John Dunstaple or Dunstable (c. 1390 – December 24, 1453) was an English composer of polyphonic music of the late medieval era and early Renaissance. He was one of the most famous composers active in the early 15th century, a near-contemporary of Leonel Power, and was widely influential, not only in England but on the continent, especially in the developing style of the Burgundian School. Events Births December 27 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) Domenico da Piacenza, Italian dancemaster (died 1470) John Dunstable, English composer (died 1453) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman and rebel leader (died 1436) Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447) John VIII Palaeologus Byzantine Emperor (died 1448) Deaths... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... April 2 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Ä°stanbul). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the  United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Leonel Power (1370 to 1385 – June 5, 1445) was an English composer of the late Medieval and early Renaissance eras. ... Composer Guillaume Dufay (left) and Gilles Binchois (right), Martin le Franc, Champion des Dames The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of...

The spelling "Dunstaple" is generally to be preferred, since it occurs in more than twice as many musical attributions as that of "Dunstable". The few English musical sources are equally divided between "b" and "p"; however, the contemporary non-musical sources, including those with a claim to a direct association with the composer, spell his name with a "p".

Life

John Dunstaple was probably born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. His birth date is a conjecture based on his earliest surviving works (from around 1410-1420) which imply a birth date of around 1390. Many of the details of his life are conjectural. Nothing is known of his musical training and background. He was clearly a highly educated man, though there is no record of an association with either Oxford or Cambridge universities. He is widely held to have been in the royal service of John, Duke of Bedford, the fourth son of Henry IV and brother of Henry V. As such he may have stayed in France for some time, since the duke was Regent of France from 1423 to 1429, and then Governor of Normandy from 1429 to his death in 1435. He owned property in Normandy, and also in Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, according to tax records of 1436. After the death in 1437 of another patron, the Dowager Queen Joan, he evidently was in the service of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the fifth son of Henry IV. Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire, England, with a population of 33,805 (2001 census). ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... March 29 - The Aragonese capture Oristano, capital of the giudicato di Arborea in Sardinia July 15 – Battle of Grunwald (also known as Tannenberg or Zalgiris). ... Events May 21 - Treaty of Troyes. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford also known as John Platagenet (June 20, 1389 - September 14, 1435) was the fourth son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as regent for his nephew, King Henry VI of England. ... Henry IV (3 April 1367 – 20 March 1413) was the King of England and France and Lord of Ireland from 1399 to 1413. ... Henry V of England (16 September 1387 – 31 August 1422) was one of the great warrior kings of the Middle Ages. ... Regent, from the Latin, a person selected to administer a state because the ruler is a minor or is not present or debilitated. ... Events July 31 - Hundred Years War: Battle of Cravant - The French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. ... January 10 - Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, founds the European Order of the Golden Fleece February 12 - Battle of Rouvray (or of the Herrings). English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk at... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... January 10 - Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, founds the European Order of the Golden Fleece February 12 - Battle of Rouvray (or of the Herrings). English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk at... For other uses, see number 1435. ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... // Events foundation of All Souls College, University of Oxford. ... A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or Dower, derived from her deceased husband. ... Joanna of Navarre (1370? - 1437) was the daughter of Charles the Bad, King of Navarre. ... Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390 - February 23, 1447) was the fifth son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun. ...

Unlike many composers of the time, he was probably not a cleric, though there are links with St Albans Abbey (see below); he was probably married, based on the record of women sharing his name in his parish, and he also owned a manor in Hertfordshire. St Albans Cathedral from the west. ... Hertfordshire (pronounced Hartfordshire and abbreviated as Herts) is an inland county in the United Kingdom and part of the East of England Government Office region. ...

In addition to his work as a composer, he had a contemporary reputation as an astronomer, astrologer and mathematician (for example, a volume in the Bodleian Library, largely in the hand of William Worcester, acknowledges that certain information within it had been copied from Dunstaple's writings). Some of his astrological works have survived in manuscript, possibly in his own hand. An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. ... Leonhard Euler, one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... Entrance to the Library, with the coats-of-arms of several Oxford colleges The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England is second in size only to the British Library. ... William Worcester (c. ...

Dunstaple's connections with St Albans Abbey are at least twofold:

• the abbot John Whethamstede is associated with the Duke of Gloucester, and Dunstaple's isorhythmic motet Albanus roseo rutilat, possibly with some of the Latin words adapted by Whethamstede from an older poem, was clearly written for St Albans, possibly for a visit to the abbey by the Duke of Bedford in 1426.
• Whethamstede's plan for a magnificent library for the abbey in 1452-3 included a set of twelve stained glass windows devoted to the various branches of learning. Dunstaple is clearly, if indirectly, referred to in some of the verses the abbot composed for each window, not only music but also astronomy, medicine and astrology.

He died on Christmas Eve 1453, as recorded in his epitaph, which was in the church of St Stephen Walbrook in London (until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666). This was also his burial place. The epitaph - stating that he had "secret knowledge of the stars" - had been recorded in the early 17th century, and was reinstated in the church in 1904. John Whethamstede (d. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... The Christmas Eve (1904-05), watercolor painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson (1853-1919) Christmas Eve, the evening of December 24th, the preceding day or vigil before Christmas Day, is treated to a greater or a lesser extent in most Christian societies as part of the Christmas season. ... April 2 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Ä°stanbul). ... St Stephen Walbrook at dusk St. ... Detail of painting from 1666 of the Great Fire of London by an unknown artist, depicting the fire as it would have appeared on the evening of Tuesday, 4 September from a boat in the vicinity of Tower Wharf. ... 1666 is often called Annus Mirabilis. ... Musica universalis or music of the spheres is a medieval philosophical concept that regards the proportions in the movements of the celestial bodies - the sun, moon and planets - as a form of musica (the medieval Latin name for music). ...

Music and influence

Very few manuscript sources of Dunstaple's works survived in England, as is similarly the case for other 15th century composers. Even though England was a centre of musical activity, in some respects exceeding even the output of the Burgundian School, almost all of the music was destroyed between 1536 and 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. As a result, most of Dunstaple’s work had to be recovered from continental sources (predominantly northern Italy and the southern Alps). Since numerous copies of his works have been found in Italian and German manuscripts, his fame must have been widespread. He was praised by the French poet Martin Le Franc, who wrote in the massive verse-poem Le Champion des Dames that Dunstaple’s contenance angloise ("English countenance or guise") influenced Dufay and Binchois. Writing a few decades later in about 1476, the Flemish composer and music theorist Tinctoris hailed him as the fons et origo, the chief exponent, of the new art which had originated with the English. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Composer Guillaume Dufay (left) and Gilles Binchois (right), Martin le Franc, Champion des Dames The Burgundian School is a term used to denote a group of composers active in the 15th century in what is now eastern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, centered on the court of the Dukes of... Year 1536 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1540 was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... dissolution see Dissolution. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Martin le Franc c. ... Du Fay (left), with Gilles Binchois Guillaume Dufay (Du Fay, Du Fayt) (?August 5, 1397 – November 27, 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of the late Middle Ages/early Renaissance. ... Gilles de Binchois or Bins (c. ... Johannes Tinctoris (c. ...

The contenance angloise, while not defined by Martin Le Franc, was probably a reference to Dunstaple's stylistic trait of using full triadic harmony, along with a liking for the interval of the third. Assuming that he had been on the continent with the Duke of Bedford, Dunstaple would have been introduced to French fauxbourdon; borrowing some of the sonorities, he created elegant harmonies in his own music using thirds and sixths. Taken together, these are seen as defining characteristics of early Renaissance music, and both Le Franc's and Tinctoris's comments suggest that many of these traits may have originated in England, taking root in the Burgundian School around the middle of the century. Faux bourdon (also commonly fauxbourdon) - French for wrong buzz - is a technique of musical harmonisation used in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ...

There are two big problems facing today's musicologists of the 15th century: firstly, determining which of the many surviving anonymous works were written by which composers and, secondly, unravelling conflicting attributions. This is made doubly difficult for English composers such as Dunstaple: scribes in England frequently copied music without any ascription, rendering it immediately anonymous; and, whilst continental scribes were more assidious in this regard, many works published in Dunstaple's name have other, potentially equally valid, attributions in different sources to other composers, including Gilles Binchois, John Benet, John Bedyngham, John Forest and, most frequently, Leonel Power. Musicology is reasoned discourse concerning music (Greek: μουσικη = music and λογος = word or reason). In other words: the whole body of systematized knowledge about music which results from the application of a scientific method of investigation or research, or of philosophical speculation and rational systematization to the facts, the processes and the... Gilles de Binchois or Bins (c. ... Leonel Power (1370 to 1385 – June 5, 1445) was an English composer of the late Medieval and early Renaissance eras. ...

Of the works attributed to him only about 50 survive, among which are two complete masses, three incomplete but multi-section masses, 14 individual mass sections, 12 complete isorhythmic motets (including the famous one which combines the hymn Veni creator spiritus and the sequence Veni sancte spiritus, and Albanus roseo rutilat mentioned above), as well as 27 separate settings of various liturgical texts, including three Magnificats and seven settings of Marian antiphons, such as Alma redemptoris Mater and Salve Regina misericordie. The Visitation in the Book of Hours of the Duc of Berry For the David and the Giants album, see Magnificat (album) The Magnificat (also known as the Song of Mary) is a canticle frequently sung (or said) liturgically in Christian church services. ... Marian antiphons are a group of sacred devotional songs in the Gregorian chant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church sung in honor of the Virgin Mary. ...

Dunstaple was one of the first to compose masses using a single melody as cantus firmus. A good example of this technique is his Missa Rex seculorum. In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ...

He is believed to have written secular music, but no songs in the vernacular can be attributed to him with any degree of certainty: although the French-texted rondeau Puisque m’amour is attributed to Dunstaple in two sources and there is no reason to doubt his authorship, the ballade remained the more favoured form for English secular song at this time and there is limited opportunity for comparison with the rest of his output. The popular melody O rosa bella, once thought to be by Dunstaple, is now attributed to John Bedyngham (or Bedingham). Yet, because so much of the surviving 15th century repertory of English carols is anonymous, and Dunstaple is known to have written many, most scholars consider it highly likely - for stylistic as well as statistical reasons - that some of the anonymous carols from this time are actually by Dunstaple. The rondeau (French; plural form rondeaux) was a Medieval and early Renaissance musical form, based on a popular contemporary poetic form (see rondeau (poetry)). It is distinct from the 18th century rondo, though the terms are likely related. ... A ballade refers to a one-movement musical piece with lyrical and dramatic narrative qualities. ...

Dunstaple was probably the most influential English composer of all time, yet he remains an enigma: his complete works were not published until the quincentenary of his death in 1953, but even since then works have been added and subtracted from his oeuvre; we know very little of his life and nothing of his undoubted learning; we can only make an educated guess at most of the chronology of the small amount of music that has come down to us; and we understand little of his style - why he wrote as he did, what artistic or technical principles guided his composing, how his music was performed, or why it was so influential.

References and further reading

• Margaret Bent: "John Dunstaple", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed January 19, 2006), (subscription access)
• Margaret Bent: "Dunstaple", Oxford Studies of Composers. London, Oxford University Press, 1981. ISBN 0-19-315225-8
• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0-393-09530-4

Gustave Reese (November 29, 1899 – September 7, 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. ...

External links

• John Dunstaple Web Presentation
• Dunstaple biography on hoasm.org
• An incomplete discography