My classical composer top ten list

OK, so first, definitions: by "classical" I mean Western composers from the beginning of recorded history to today.

Second, if you don't already know my tastes, let me just give you, um, a taste of that. I am an Early music enthusiast, which means that I primarily listen to music from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Further, that means that, just as someone who is into 19th century music will listen to composers other than Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner (i.e., the mainstream guys everyone listens to), I listen to all kinds of music from those periods, not just the most famous people that you learn about in music history class (no, Palestrina is not going to be on my list...).

Without further ado, here is my list of 10 favorite composers (in no particular order of priority).

1) Henry Purcell. Just on the basis of his Fantasias for Viola da Gamba and his many incredible songs, Purcell makes my list. Add in all his theatrical works, and the guy was one of the most incredible musical geniuses ever. I heard three friends perform "In vain the amorous flute" years ago with all kinds of ornaments added, and it was one of the most memorable listening experiences I've ever had.

2) Johann Sebastian Bach. Yes, I know, this is pretty obvious, but Bach holds a special place in my heart, partly as a result of me being raised as a Lutheran (Bach wrote his sacred music for a Lutheran church community, the St. Thomas Kirche, in Germany). When I was singing in church choir as a young man, we always thought of him as "Uncle Bach," like his music was written for us. And then of course, Bach has been adapted and re-interpreted over the centuries in so many wonderful ways - take Glenn Gould, for example.

3) Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Charpentier had the misfortune to be writing theatrical works at a time when an egotist held the monopoly on operas in Paris. Nevertheless, the one chance he had to write an opera, he created one of the most amazing theatrical musical works of all time, "Medee." He also wrote tons of other oratorios and vocal pieces full of spirit, in his unique style which combines French and Italian Baroque styles.

4) Johannes Ockeghem. Only a handful of works survive which can be definitively connected to Ockeghem, and yet there is enough there to keep me listening for decades. His mass settings are extraordinary, and his chansons are delightful. And he even wrote a few motets that survive which are also incredible.

5) Josquin des Prez. I struggle with my love for Josquin's music, because he is for many people the one composer they know from the Renaissance period. I love the music enough to tattoo Josquin on my arm, and I recognize that he is one of the greatest. His music has been compared to Beethoven's in the way that Josquin took pieces of melody and used them to create big magnificent works.

6) Jacob Obrecht. Obrecht died just when his career was taking off, but nevertheless he managed to leave a huge body of work, including many masses whose variety is staggering. I spent a couple of years collecting any recording of his work I could find.

7) Thomas Tallis. It's hard for me to choose among all the great 16th century English composers for one or two favorites, but Tallis stands head and shoulders above the rest for a couple of reasons. His career spanned all the upheavals that took place in England during that century (except the Spanish Armada, I guess), and he wrote music to suit whatever the situation was at any given time. His Lamentations settings are justifiably famous, and his masses and motets manage to sound both old-fashioned for their time and also radical.

8) Orlando di Lasso. Di Lasso's vast body of work includes secular music in Italian, French and German (and Latin) and I have so so many favorites from among both that and his sacred music as well. From the Penitential Psalms to the Lagrime di San Pietro to his Villanelli, he just created an astonishing amount of works of genius.

9) Heinrich Isaac. A northerner by birth, Isaac worked primarily in the south, especially in Florence. Like di Lasso, he created secular music in French and German as well as Italian, and captured different national styles for each. His work for the Medici court is extraordinary, especially his lament on the death of Lorenzo di Medici, Il Magnifico, "Quis dabit capiti meo aquam." Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed in the purges inspired by the monk Savonarola, but what survives is wonderful.

10) Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi spanned the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and created works in both styles of genius. His madrigals are absolutely astonishing, his three surviving operas are among the earliest examples of the genre and deserve to be part of the standard repertoire, his sacred music is sumptuously gorgeous.