A Study Of The Fifteenth Century Musician Guillaume Du Fay

Guillaume Du Fay was a fifteenth-century ecclesiastical composer whose life and career were deeply influenced by both the church and the lay lords.This paper intends to review the important historical events in Du Fay’s career,analyze his service career,and thus peek at the social landscape at that time.Du Fay’s service career mainly focused on the papal Church,the court of Savoy and the court of Burgundy.Through his service experience,he pointed out the historical background of these dignitaries,and then explored the complex factors affecting Du Fay’s career.For example,the religious situation changed greatly before and after the Council of Basel,which also seriously affected Du Fay’s various choices.The introduction of the paper introduces Du Fay’s life experience and musical contribution.The first part introduces Du Fay’s early life,investigates Du Fay’s life history and his experience in Cambrai Church,and introduces the music tradition of Cambrai.The second part combs the service experience of Di Fei in his youth.Du Fay entered the Papal Chapel,served Eugene IV,and composed music for the dedication of the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Flowers.Du Fay’s continued pursuit of promotions exemplified the clergy’s usual upward trajectory.The third part discusses the situation of Basel Conference and its influence on Du Fay’s career.The great resistance of the church caused Du Fay to shift his focus of service to the secular court,represented by the court of Savoy.This process shows the transformation of Du Fay’s identity from cleric to courtier.The fourth part combs the work and life of Du Fay back to Cambrai in his later years.In his later years,Du Fay seemed to have the consciousness as a musician and actively built the music affairs of the church.And his life experience also makes "musician" this identity,more solid.The conclusion discusses the relationship between Du Fay and Renaissance and the value of Du Fay to The Times.The purpose of this paper is to sort out the life story of a musician in the form of biography,in order to analyze the shaping of an individual by The Times,and then discuss the value of an individual to The Times,from the perspective of history rather than the perspective of his works.