Pierre Alamire

Composer, music scribe, manuscript illuminator and diplomat, born c. 1470 in Nuremberg (current Germany), died 26 June 1536 in Mechelen (current Belgium). Born Petrus Imhoff, which became Pieter or Pierre Van den Hove when moving to the Netherlands. The pseudonym Alamire is in fact a musical reference: the musical pitch "A" plus the solfège syllables "la", "mi" and "re". He worked for patrons such as the Burgundian duke (and Spanish king) Philip the Handsome and governors Archduchess Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary. About 50 of his manuscripts are preserved and serve as an important source for the history of Flemish polyphony.