In music, the Franco-Flemish school refers somewhat imprecisely to the style of polyphonic vocal music in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries and to the composers who wrote it.

 

The composers of this time and region and the music they composed are also known as the Dutch School. However, only a few of the artists come from what is now the Netherlands. Instead, the word "Dutch" refers to the Netherlands, which is roughly equivalent to modern Belgium Flanders.

 

In times of political stability, this was a center of cultural activity for more than two hundred years, and at the end of the 16th century the focus of the music world shifted from this region to Italy.