Amadis de Gaula (original Old Spanish and Galician-Portuguese spelling) (Spanish: Amadís de Gaula, IPA: [amaˈðiz ðe ˈɣaula]; Portuguese: Amadis de Gaula, IPA: [ɐmɐˈðiʒ ðɨ ˈɣawlɐ]; "Amadis of Gaul") is a landmark work among the knight-errantry tales which were in vogue in 16th century Iberian Peninsula, and formed the earliest reading of many Renaissance and Baroque writers, although it was written at the onset of the 14th century.

The first known printed edition was published in Zaragoza in 1508, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (or Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo). It was published in four books in Castilian, but its origins are unclear: The narrative originates in the late post-Arthurian genre and had certainly been read as early as the 14th century by the chancellor Pero López de Ayala as well as his contemporary Pero Ferrús.

Montalvo himself confesses to have amended the first three volumes, and to be the author of the fourth. Additionally, in the Portuguese Chronicle by Gomes Eannes de Azurara (1454), Amadis is attributed to Vasco de Lobeira, who was knighted after the battle of Aljubarrota (1385). However, other sources claim that the work was, in fact, a copy of one João de Lobeira, not the Basque troubadour Vasco de Lobeira, and that it was a translation into Castilian Spanish of an earlier work, probably from the beginning of the 14th century, although no privimitive version in the original Portuguese is known. The inspiration for the "Amadis de Gaula" appears to be the blocked marriage of Infanta Constanza of Aragon with Henry of Castile in 1260 (See Juan Manuel's Libro de las Armas of 1335), as blocked was also Oriana's marriage to Amadis. A more recent, minority opinion attributes "Amadis" to Henry of Castile and León, due to evidence linking his biography with the events in "Amadis". Henry of Castile died in 1305.

Jean-Baptiste de Lully (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃batist də lyˈli]; Italian: Giovanni Battista Lulli; 28 November 1632 – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in 1661.

Lully, son of a working-class miller, was born in Florence, Italy. Lully had little education, but he learned basic techniques on the guitar, originally taught by a Franciscan friar of Florence. Later in France, he learned how to play the violin, and to dance. In 1646, he was discovered by Roger de Lorraine, the chevalier de Guise, son of Charles, Duke of Guise, and was taken to France, where he entered the services of Mademoiselle de Montpensier (la Grande Mademoiselle) as a scullery-boy and Italian-language teacher. With the help of this princess, his talent increased. He studied the theory of music under Nicolas Métru. It has been said that a scurrilous song on his patroness (the doggerel he set to music refers to a "sigh" she produced while at stool) resulted in his dismissal. It is far more likely that he did not want to moulder out in the provinces with the exiled princess.^{[citation needed]}

Medwyn 'Jack' Goodall (born in 1961) is a composer and musician mostly associated with the New Age genre. He was born in Yorkshire, England. He lives with his wife Wendy in Cornwall, England. According to Allmusic, "Goodall began composing original songs as a teen, earning local notoriety with his band Trax; in the years to follow, he learned to play a vast range of instruments, including mandolin, piano, drums, harp, flute, glockenspiel, panpipes, vibraphone and synthesizer, and cut his first album at age 26". He is a prolific recorder, having recorded over 75 albums. He also topped the UK music charts twice and sold over three million albums. His first album was Emergence (1987), published by New World Music. His early albums were published also by Oreade Music. Medwyn Goodall recently started MG Music, a record label which specializes in New Age music.

He produced albums on which he arranged, performed, mixed and mastered every song, although his album, Om (2006), was produced together with Terry Oldfield and Om2 (2010), was produced together with Aroshanti. There is an updated list of his albums at MG Music and at All Music web sites.

Skip Sempé (New Orleans, 1958) is an American harpsichordist and conductor of the ensemble Capriccio Stravagante. Like many France-based early music conductors he is a "graduate" of William Christie's Les Arts florissants.