John Dunstable
John Dunstaple (or Dunstable; c. 1390 – 24 December 1453) was an English composer whose music helped inaugurate the transition from the medieval to the Renaissance periods. The central proponent of the Contenance angloise style (lit. 'English manner'), Dunstaple was the leading English composer of his time, and is often coupled with William Byrd and Henry Purcell as England's most important early music composers. His style would have an immense influence on the subsequent music of continental Europe, inspiring composers such as Du Fay, Binchois, Ockeghem and Busnois. Information on Dunstaple's life is largely non-existent or speculative, with the only certain date of his activity being his death on Christmas Eve of 1453. Probably born in Dunstable in Bedfordshire during the late 14th-century, Dunstaple was associated with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and Joan of Navarre, and, through them, St Albans Abbey. Another important patron was John, Duke of Bedford, with whom Dunstaple may have travelled to France. Dunstaple's surviving music is exclusively vocal, and frequently uses isorhythms, while pioneering the prominent use of harmonies with thirds and sixths.
Genre: medieval
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- Registered: 2026-06-14T11:35:26+00:00
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Top Tracks
- Salve scema sanctitatis, Salve salus servulorum, Cantant celi agmina (15th c. England): Salve scema sanctitatis, Salve salus servulorum, Cantant celi agmina (15th c. England)
- Gaude virgo salutata / Gaude virgo singularis
- Dunstable: Crux fidelis
- Veni sancte spiritus / Veni creator
- Ave Maria stella
- The Agincourt Hymn
- Veni Sancte Spiritus
- Sancta Maria succurre miseris
- Alma redemptoris Mater
- Ave maris stella
- O rosa bella
- Brassart, Ave Maria: Secunda pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Brassart, Ave Maria: Prima pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Magnificat secundi toni: Quinta pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Magnificat secundi toni: Quarta pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Magnificat secundi toni: Tertia pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Magnificat secundi toni: Secunda pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Magnificat secundi toni: Prima pars - Arr. for Guitar
- Alma redemptoris - Arr. for Guitar
- Puisque m'amour - Arr. for Guitar
Albums (40)
- Dunstable: The Ordinary Of The Mass (For Guitar) (2024-07-19)
- Ars britannica. Old Hall Manuscript, Madrigals & Lute Songs (2023-03-17)
- Lux Laetitiae (2022-05-06)
- Echoes of an Old Hall (2021-06-11)
- Music for St Katherine of Alexandria: 15th-Century English Music (2019-05-31)
- La morte della Ragione (2019-05-03)
- The Lily & the Rose: Adoration of the Virgin – Late Medieval English Music (2018-07-27)
- English Motets: From Dunstaple to Gibbons (2018-03-30)
- Music for the 100 Years' War (1337-1453) (2017-03-31)
- Beneath the Northern Star: The Rise of English Polyphony, 1270-1430 (2017-03-03)
- The Allegory Of Desire - The Song of Songs in Western and Oriental Traditions (2016-10-21)
- Christmas in Medieval England (Live) (2015-10-09)
- John Dunstable: Speciosa facta es (Arr. for Guitar) (2015-04-20)
- Sacred Music 2 (2014-10-13)
- Dunstable: Sancta Maria Succure Miseris / Ciconia: Gloria / Palestrina: Missa Aeterna Christi Munera (2014-07-15)
- Saints and Sinners - The Music of Medieval and Renaissance Europe (2014-02-25)
- The Merton Collection: Merton at 750 (2013-10-28)
- Tresors Du Moyen-Age (2013-09-30)
- Un Año Con Jesucristo (2012-10-23)
- Power / Dunstaple: Masses and Motets (2012-04-02)
- Early Music Masterpieces (2011-11-15)
- Treasury of English Church Music (2011-09-16)
- Marie, fleur du Carmel (1970-01-01)
- 66 Renaissance Masterpieces (2010-11-15)
- Middle Ages Music (2010-06-15)
- Essential Renaissance (2010-01-15)
- Music from Da Vinci's Time (2009-02-24)
- Dunstable: Quam Pulchra Es / Veni Sancte Spiritus / Mass Movements (2005-10-18)
- Discover Early Music (2005-10-01)
- Musik der Renaissance (1999-01-01)
- Musical Book of Hours (1998-01-01)
- The Spirits of England & France 5: 15th-Century English Music (1997-04-01)
- The Spirits of England & France 3: Binchois and His Contemporaries (1995-10-01)
- The Golden Age of European Polyphony (1994-06-07)
- The Flowering of Renaissance Choral Music (1994-01-01)
- Joculatores Upsalienses: Early Music at Wik (1990-09-30)
- The Service of Venus and Mars: Music for the Knights of the Garter, 1340-1440 (1987-08-01)
- Dunstable - Motets (1970-01-01)
- Dufay and His Times (1974-01-01)
- Dunstable: Sacred and Secular Music (1961-12-09)
Full machine-verifiable record (JSON-LD, dual-chain proof, every album and recording): https://artists.proofprofile.net/storage/jsonld/artists/de20/artist-1039904.json
Popularity-0 recordings of John Dunstable in everplay, described from supplier metadata.