Johannes Ockeghem (c.1410-1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer, one of the great masters of fifteenth-century polyphony. He served at the French royal court and was admired by later generations of Renaissance musicians.

His surviving works include masses, motets and chansons. The Missa prolationum and the lament written after his death by Josquin’s generation testify to his extraordinary standing.

Ockeghem’s music is deep, subtle and flowing, often avoiding obvious cadences in favour of long continuous lines. Its complexity can feel less like display than like a river moving underground.

He stands near the beginning of the great Franco-Flemish tradition that shaped Renaissance music across Europe. Ockeghem’s art is austere, mysterious and quietly monumental.