In this class we’ll explore the life and work of Johannes Ockeghem. We will examine what the life of a typical 15th century composer of polyphony was like, how Ockeghem was regarded during his lifetime and later, and look at his most important body of work, his Masses. In particular we’ll spend time on Missa Prolationum, and explain how the ingenious (or perhaps pedantic and unmusical) mensural canons work.