The Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (Catalan for “Red Book of Montserrat”) is a collection of late medieval songs and liturgical texts. The manuscript from the 14th century is still kept today in the Montserrat monastery near Barcelona in Catalonia. The manuscript was written around 1399 and originally contained 172...
Josquin Desprez also Josquin des Préz, Jossequin Lebloitte or Latinized Josquinus Pratensis, (* between 1450 and 1455 in the surroundings of Saint-Quentin; † August 27, 1521 in Condé-sur-l’Escaut, France) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance, who mastered all the compositional techniques of the early Renaissance, was...
Heinrich Isaac The Franco-Flemish composer Heinrich Isaac (around 1450 – 1517) was, together with Josquin Desprez, probably one of the most productive and influential of the early Renaissance. Heinrich Isaac’s early life, his musical education and the possible teachers are not known. The education must have been excellent and...
Guillaume Dufay also Du Fay and Du Fayt, (* shortly before 1400 in or with Cambrai ; † 27. November 1474 in Cambrai) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. Of the composers of this Burgundian (“Franco-Flemish”) school, he was probably the most important...
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 – 1767) The era of the German late baroque brought forth Bach and Handel, two of the greatest musical geniuses. But Georg Philipp Telemann, born in 1681, was considered equal, if not superior, to them at the time. Telemann was the most fruitful composer of...
Antonio Vivaldi (* 4. March 1678 in Venice; † 28. July 1741 in Vienna) was a composer and violinist of the late Baroque period. He was the son of a professional violonist who played at St Mark’s. Antonio was trained for the priesthood, but in 1703, he was appointed...
Theodor Schwartzkopff (1659-1732) For many, Theodor Schwartzkopff is an unfamiliar name. He was a viola da gamba player who was baptised on 6 Nov 1659 in Ulm and died on 13 May 1732 in Ludwigsburg. His father Georg Reinhardt Schwartzkopff was a city musician, organist and organ builder in...
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (also: Domingo Escarlate (Portuguese) or Domingo Escarlatti (Spanish); * 26 October 1685 in Naples; † 23 July 1757 in Madrid) was an Italian composer and harpsichordist. His main importance lies in the sonatas for harpsichord, which are among the most original of their genre in the...