July 28, 2014.Guillaume Dufay.Around this time of year we celebrate the birthday of Guillaume Dufay, the most influential composer of the early Renaissance.Even though we usually know little about the early life of people who lived in the 14th or 15th centuries, tradition has it that Dufay was born on August 5th, 1397.We wrote about Dufay’s life when we celebrated his birthday a year ago, so this time we’ll write about his place in the European musical canon.This place is unique: Dufay was one of the last Medieval and at the same time one of the first Renaissance composers.The music of the medieval period centered in Northern France, in Avignon, where seven popes (and several anti-popes) lived during the 14th century, and in Italy.The first significant polyphonic music was written during that time.Guillaume de Machaut was the most famous poet and composer of the period; he lived in Reims and worked in its famous cathedral, the crowning place of the French kings.It was a time of tremendous upheavals.The Hundred years’ war, which started in 1337 and lasted till 1453, devastated France (Reims, for example, fell to the English in 1370 and was liberated by Joan of Arc only in 1429).All the while Burgundy, a war ally of England, prospered.Through marriage or war, Burgundians expanded their territory, acquiring Flanders, Brabant, and many smaller principalities.These were the circumstances under which the cultural center of northern Europe shifted from France to Burgundy.The dukes, all of them patrons of arts (and often active practitioners), didn’t maintain one court, as did the French and English kings: Dijon was their administrative capital, but the court moved around the country, staying in Brussels, Bruges, Arras and other northern cities more often than in Dijon.Court musicians moved with the dukes, and many of these places were the court stayed became centers of music making.Dufay was the elder, and most revered, composer in a group that also included John Dunstaple, Gilles Binchois and Antoine Busnois.These were the first of what we now call Renaissance musicians.They introduced new esthetic sensibilities, which during the following two hundred years led to the development of an incredibly rich musical culture.The roots of the music of Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, the Gabrielis and William Bird, which so often appears quite modern even to our ear, all go back to Dufay and the Burgundians.Not that Dufay was a completely modern composer.For him music was not only about the sound, the melody, or the aural interaction of voices in a polyphonic piece.It was also an intellectual game, in which a theme hidden from the listener could be valued for the pattern it creates on a sheet of music.But these were the vestiges of medieval music, famous for its complex arrangements, often more mathematical than esthetic.What his contemporaries valued the most were his melodic gifts, the beautiful polyphony of his masses, and the lively and graceful rhythms of some of his chansons.
Speaking of gracefulness: here is a good example, Dufay’s three-voiced hymn Ave Maris Stella ("Hail, star of the ocean").It’s performed by the ensemble Pomerium under the direction of Alexander Blachly.And here is his Ballata “Resvellies Vous.”Dufay also used the melody to write an eponymous mass of which we can hear the first two parts, Kyrie and Gloria.All three of these pieces are performed by the ensemble Cantica Symphonia, conducted by Giuseppe Maletto.
Guillaume Dufay, 2014
July 28, 2014. Guillaume Dufay. Around this time of year we celebrate the birthday of Guillaume Dufay, the most influential composer of the early Renaissance. Even though we usually know little about the early life of
people who lived in the 14th or 15th centuries, tradition has it that Dufay was born on August 5th, 1397. We wrote about Dufay’s life when we celebrated his birthday a year ago, so this time we’ll write about his place in the European musical canon. This place is unique: Dufay was one of the last Medieval and at the same time one of the first Renaissance composers. The music of the medieval period centered in Northern France, in Avignon, where seven popes (and several anti-popes) lived during the 14th century, and in Italy. The first significant polyphonic music was written during that time. Guillaume de Machaut was the most famous poet and composer of the period; he lived in Reims and worked in its famous cathedral, the crowning place of the French kings. It was a time of tremendous upheavals. The Hundred years’ war, which started in 1337 and lasted till 1453, devastated France (Reims, for example, fell to the English in 1370 and was liberated by Joan of Arc only in 1429). All the while Burgundy, a war ally of England, prospered. Through marriage or war, Burgundians expanded their territory, acquiring Flanders, Brabant, and many smaller principalities. These were the circumstances under which the cultural center of northern Europe shifted from France to Burgundy. The dukes, all of them patrons of arts (and often active practitioners), didn’t maintain one court, as did the French and English kings: Dijon was their administrative capital, but the court moved around the country, staying in Brussels, Bruges, Arras and other northern cities more often than in Dijon. Court musicians moved with the dukes, and many of these places were the court stayed became centers of music making. Dufay was the elder, and most revered, composer in a group that also included John Dunstaple, Gilles Binchois and Antoine Busnois. These were the first of what we now call Renaissance musicians. They introduced new esthetic sensibilities, which during the following two hundred years led to the development of an incredibly rich musical culture. The roots of the music of Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, the Gabrielis and William Bird, which so often appears quite modern even to our ear, all go back to Dufay and the Burgundians. Not that Dufay was a completely modern composer. For him music was not only about the sound, the melody, or the aural interaction of voices in a polyphonic piece. It was also an intellectual game, in which a theme hidden from the listener could be valued for the pattern it creates on a sheet of music. But these were the vestiges of medieval music, famous for its complex arrangements, often more mathematical than esthetic. What his contemporaries valued the most were his melodic gifts, the beautiful polyphony of his masses, and the lively and graceful rhythms of some of his chansons.
Speaking of gracefulness: here is a good example, Dufay’s three-voiced hymn Ave Maris Stella ("Hail, star of the ocean"). It’s performed by the ensemble Pomerium under the direction of Alexander Blachly. And here is his Ballata “Resvellies Vous.” Dufay also used the melody to write an eponymous mass of which we can hear the first two parts, Kyrie and Gloria. All three of these pieces are performed by the ensemble Cantica Symphonia, conducted by Giuseppe Maletto.