Guillaume dufay biography of donald

Donald Macleod explores the rich and profoundly moving music Dufay planned for observances at the end of his life.

The beauty, originality and technical mastery of Guillaume Dufay’s music illustrate why the Florentine ruler Piero de’Medici gave him the epithet 'the greatest ornament of our age'.

Undoubtedly he is one of the 15th century’s most distinctive voices. He was in his late 70s by the time he died in 1474, a long life by medieval standards. His outstanding talent transported him from an uncertain start in life as the illegitimate son of a servant and an unknown man, to being a musician who was feted at court and respected by the church and the papacy alike. As his fame spread across Europe, he commanded the admiration of his fellow composers, influencing not only his direct contemporaries but also the generation of composers who succeeded him, among them Johannes Ockeghem.

Monday - The Medieval Mindset
Donald Macleod explores the deeply moving music Dufay planned for the end of his life observances, including a mass to his favourite saint and settings of Ave Regina Caelorum.

Tuesday - A Medieval Cleric
Donald Macleod explores Dufay’s life as a chorister at Cambrai cathedral, with the motets Apostolo gloriosum and a Magnificat which survived the bombs of World War II.

Wednesday - The Land Of The Lemon Trees
Donald Macleod tells how Guillaume Dufay enchants a noble Italian family and avoids falling foul of warring factions, Music includes one of his most beautiful songs, Vergene Bella.

Thursday - Marking The Event
Donald Macleod recounts how Dufay finds work at the Court of Savoy, an important centre of culture, and writes some exceptional music for the coronation of Pope Eugenius IV.

Friday - A Maker Of Music
Donald Macleod considers why Dufay was seen as a practictioner of music, plus a glimpse across the centuries into his character, through the only letter of his that survives.

St. Anthony of Padua Mass – Kyrie
The Binchois Consort
Andrew Kirkman, conductor

Ce jour de l’an
Bernhard Landauer, counter –tenor
Unicorn Ensemble
Michael Posch, director

St. Anthony of Padua Mass – Gloria
The Binchois Consort
Andrew Kirkman, conductor

Quel fronte signorillo
C’est bien raison de devoir essaucier
La Reverdie

Ave Regina Caelorum
The Orlando Consort

Missa Ave Regina Caelorum - Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Cantica Symphonia
Giuseppe Maletto, director

Publicity contact: JH2