Orlande de Lassus (c.1532-1594), also known as Orlando di Lasso, was one of the great composers of the late Renaissance. Born in Mons, he worked in Italy before spending much of his career at the Bavarian court in Munich.

His output is vast and includes masses, motets, madrigals, chansons, lieder and other sacred and secular vocal works. He was celebrated across Europe for his mastery of many languages and genres.

Lassus’s music is expressive, flexible and superbly crafted, with a remarkable ability to match text and musical gesture. He could be devout, dramatic, witty or intimate according to the words before him.

Alongside Palestrina and Victoria, he stands among the giants of sixteenth-century vocal music. Lassus made Renaissance polyphony speak with a whole theatre of human voices.