Orlande de Lassus

Orlande de Lassus, a.k.a. Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, Roland Delattre (c.1532 – June 14, 1594) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. Along with

Orlande de Lassus, a.k.a. Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, Roland Delattre (c.1532 – June 14, 1594) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. Along with Palestrina he is today considered to be the chief representative of the mature polyphonic style of the Netherlands school, and he was the most famous and influential musician in Europe at the end of the 16th century.

He was born in Mons in the province of Hainaut, in what is today Belgium. Information about his early years is scanty, although some uncorroborated stories have survived, the most famous of which is that he was kidnapped three times because of the singular beauty of his singing voice. At the age of 12 he left the Low Countries with Ferrante Gonzaga and went to Mantua, Sicily, and later Milan (from 1547 to 1549). While in Milan he made the acquaintance of the madrigalist Hoste da Reggio, an influence which was formative on his early musical style.