Guillaume [Guillermus, Guiliemus, Gugliemus, Wilhelmus] Dufay [Dudais, Duffai, Du Fay, Du Fayt] was a Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance.
What is Du Fay famous for?
Du Fay (left), with Gilles Binchois. Guillaume Du Fay (French: [dy fa(j)i]; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August, c. 1397 – 27 November 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. A central figure in the Burgundian School, he was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the leading composers in Europe in the mid-15th century.
Where is Dufay buried in France?
Dufay was buried in the chapel of St. Etienne in the cathedral of Cambrai; his portrait was carved onto his tombstone. After the destruction of the cathedral the tombstone was lost, but it was found in 1859 (it was being used to cover a well), and is now in a museum in Lille.
Where did Dufay live between 1426 and 1430?
Between 1426 and 1428 Dufay was in Cambrai. A chanson, Adieu ces bon vins de Lannoys, dated 1426 in a contemporary manuscript, may indicate a stay in Laon, a city in which he would hold two benefices in 1430. In 1428 he went to Italy to become a member of the papal chapel, where he remained until 1433.
How did Guillaume Dufay contribute to the development of music?
Dufay was contributory in writing music only for musical instruments and not vocal practices. These included the spinetto, the piano, clarinet and even the viol to name a few. From harmonies to folkloric rhythms of the Medieval Period, Guillaume’s music changed and defined the history of music,…
What was Dufay’s personal life like?
Little is known about Dufay’s personal life, and the only information ever recorded was of his closeness to his mother and his relatives with whom he lived under the same roof after his mother moved to Cambrai. He became a social recluse after the death of his mother Marie in the year 1444.
What is Dufay’s Lamentation?
For the brilliant Feast of the Pheasant, held in 1454 by Philip the Good of Burgundy and intended to initiate a Crusade to recapture Jerusalem, Dufay composed a lamentation for the church in Constantinople (now Istanbul ). Dufay’s chansons, normally in three voices, deal with subjects such as springtime, love, and melancholy.
What did St Dufay do in 1444?
In addition to his musical work, he was active in the general administration of the cathedral. In 1444 his mother Marie died, and was buried in the cathedral; and in 1445 Dufay moved into the house of the previous canon, which was to remain his primary residence for the rest of his life.
