We begin now with our second 100
greatest composers, which were compiled from several sources. The total number
of professional composers, and amateurs with professional- level skills, is in
the thousands. The exact number depends on which source you use (B25, B26, B27,
B28). Wikipedia, for example lists just under 5000 composers “of significant
fame, notability or importance” (B25). Fortunately, I was able to whittle that
down to 474 notable composers, including the top-100, from two websites that listed thousands in total, but included short lists of the most notable (B24). I added to that from websites listing the greatest
female composers (C1 through C19), and other lists of underrated composers and
contemporary composers (D1 through D11). I also took into consideration secondary composers listed by Smook (A3). The second 100 composers were more-or-less compiled by consensus from all these sources.
I begin with the “Pre-Bach” Era.
Covering the five hundred years following Hildegard von Bingen, this period saw
the evolution of musical complexity, from simple unaccompanied plainchant to polyphony,
lush harmonies, and rich orchestration, setting the stage for the explosion of
great music by Bach and his contemporaries. This lengthy period of musical
evolution is typically divided retrospectively into three periods: Middle Ages,
Renaissance, and Baroque, but in reality it was a slow continuum of small
changes. So, the focus on the following set of composers is on their individual
contributions rather than on classifying them as belonging to one era or
another. The more innovative composers were often transitional between eras
anyway.
The design, variety, and
expressive capability of musical instruments advanced during this period, and more
and more of them could be tuned to a common pitch for ensemble playing. Varied modal scales were replaced by the
standard diatonic scales we use today. Even-tempered tuning
allowed melodic lines to start on any note and modulate from one key to
another. Musical notation kept up,
developing the capability to record more and more musical details and
performance instructions. This period also saw the gradual shift from almost
exclusively religious music to a predominance of secular music for mass
audiences – music for music’s sake. The composers of this time were the musical
geniuses who not only advanced the sophistication and complexity of music, but managed
to produce innovative, beautiful music in the process.
Composers from this pre-Bach era that made the top-100 include Hildegard von
Bingen (1098-1179), Guillaume de Machaut (ca 1300-1377), Guillaume DuFay (1397?-1474), Thomas Tallis (ca 1505-1585), Josquin DesPrez (?-1521), Giovanni
Gabrieli (1557-1612), William Byrd (1540-1623), Carlo Gesualdo
(1566-1613), Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Orlando di Lassus (1532-
1594), Thomas de Victoria (1548), Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), Dieterich
Buxtehude (1637-1707), Henry Purcell (1659-1695), and Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713).
The fifteen composers listed below also contributed to the development
of our Western musical system , and wrote some beautiful music, as you will
see. The key to the development of
western music was the uniquely
2-dimensional capability of its musical notation system. Originally designed to
indicate the precise pitches of a single melodic line, composers were quick to catch onto the capacity of the musical staff for indicating notes to be played
at the same time by placing them vertically on the same beats. This was the
beginning of harmony as an
element of composition. Not that harmony was anything new. It had been common in folk music in Europe and
around the globe for millennia, but the realization that harmony was something
that could also be written and read on a score, opened up new areas of
complexity and innovation. Much of the subsequent history of music has had more
to do with harmonic experimentation than with melody or other elements.
There had been simple methods of musical notation before –
in ancient Greece, India, China, and elsewhere, but these were capable only of
recording melodies. Harmonic progressions
and complex polyphonic music, in a creative, literate sense, are unique
to Western music composition. Asian composers never broke through the bottleneck,
or perhaps did not care to do so. Accompaniment was largely percussive or with
multiple instruments playing a melody in unison. Any harmony, as such, was
incidental, improvised, or the result of instrumental playing technique.
Now, here are our pre-Bach composers of the second-100, in chronological order. I acknowledge Wikipedia as the source of most portraits and much of the biographical information.
1. Leonin (ca 1135-1200) and Perotin (fl 1200)
(French -The Notre Dame
School] (B24)
The
names Leonin and Perotin are closely associated, but since we know practically
nothing about
either of them, not even their first names,I treat them together here. All we know is from a brief mention by a 14
th
century scholar, who attributed some works and advances in technique to them.
They both worked at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris where there was a
progressive program of music composition. Perotin came a bit later than Leonin,
and, apparently, part of what he did was to revise some of Leonin’s work.
[Portraits are imaginative depictions from a later time]
Taken
together, the two French composers, are credited with creating the basis of
polyphonic
composition, using a simple form called
organum. This was plainchant
with an added voice sung in parallel motion or as a base line. Leonin was the first to notate multiple voices
on the same musical staff. It marks the beginning of composed harmony. In
polyphony in general, more than one melody is sung at the same time, but where
the melodies overlap they usually have to remain consonant, at least on the major
beats.
Consonance, which literally means sounding good together, is what
we associate with conventional
harmony, such as the standard chords that
might be indicated on popular sheet music. In organum the intervals were
primarily 4
ths and 5
ths (e.g. C with F or G).
Dissonance, or clashing notes, have
been used by many composers to create a dramatic effect.
2. Adam de la Halle
(ca. 1240-1287)
[French] (B24)
With roots in the medieval trouvere
(troubadour) tradition, Halle composed songs and polyphonic vocal music of a dramatic nature. His
Le jou de Robin et Marion is a secular musical play, the oldest surviving example of such in French, and is considered by some to be a forerunner of comic opera. It consists of spoken dialogue alternating with popular songs. His polyphony is more complex than that of Leonin and Perotin, reflecting the continued advances of the French schools of composition.
3.
John Dunstable, (ca. 1390-1453)
[English]
(B24)
John Dunstable (sometimes spelled Dunstaple)
is highly respected for his contributions to western harmony, particularly his
use of full three-part harmony, such as one might find in the triad chords of popular
guitar or accordion music today. The development of this “Contenance angloise”
style was influential throughout Europe, and one of the factors in the emergence
of renaissance music.
Practically
nothing is known about Dunstable’s life.
His music is not performed much except in specialty venues, but the
truly beautiful harmony of his surviving vocal works demonstrates the genius of
an early composer shining through the limitations of his time to expand the
compositional toolbox.
4. Johannes Ockeghem (ca 1410-1497)
[French-Flemish] (B24)
Along with Dufay, Ockeghem was one of the
most influential composers and teachers of the 15
th century and added to the development of polyphonic technique. Born in the Waloon region of present-day Belgium, Ockeghem spent much of his career in the French royal court. It is believed that much of his work has been lost, but many beautiful pieces survive. He is known for his masses, motets, and the first polyphonic requiem,
Missa pro defunctis.
5. Jacob Obrecht (1457-1505)
[Flemish] (B24) (A1)
In
addition to writing much beautiful choral music, Obrecht was one of the pioneers
of instrumental music, composing for ensembles of recorders -woodwind
instruments of various size and pitch range popular during the Renaissance.
6. Maddalena Casulana (c1544-90)
[Italian (Venetian)] (C3)
Madrigales
are a distinctive form of secular song, particularly favored in Italy during
the Renaissance. It is polyphonic and generally unaccompanied. Of
numerous madrigal composers employed in Italian courts during this period, few wrote
down their original songs, and so have been forgotten. The Venetian court singer
Maddalena Casulana was an exception, having published three volumes of her
madrigals. Like Hildegard von Bingen, she had the instinct to preserve her works,
and she was the first woman to actually publish her work. Little else is known of her life.
7. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, (1562-1621)
Keyboard instruments, like the organ and harpsichord, were
developing rapidly during the 16
th Century, and Jan Sweelinck is
recognized as one of the greatest organ composers of his time. His students
formed the prominent north German organ school of the Baroque period, the
ultimate fruition of which was J. S. Bach. He continued the development of
counterpoint and chromaticism in this medium, and was the first to write fugues
for the organ. Despite his emphasis on instrumental music, Sweelinck also wrote
much fine choral music.
8. Orlando Gibbons (1583 - 1625)
[English] (B24)
A younger contemporary of Willliam Byrd, Gibbons was a
leading composer and organist of the late. Renaissance and early Baroque of England. Included in three out of seven top-100 lists, he is in the gray area of top composers.
9. Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
[German] (B24)
Along with
Dieterich Buxtehude, Heinrich Schütz was an important predecessor of J. S.
Bach, and a major figure in the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque.
A student of Giovanni Gabrieli, he brought Italian elements to the German style
of the time.
Included in three out of seven top-100
lists, he is part of the gray area of top composers.
Schütz was a prolific composer of mostly religious music. 500 of his works have
survived, though it is believed that much of his work has been lost! He
developed many of the forms that would be perfected by Bach, and wrote passions
based on the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.
10. Francesca Caccini
(1587 – after 1641)
[Italian] (B24) (C3)
(C12) (D5)
Caccini may have been the first woman to compose an opera, at least that we know about. She is said to have written sixteen operas, but only one, La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina, has survived to the present day. She followed the style of Monteverdi in this newly invented genre. She is noted for her meticulous matching of music to text, and for a gift of harmonic surprise.
Other than opera, some songs and other miscellaneous works have survived and are highly regarded.
11. Barbara Strozzi (1619 –1677)
[Italian (Venetian)] (B24) (C2) (C12) (C17)
As true for female composers in general, the music of
Barbara Strozzi has been ignored for centuries. She was, however, the most
published composer of the mid-Baroque. In recent years, she has been
rediscovered, with many new performances, recordings, and articles. A singer
and composer, she wrote mostly secular cantatas, with one volume of sacred
works. Her music is delicate and finely tuned to fit and enhance the lyrics.
12. Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)
[Italian]
(B24) (C12)
Like
Hildegard several centuries earlier, Leonarda lived her whole adult life in a
convent, holding various administrative positions. She composed numerous sacred works, as well
as a series of instrumental sonatas in the style of the early Baroque. She was
little known outside of her local area during her lifetime, but has become much
appreciated and recorded in recent years.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 – 1704)
[French] (B24)
Charpentier was the dominant composer of the French middle Baroque. A prolific composer, he was widely admired for his skill in writing sacred vocal music.
Te
Deum, a prelude widely used at weddings and other festive occasions
13. Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704)
[Austrian/Bohemian] (B24)
Biber
was creating marvelous orchestral music when J. S. Bach was not yet a glimmer
in his father’s eye. He was the greatest composer for violin in his time. Listen to his Battalia, which includes a humorously
dissonant segment labeled the Rowdy Pub, as well as his beautiful Mystery
Sonatas.
14. Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
[German] (B24)
With about 530 known compositions, Johann
Pachelbel was a major Baroque composer,
but is known in the standard repertoire for just a single work, his
Canon and Gigue in D Major (“Pachelbel’s
Canon”). He was popular in his day, had many students, and was influential in
the development of the chorale prelude and fugue. His catalogue is a marvelous source of delight, and well worth the time
of any general classical music fan.
[French] (C3)
Jacquet de la Guerre was a child prodigy born into a family
of instrument makers, who recognized her talent and encouraged her musical pursuits. She was proficient at both the harpsichord and the organ, and became a musician at the court of Louis the 14th. Like several female predecessors, she was meticulous about preserving and publishing her works, and was one of the first French composers to publish a set of pieces for the harpsichord. She was also the first French woman to compose an opera.
Jacquet overlapped with J. S. Bach, and in the next series, we enter into his era to look at other composers who were lost in his shadow.
Next Chapter
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