Composer of the Week: Guillaume Dufay

Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Migrated podcast image for: Composer Of The Week

Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474): Marking the Event

Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)

Marking the Event

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), Marking the Event

Donald Macleod follows events in Dufay's life as his Italian sojurn takes a new twist.

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.

Donald Macleod recounts how the 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. 

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. 

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

From the 1430s Dufay's standing and versatility was such that he was able to supply music to one of the great European courts and turn his hand to writing music for the Pope of equal brilliance, seemingly at the drop of a hat.  

Ballade: Se la face ay pale   
Cut Circle 
Jesse Rodin, director 

Flos Florum     
Ensemble Musica Nova 
Lucien Kandel, director 

Ecclesiae militantis  
Blue Heron 
Scott Metcalfe, director 

Balsamus et munda cera 
Huelgas Ensemble 
Paul Van Nevel, director 

Supremum est mortalibus bonum 
Cantica Symphonia 
Giuseppe Maletto, director 

Ave Maris Stella 
Ensemble Musica Nova  
Lucien Kandel, director  

L’alta tua bellezza  
Cantica Symphonia 
Giuseppe Maletto, director 

Salve flos Tusce gentis
Ensemble Musica Nova 
Lucien Kandel, director

Composer of the Week: Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod is joined by William Lyons to explore Guillaume Dufay's life and music.

Donald Macleod is joined by researcher William Lyons to explore Guillaume Dufay's life and music. They examine the key relationships he fostered and how his music flourished.

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

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Composer of the Week

Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)

Marking the Event

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3