Dufay, Guillaume

Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) was born in or around Cambrai (in northern France). He spent his youth as a choirboy at the Cambrai Cathedral, where he studied under and was influenced by Nicolas Malin, the magister puerorum of the Cathedral, and his successor Richard Loqueville. While Dufay never had any formal training, it is believed that he learned the art of composing through performing under these men, copying music for the church, and from varied associations with those older musicians who also knew how to compose. He remained in Cambrai until shortly before 1420, when he entered the service of the Malatesta family in Pesaro. He returned to Cambrai in 1426 only to leave again in 1428 to become a singer in the papal choir, one of the most respected musical establishments in Europe, in Rome. It was during this time that he established himself as one of the most important musicians of his day. He probably wrote the motet Ecclesie militantia for the consecration of Pope Eugene IV in 1431 and wrote his Supremum est mortalibus for the Peace of Viterbo in 1433.

The ballade C'est bien raison, was written in 1433 for the Marquis of Ferrera, Niccolo III, and is the first documentation of Dufay's contact with the influential and art-loving d'Este family (he was probably known in Ferrera through his service with the Malatesta family). In June of 1435, he traveled to Florence to reclaim his role as a papal singer (Pope Eugene IV had been forced to leave Rome and relocate to Florence). He remained in Florence until 1436, when the choir moved to Bologna, where Dufay served with the choir until June of 1437. It was during his stay in Bologna that he received a degree in canon law from the University of Turin. In 1436 he was made canon of the Cambrai Cathedral. After again serving in the Savoy court from 1437-39, he returned to Cambrai to shoulder his duties as canon. In 1446, he was made canon of Ste. Waudru in Mons. In 1450, he returned to Italy. He became active once again in Savoy from 1451-58. In 1458 he returned to Cambrai, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.