This volume investigates the life and musical contributions of Guillaume Du Fay, a central figure in the development of 15th-century European music. David Fallows, a preeminent scholar in the field of early music, utilizes primary source documents and musical analysis to reconstruct the career of this influential composer. The text argues that Du Fay's synthesis of French, Italian, and English styles established the foundation for the Renaissance polyphonic tradition.

Experts consider this work the definitive scholarly account of the composer's life and output. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for musicologists and students of early music history.