Josquin des Prez, composer

Born: c. 1440/55 in what is now Belgium

Died: 1521

Widely regarded: as one of the finest and most influential composers in the history of Western music, whose works are always marked by a subtlety and serenity characteristic of the Franco-Flemish school

Musical compositions include: masses, motets, and secular songs in both French and Italian

Notable compositions include: motets Miserere mei, Deus, Stabat Mater dolorosa, and Praeter rerum serium; mass Missa de beata virgine; the frottolas El grillo and In te Domine speravi

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Clément Janequin, composer

Born: c. 1485 in Châtellerault, Vienne

Died: 1558 in Paris, France

Primarily known as: one of the most prolific composers of popular chansons of the entire Renaissance; especially revered for his “programmatic” chansons, which were long, sectional pieces that imitated the sounds of war, nature, etc. His career was one of the first helped by the concurrent development of music printing.

Musical compositions include: 250 secular chansons, more than 150 psalm settings, 2 masses

Notable accomplishment: one of the few Renaissance-era composers to enjoy fame and popularity in his lifetime

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Maurice Duruflé, composer

Born: January 11, 1902, in Louviers, France

Died: June 16, 1986, in Paris, France

Education: joined the choir school at Rouen Cathedral at age 10 and studied organ, piano and music theory; moved to Paris at age 17 and studied with Charles Tournemire; 1920, entered the Paris Conservatoire and studied composition with the famous Paul Dukas

Assignments: after 1919, assistant to organist Charles Tournemire then to Louis Vierne at Notre Dame Cathedral; 1930, organist at St. Etiene-du-Mont, later sharing the job with his wife, Marie-Madeleine; after 1943, Professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatoire

Awards: 1922, 1924, 1926 and 1928, awarded the premier prix in the fields of organ, harmony, counterpoint/fugue, accompaniment and composition at the Paris Conservatoire; 1929 and 1930, honored by Les Amis de l'Orgue for performance and composition, respectively; 1961, made Knight Commander in the Order of St. Gregory by Pope John XXIII

Best known for: many compositions employ modern harmonies superimposed upon ancient Gregorian chants; synthesis creates almost otherworldly effects as centuries-old melodies seem to float above near-Impressionistic harmonic foundations; also widely esteemed as an organist, though his performing career was tragically cut short by an auto accident in 1975 which left him gravely disabled until his death

Notable compositions: Three Dances (2 versions), 1932 Requiem (3 versions), 1947 Four Motets on Gregorian Themes for chorus, 1960 Messe “cum jubilo” (2 versions), 1966

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Maurice Ravel, composer

Born: March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, France

Died: December 28, 1937 in Paris

Studied at: Conservatoire de Paris, first as a pianist and then as a composer; his teacher and mentor was Gabriel Fauré

Influenced by: Richard Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Fauré, and his contemporaries Erik Satie and Claude Debussy

Stylistic characteristics: “impressionism,” melody, interesting orchestral and instrumental textures and effects

Fame: Ravel’s most well-known composition is Bolero, a piece he described as being “a piece for orchestra without music”; he was baffled by its popularity.

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