The Flemish composer Cipriano de Rore – active, like many of his compatriots, in Italy – is of importance in the contemporary synthesis of Flemish counterpoint and Italian gifts of melody. Associated with composers such as Willaert in Venice, he was by 1547 maestro di cappella at Ferrara. He later took service with Margaret of Parma, at first in the Netherlands and then in Parma itself, where he died in 1565.

Secular Vocal Music
Cipriano de Rore is principally known for his Italian madrigals, published in several collections during his lifetime and immediately after his death. He also wrote a small number of French chansons and a number of secular Latin motets.

Sacred Vocal Music
Cipriano de Rore wrote a similar amount of sacred vocal music, settings of the Mass and the Magnificat, and motets. These compositions typify the style of polyphonic composition current in the generation after Josquin, leading to the changes that happened in the later part of the 16th century.