John Hothby

Full biography John Hothby

John Hothby, also known by his Latinized names Johannes Ottobi or Johannes de Londonis , was an English Renaissance composer and music theorist who lived during the 15th century. He is best known for his theoretical works on music, which have been studied and analyzed by musicologists to this day.

Hothby was born in London in the early 15th century and traveled extensively throughout Europe during his life. He had a notable career as a musician and composer in Italy, where he was employed by several noble families and even served as the music director of the Sistine Chapel in Rome for a brief time.

Despite his success as a composer and performer, Hothby is perhaps best known for his theoretical works on music. He wrote several treatises on the subject, including a commentary on the works of Boethius and a treatise on music theory that became influential in the development of solmization, a system of assigning syllables to musical notes for the purposes of vocal instruction.

Hothby's treatises on music theory were influential in their time and helped to establish him as one of the leading music theorists of the Renaissance. However, today he is relatively little-known and his works are primarily studied by scholars of music history and theory.

Overall, John Hothby was a talented and influential composer and music theorist who played an important role in the development of music theory during the Renaissance. While his works may be less well-known today than those of some of his contemporaries, they continue to be studied and analyzed by scholars of music history for their insights into the development of Renaissance music.