Guillaume de Machaut

Musical context

Ars Nova · 14th c.

Fourteenth-century French musicians described new approaches to rhythm and notation as an ars nova, distinguishing them from earlier practice. Guillaume de Machaut combined these possibilities with courtly poetry and sacred composition. This music circulated among courts and church institutions during a century marked by the Hundred Years’ War, plague, and religious conflict; older musical traditions continued alongside the new. Explore the era →

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