1550 – 1560s

Events in the 1550s 17

• 1480 – 1559 Jean Richafort Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer Jean Richafort was a pupil of Josquin whose motets and masses were admired throughout Europe. His Requiem honoring Josquin is one of the most moving works of the period.
• 1485 – 1558 Clément Janequin French Renaissance composer Clément Janequin was celebrated for his descriptive chansons depicting battles, bird songs and street cries. His programmatic style was highly original and widely imitated.
• 1490 – 1552 Philippe Verdelot Franco-Flemish madrigal composer Philippe Verdelot was one of the earliest composers of the Italian madrigal. Active in Florence and Venice, his works helped define the new genre in its formative years.
• 1494 – 1553 Francois Rabelais French writer and satirist Rabelais used humor and satire in Gargantua and Pantagruel to critique society and human nature.
• 1500 – 1553 Cristóbal de Morales Spanish Renaissance composer Cristóbal de Morales was the most important Spanish composer of the Renaissance whose masses and motets were performed throughout Europe and the Americas.
• 1500 – 1555 Luys de Narváez Spanish Renaissance lutenist Luys de Narváez was a Spanish vihuela player and composer whose Los seys libros del Delphín was one of the finest collections of Renaissance lute music.
• 1510 – 1556 Jacobus Clemens non Papa Franco-Flemish composer Jacobus Clemens non Papa was a prolific Flemish composer of masses, motets and chansons. His nickname distinguished him from Pope Clement VII and from the poet Jacobus Papa.
• 1550 – 1596 Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder Italian Renaissance composer Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder was an Italian composer active in England whose madrigals had great influence on native English composers including William Byrd.
• 1551 – 1618 Giulio Caccini Italian composer and singer Giulio Caccini was a pioneering member of the Florentine Camerata whose collection Le nuove musiche helped define the new monodic style that led to the birth of opera.
• 1552 – 1612 Hans Leo Hassler German Renaissance composer Hans Leo Hassler was the leading German composer of his generation who studied in Venice and brought Italian Renaissance style back to Germany. His sacred and secular works were widely performed.
• 1553 – 1602 Luzzasco Luzzaschi Italian Renaissance composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi was court organist at Ferrara whose chromatic madrigals for virtuoso solo voices influenced Gesualdo and Frescobaldi, both of whom he taught.
• 1553 – 1599 Luca Marenzio Italian madrigal composer Luca Marenzio was the most prolific and influential Italian madrigalist of the late 16th century. His expressive text-painting and harmonic refinement made him famous throughout Europe.
• 1554 – 1612 Giovanni Gabrieli Venetian Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli was a nephew of Andrea Gabrieli and one of the most influential composers of the late Renaissance. His polychoral motets and instrumental canzonas were widely admired.
• 1555 – 1580 Alonso Lobo Spanish Renaissance composer Alonso Lobo was a leading Spanish Renaissance composer of sacred polyphony whose masses and motets were performed at Seville Cathedral and widely admired.
• 1556 – 1605 Akbar the Great Mughal emperor of tolerance and reform Akbar expanded the Mughal Empire across most of the subcontinent and is remembered above all for his policy of religious tolerance — abolishing the tax on non-Muslims, encouraging dialogue between faiths, and building an efficient, inclusive administration. His reign is considered the empire's political and cultural peak.
• 1557 – 1609 Giovanni Croce Venetian Renaissance composer Giovanni Croce was a Venetian composer and priest whose sacred music and madrigals were widely published and performed throughout Europe in the late Renaissance.
• 1557 – 1602 Thomas Morley English Renaissance composer Thomas Morley was the leading English madrigalist who published important anthologies of Italian and English music. His Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke was widely used.