Francesco Landini

Fourteenth century Italian composer Francesco Landini (ca. 1325-1397) was the major figure of the Italian Trecento, a period in which Italian composers began to compete with Franco-Flemish masters. Blind from childhood, Landini was an expert player of the organetto and the most prolific Italian composer of his era; all of his authentic works are secular, and it appears Landini authored many of his own texts. Landini was one of the first composers to attempt to notate instrumental accompaniment, and the catchy, popular orientation of his pieces has endeared them to early music ensembles, in addition to their great popularity in Landini's own time.