Guillaume Dufay

Dufay was one of the most influential composers of the fifteenth century, considered a leader among his peers and by musicians following him centuries later. Dufay -- originally from Cambrai -- traveled to cities like Rome, Florence and Turin, spreading his harmonious contrapuntal style, where lofty voices intertwine and respond to each other with a deep, spiritual beauty. Much of Dufay's music was sacred; his compositions for the church included a variety of Masses, motets and hymns, although he also wrote Italian and French styled secular music. Dufay's style -- often called the Burgundian or Netherlands style -- was an outgrowth of earlier composers such as John Dunstable, and unlike other music produced in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, sounds remarkably harmonious to the modern Western ear, due to its similar conception of which notes were consonant and which dissonant. Due to this timeless beauty, many ensembles still perform his music.