Lassus, Orlande de

Lassus, Orlande de

 or Orlando di Lasso or Roland de Lassus

(born 1530/32, Mons, Spanish Hainaut—died June 14, 1594, Munich) Flemish composer. He began as a choirboy (with such a beautiful voice that he is said to have been kidnapped to sing elsewhere), and his first known position was in service to the Gonzaga family in Italy (1544). After 1556 he was based in Munich as kapellmeister to the duke of Bavaria, but he pursued an international career, traveling in Italy, Germany, Flanders, and France. He wrote more than 1,200 works, in every contemporary style and genre, sacred (including some 60 masses and 500 motets) and secular (including hundreds of madrigals and chansons), his attention to the correspondence of music and words being especially remarkable. Because of his range of styles (he always kept up with fashion) and because his works were printed widely during and after his lifetime, he influenced many composers and is regarded as one of the greatest masters of his century.