

England, United Kingdom

Dunstable (/ˈdʌnstəbəl/ DUN-stə-bəl) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, East of England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of London.

Why did late Renaissance composers begin incorporating more homophony into their music? Composers created works that required multiple performing groups because the church had double choir lofts.

Medieval music was mostly plainchant; first monophonic then developed into polyphonic. Renaissance music was largely buoyant melodies. Medieval music was mostly only vocal while renaissance music was of both instrumental and vocal; flutes, harps, violins were some of the instruments used.

The main characteristics of Renaissance music are the following:

• Music based on modes.
• Richer texture in four or more parts.
• Blending rather than contrasting strands in the musical texture.
• Harmony with a greater concern with the flow and progression of chords.

Medieval music was both sacred and secular. During the earlier medieval period, the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was monophonic. While early motets were liturgical or sacred, by the end of the thirteenth century the genre had expanded to include secular topics, such as courtly love.

Medieval Composers (500 – 1430)

Hildegard von Bingen

10 Important Composers of the Medieval Period

• Stephen of Liège (850 – 920)
• Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
• Fulbert of Chartres (dates unknown)
• Peter Abelard (1079-1142)
• Léonin (1150s-1201)
• Pérotin (dates unknown)
• Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)
• Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)

Pérotin (fl. c. 1200), also called Perotin the Great, was a European composer, believed to be French, who lived around the end of the twelfth and beginning of the 13th century. He was the most famous member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony.

Hildegard of Bingen The eleventh-century German polymath Hildegard (1098-1179) was one of the great minds of the Middle Ages. Hildegard was a visionary, theologian, poet and composer.

Johann Sebastian Bach

As opposed to speaking a word, chanting it __________. Why is chant sometimes still used today? It offers the opportunity for singers to improvise melodies and harmonies on the spot. The choice of an all-male ensemble in performances of “Caro mea” reflects __________.

Liturgical functions. Gregorian chant is sung in the Office during the canonical hours and in the liturgy of the Mass. Texts known as accentus are intoned by bishops, priests, and deacons, mostly on a single reciting tone with simple melodic formulae at certain places in each sentence.

Why must dance music be rhythmically clear and consistent? Dance music must match the repeated steps of the dancers.