大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores Dufay鈥檚 life as a chorister at one of the most prestigious institutions of the period, Cambrai Cathedral, where he would have learnt the foundations of his craft.

The beauty, originality and technical mastery of Guillaume Dufay鈥檚 music illustrate why the Florentine ruler Piero de鈥橫edici gave him the epithet 鈥渢he greatest ornament of our age鈥�. Undoubtedly he is one of the 15th century鈥檚 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.

Donald Macleod is joined by William Lyons, a historical music researcher and artistic director of the ensemble The Dufay Collective. Pulling together what鈥檚 known about Dufay, across the series of five programmes, they build a picture of the man behind this illustrious figure, examine the key relationships he fostered, and consider how his music flourished as he navigated the turbulent political currents of the age.

Dufay鈥檚 training was rigorous, with studies in Latin, grammar and the catechism, as well as learning music, predominantly plainsong for services, so quite how and where he perfected his skill in writing in a polyphonic multi-voiced style is still something of a mystery.

Motet: Apostolo gloriosum
Huelgas Ensemble
Paul Van Nevel, director

Seigneur Leon, vous soy茅s bienvenus
Continens Paradisi

Missa Sancti Jacobi - Offertorium
La Reverdie

Magnificat tertii et quarti toni
Capella Reial de Catalunya Vocal Ensemble
Jordi Savall, director

Missa Ecce ancilla Domini - Sanctus
Ensemble Gilles Binchois
Dominique Vellard, director

Malheureulx cueur
Blue Heron
Scott Metcalfe, director

Motet: Moribus et genere
Heulgas Ensemble
Paul Van Nevel, director