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 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 - 1594) Few composer's reputations have had such unbroken security as Palestrina's. With Byrd and Lassus he was a towering figure in the late 16th century. He wrote almost exclusively 'a capella' religious music.
After studying in Rome he returned to Palestrina, his byrth place, as cathedral organist in 1544. Later he was appointed Master of the Julian Chapel in Rome.
The 'Missa Papae Marcelli', made for Pope Marcellus II, holds a central position in his achievement. The Mass is scored for 6 voices with a 7 voice Agnus Dei.
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 William Byrd (1543 - 1623) Was an English composer, a pupil of Thomas Tallis, who started his career as an organ player in Lincoln and later in the Chapel Royal in London.
Byrd was probably the greatest English composer of church music of his time and an excellent singer too. He wrote 3 masses, several motets, songs, madrigals and instrumental works for gamba, lute and other instruments. Elisabeth I granted him and Tallis the sole right to print and sell music in England.
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 Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) German-English composer. Started his career as an organ player in Halle and later violinist in Hamburg. He composed some operas there.
Later he went to Bologna and Florence in Italy where he composed operas in the Italian style and oratorias and cantatas.
In London Händel was very successful as an opera composer and later as a composer of oratoria, a new style of composing in the England of his time. 'Israel in Egypt' is an oratorio he wrote in 1738 and famous for his many chorals, based on literal bible texts.
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 Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) Italian composer. Rossini is famous for his many operas, from which 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (1816) is probably the most famous one.
Yet in 1829, at the age of 37, having written some forty operas for Italy and France (the last of which was his masterpeice 'Guillaume Tell'), Rossini abandoned the stage and started a more quiet life. The most important work of that later period was 'Messe Solennelle' which he finished in 1867.
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