The iUniversity

Section One

The Sacred Music of the Fifteenth Century

15th-century European sacred music was dominated by Latin polyphony, marking a transition from late Medieval to Renaissance styles. Key forms included the cyclic Mass (such as those by Guillaume Du Fay) and the motet, which utilized interwoven vocal lines. These compositions often incorporated Gregorian chant as a foundation, shifting toward more complex, expressive four-part textures, commonly used in court chapels and churches.

Franco-Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1410-1497) leading a group of singers

Scores

Jacob Obrecht - Salve Regina Page One
Josquin des Prez - Missa l'homme armé sexti toni Page One

ML-001 – Sacred Music of the 15th Century – Volume 1 (158 pages)
      Binchois, Dufay, and Isaac

ML-002 – Sacred Music of the 15th Century – Volume 2 (186 pages)
      Obrecht, Ockeghem, and des Prez

ML-003 – Masses of the 15th Century – Volume 1 (205 pages)
      Dufay, Isaac, and des Prez

ML-004 – Masses of the 15th Century – Volume 2 (215 pages)
      Obrecht and Ockeghem

Book Reprints

LB-001 Dufay and his Contemporaries, by J. F. R. Stainer and C. Stainer (1898)

LB-002 Great Religious Composers – Johannes Ockeghem, by Ernst Krenek (1953)

Videos