Considered one of the most influential composers of Renaissance choral music, Ockeghem innovated a style of polyphony that pushed Franco-Flemish vocal counterpoint into lusher and more intricate territory. Historians estimate he was born around 1410 and began his known musical career as a singer at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp before assuming a variety of prestigious posts in churches and royal courts (Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII). Usually scored for three or four voices, Ockeghem’s sacred and secular works often feature lengthy, freely composed melodies—sometimes without pre-existing source material, which was uncommon during his time—and technically challenging features. His works are also notable for integrating active, sometimes subterranean bass lines. While serving in the court of Louis XI, Ockeghem began to compose masses regularly and wrote the first known polyphonic Requiem setting in 1461. He sometimes used these more extended works to conduct intricate formal experiments. In his Missa prolationum (from the latter half of the 15th century), florid vocal lines obscure the canon form that runs throughout the piece. Leaving behind a relatively small extant catalog (roughly 14 masses, 10 motets, and 20 chansons), Ockeghem died in 1497, but the ethereality and pre-tonal harmonic eccentricities of his work sound modern and surprising today.