Download MhDufay - Lebanon School District

Guillaume Dufay
(1397-1474)

EQ: Who was
Guillaume Dufay and
why was he an
important composer?
Dufay Facts



Was a composer in the late
medieval/early Renaissance time period
(so yes, Guillaume Dufay probably knew
who Guillaume Machaut was!)
He was considered the most influential
composer of the 15th century
One of the few composers who was
famous while he was still alive
Dufay was born in Brussels, Belgium in the
year of 1397 and died in 1474. He spent the
majority of his career in Cambrai. He joined
a choir with fifteen to twenty other
members, originally. As the years passed,
members, including Dufay, moved to other
choirs for money and other such reasons.
Guillaume Dufay was a chief figure of music
schools because of his completion of
education as a choir master, as well as
being very well-educated in most aspects of
music.
Background




Born somewhere near Brussels, Belgium
His musical talents were noticed at an
early age
He composed in every musical form there
was- both sacred and secular
It's amazing how much his music was
distributed, considering he died many
decades before the invention of the
printing press
Dufay's Music Contributions
*He INVENTED the rules and imitations of
the canon
*He was one of the first composers to write
music just for instruments- no voice parts
included
Instruments
* Lira da braccio
* Virginal
*Shawm
*Pipe and Tabor
His Most Famous Musical
Compositions...
* “Se La Face Ay Pale” (If My Face Seems Pale)
* “Missa L'Homme Arme” (Mass of the Armed
Man)