Gilles Binchois

Binchois, also known as Gilles de Bins, was born in Belgium and was a Renaissance composer who provided music for various church and court appointments in Burgundy, Paris, and Soignies. Skilled in both sacred and secular music, Binchois composed choral works as chaplain to the Burgundian dukes, as well as numerous popular chansons, and probably sang his own songs to harp accompaniment. He was credited with reviving music in Europe, and his works were held up as models. His influence on his contemporaries was strong, and after his death he was commemorated in laments by Dufay and Ockeghem.