-
3200 BCE
Lyre
Ancient Iraq - Stringed -
3000 BCE
Harp
Mesopotamia - Stringed -
1500 BCE
Trumpet
Egypt - Brass -
900 BCE
Flute
China - Woodwind -
265 BCE
Organ
Ancient Greece - Woodwind -
950
Fiddle
Europe - Stringed -
1151
Ordo Virtutum
Composed by: Hildegard of Bingen
Style/Genre: Mass Composed during the construction and relocation of her Abbey at Rupertsberg. It is the earliest morality play by more than a century, and the only medieval musical drama to survive with an attribution for both text and music. https://www.healthyhildegard.com/ordo-virtutum/ -
1160
Perotin
Country of Origin: Paris, France
Born: 1160 - Died: 1230
Notable Work: "Sederunt Principes" https://www.britannica.com/biography/Perotin -
1198
Viderunt Omnes
Composed by: Leonin
Style/Genre: Organum Style "Viderunt omnes" is a Gregorian chant based on Psalm XCVII (98), sung as the gradual[1] at the Masses of Christmas Day and historically on its octave. https://imslp.org/wiki/Viderunt_omnes_(P%C3%A9rotin) -
1250
Gittern
Stringed - Spain -
1250
Adam de la Halle
Country of Origin: Arras, France
Born: 1250 - Died: 1306
Notable work: "Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-de-la-Halle -
1291
Philippe de Vitry
Country of Origin: Paris, France
Born: 1291 - Died: 1361
Notable Work: "the Ars Nova Notandi" https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philippe-de-Vitry -
1300
Guillaume de Machaut
Country of Origin: Reims, France
Born: 1300 - Died: 1377
Notable Work: "Messe de Nostre Dame" https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guillaume-de-Machaut -
1365
Messe de Nostre Dame
Composed by: Guillaume de Machaut
Style/Genre: Tournai Mass Contrary to popular belief, Machaut did not actually come to work for the Reims Cathedral until the end of the 1350s, composing the mass as an act of devotion and dedication marking his arrival in the district. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/culture-magazines/guillaume-de-machauts-messe-de-nostre-dame -
1400
Harpsichord
Italy - Stringed -
1450
Sackbut
Burgundy - Brass -
1489
Crumhorn
Germany - Brass -
1500
Spinet
Italy - Stringed -
1550
Cello
Italy - Stringed -
1555
Violin
Northern Italy - 1555 -
1567
Claudio Monteverdi
Country of Origin: Cremona, Italy
Baptized: 1567 - Died: 1643
Notable Works: “L’Arianna” “La favola d’Orfeo” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claudio-Monteverdi -
Lachrimae
Composed by: John Dewland
Style/Genre: Chamber Music It became one of the most widely known compositions of the time. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lachrimae -
Lasciatemi Morire
Composed by: Claudio Monteverdi
Country of Origin: Cremona, Italy
Born: 1567 - Died: 1643 The piece started life as an extended operatic aria, a featured moment in Monteverdi's 1608 opera, 'L'Arianna'. https://www.sonomabach.org/lasciatemi-morire---claudio-monteverdi.html#:~:text=%E2%80%8B'Lasciatemi%20morire'%2C%20sometimes,(libretto%20by%20Ottavio%20Rinuccini). -
Bassoon
France - Woodwind -
Bassoon
France - Woodwind -
Oboe
France - Woodwind -
Henry Purcell
Country of Origin: London, England
Born: 1659 - Died: 1695
Notable Works: "Abdelazer", "Dido and Aeneas", and "Dioclesian." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Purcell -
Antonio Vivaldi
Country of Origin: Venice, Italy
Born: 1678 - Died: 1741
Notable work: “Concerto for Four Violins and Cello in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 10” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Vivaldi -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Country of Origin: Eisenach, Germany
Born: 1685 - Died: 1750
Notable Works: "Goldberg Variation" and "Brandenburg Concertos." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach -
Fortepiano
Italy - Stringed -
Brandenburg Concertos
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Style/Genre: Chorus Music Such royal requests could be quite lucrative for a composer, but the margrave never paid for Bach’s work. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brandenburg-Concertos -
The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Composed by: George Frideric Handel
Country of Origin: Halle, Germany
Born: 1685 - Died: 1759 Notable Work: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” interlude is a widely appreciated processional set piece. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Arrival-of-the-Queen-of-Sheba -
Clarinet
Germany - Woodwind -
The Marriage of Figaro
Composed by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Country of Origin: Salzburg, Austria
Born: 1756 - Died: 1791 Mozart was hoping for greater fame and financial security, and in his choice of material he was influenced by the unprecedented success in Vienna. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Marriage-of-Figaro-opera-by-Mozart -
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Composed by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Country of Origin: Salzburg, Austria
Born: 1756 - Died: 1791 At that time, it was customary for ensembles to perform serenades in Vienna’s parks and gardens, and the creation of such pieces became a lucrative source of income for composers. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eine-kleine-Nachtmusik -
French Horn
Germany - Brass -
Pastoral Symphony
Composed by: Ludwig van Beethoven
Country of Origin: Bonn, Germany
Born: 1770 - Died: 1827 Many modern listeners came to know Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony through its appearance in the Walt Disney’s Fantasia film of 1940. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Symphony-No-6-in-F-Major -
Tuba
Germany - Brass -
Saxophone
Belgium - Woodwind -
Cavalleria Rusticana
Composed by: Pietro Mascagni
Country of Origin: Livorno, Italy
Born: 1863 - Died: 1945 He was on the verge of submitting one act of his historical drama Guglielmo Ratcliff when he learned that his wife had already sent in Cavalleria Rusticana without his knowledge. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cavalleria-rusticana-opera-by-Mascagni -
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor
Composed by: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Country of Origin: Staraya Russa, Russia
Born: 1873 - Died: 1943 It premiered on November 9, 1901, and contains themes that, throughout the 20th century, would be reborn as the melodies of several popular songs, including Frank Sinatra’s 1945 “Full Moon and Empty Arms” and Eric Carmen’s 1975 “All by Myself”; Carmen, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Piano-Concerto-No-2-Rachmaninoff -
The Rite of Spring
Composed by: Igor Stravinsky
Country of Origin: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Born: 1882 - Died: 1971 It is considered one of the first examples of Modernism in music and is noted for its brutality, its barbaric rhythms, and its dissonance. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Rite-of-Spring -
Rhapsody in Blue
Composed by: George Gershwin
Country of Origin: Brooklyn, New York
Born: 1898 - Died: 1937 It is one of the most performed of all American concert works, and its opening clarinet glissando is one of the most recognized musical passages in the world. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rhapsody-in-Blue-by-Gershwin -
The War Requiem, Opus 66
Composed by: Benjamin Britten
Country of Origin: Lowestoft, United Kingdom
Born: 1913 - Died: 1976 The War Requiem, Opus 66 (first performed, 1962), of the British composer Benjamin Britten makes skillful and impressive use of worshiped texts but also contains non-religous poetry by Wilfred Owen, killed in World War I. https://www.britannica.com/topic/War-Requiem