Composer of the Month: John Dunstaple (Medieval Period)

John Dunstaple (1385 - 1453) was not only the leading English composer of his time, but he was also among the most influential. He pioneered the prominent use of harmonies with thirds and sixths. His music spans the transition from the Medieval to the Renaissance periods.

Dunstaple was born in Bedfordshire in England, though most of the details of his life are uncertain, and nothing is known of his musical training or background. However, he was obviously highly educated, and he owned property in Normandy (France), London, Essex, and Cambridgeshire (England), and a manor in Hertfordshire. He was also in royal service under both French and English dukes.

The influence Dunstaple had on Europe's musical vocabulary was immense. He was recognized for possessing something never heard before in music: "the English countenance". This stylistic trait used full triad harmony and a tendency to intervals, creating elegant, musical harmonies using thirds and sixths. These are seen as defining characteristics of early Renaissance music.

Unfortunately, many English music manuscripts were destroyed during the English Reformation. Most of Dunstaple's surviving works were found in Italian and German manuscripts, suggesting his fame was widespread across Europe.

Among his surviving works are two complete masses, along with numerous other mass sections, twelve complete motets (a choral composition without musical accompaniment), as well as various other liturgical music.

In addition to his work as a composer, Dunstaple was an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician. Some of his astrological works have survived in manuscript. He died on Christmas Eve in 1453.

Click here to listen to John Dunstaple's Veni Sancte Spiritus / Veni Creator Spiritus.