The Renaissance Composers

The Renaissance signified the rebirth of classical learning and an increased patronage of music.
Here are some of the notable musicians during that period.
Jacob Arcadelt
The Flemish Jacob Arcadelt, also called Jacques Arcadelt, was one of the composers who helped
establish madrigals as a serious musical art form. He lived in Italy and France.
William Byrd
William Byrd was one of the leading English composers of the late Renaissance who helped
develop English madrigals. He wrote church, secular, consort, and keyboard music, among other
types. He served as organist at Chapel Royal, a post he shared with his mentor Thomas Tallis.
Claudin de Sermisy
French singer Claudin de Sermisy was one of the composers who greatly influenced Parisian
Chansons. He served multiple in royal chapels, such as that of King Louis XII.
Josquin Desprez
Josquin Desprez was one of the most important composers of this period. His music was widely
published and appreciated in Europe. Desprez wrote both sacred and secular music, focusing
more on motets, of which he wrote more than a hundred.
Tomas Luis de Victoria
Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria composed mainly sacred music during the
Renaissance and ranks among the best of the 1500s.
John Dowland
English musician John Dowland, famous for his lute music throughout Europe, composed
beautiful melancholic music.
Guillaume Dufay
Franco-Flemish composer Guillaume Dufay is known as the transitional figure to the

Renaissance. His religious work laid the foundation for composers who followed in the latter
half of the 1400s.
John Farmer
English madrigal composer John Farmer's work titled "Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone," was
one of the most popular pieces of his time.
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli wrote music for St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. Gabrieli experimented with
choral and instrumental groups, positioning them on different sides of the basilica and making
them perform alternately or in unison.
Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo is now considered to be an innovative composer of Italian madrigals, but until
his work was reconsidered in the late 20th century, his private life (killing his adulteress wife and
her lover) is what had made him renowned.
Clement Janequin
French composer Clement Janequin was also an ordained priest. He specialized in chansons and
took the form to a new degree by using descriptive elements.
Orlandus Lassus
The Flemish Orlandus Lassus, also called Orlando di Lasso, composed church and secular vocal
music. As a boy, he was kidnapped three times to sing in different choirs.
Luca Marenzio
The Italian Luca Marenzio was one of the most renowned madrigal composers, known for his
innovative harmonics.
Claudio Monteverdi
Italian composer and musician Claudio Monteverdi is known as the transitional figure to the
Baroque music era and was hugely important in the development of opera.
Jakob Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht was a well-known Franco-Flemish composer, known for beautiful melodies and
harmonies.
Johannes Ockeghem
One of the most influential composers of the early Renaissance, Johannes Ockeghem is
considered one of the fathers of Renaissance music.
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina wrote secular, liturgical, and religious pieces
and worked at St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.
Thomas Tallis
Thomas Tallis was an English composer known for his mastery of contrapuntal techniques.
Although there is little information about his early years, it is known that composer William
Byrd became one of his pupils.
Some of his compositions are:
 Absterge Domine
 Audivi Vocem De Coelo (Respond for Matins)
 Ave Dei Patris Filia (Votive antiphon)
 Ave rosa sine spinis (Votive antiphon)
 Derelinquat Impius
 Domine, Quis Habitabit
Adrian Willaert
One of the most versatile composers of the Renaissance, Adrian Willaert founded the Venetian
School and was a pioneer of abstract instrumental music. His compositions :
Madonna mia famme bon' offerta, Quid non ebrietas?, Angelus Domini descendit, O dolce vita mia,
Creator omnium, Deus, Qual dolcezza giamai, Verbum bonum et suave, Videns Dominus , Missa
Mente tota: V. Agnus Dei, Laus tibi, sacra rubens

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The Renaissance signified the rebirth of classical learning and an increased patronage of music.

Here are some of the notable musicians during that period.

Tomas Luis de Victoria

Franco-Flemish composer Guillaume Dufay is known as the transitional figure to the

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

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