Busnois was perhaps the most highly regarded composer at the court of Burgundy during the final days of the luxurious Duchy. His compositions comprise two cantus firmus masses, several motets, and dozens of secular chansons. Busnois was best known for his secular music, and indeed his finest works in these forms compare well with those of the acknowledged master of the age, Johannes Ockeghem. In fact, Busnois' best known work, the motet-chanson "In hydraulis," is a tribute to Ockeghem, his teacher. Busnois' compositions delight in all manner of tricks, from harmonic effects to lyrical acrostics. His secular works represent the apogee of the intricate chanson form (in both poetry and music) of the early Renaissance. ~ Todd McComb (6/94)