He was a representative of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, writing smooth polyphony with pervasive imitation, and he was a friend both of Clemens non Papa and Lassus.
Evidently Maximilian was fond of his Kapellmeister, and mourned him both in his diary, and by having elegies written for him by other prominent composers in his circle.
Another peculiarity of his style was a liking for progressions based on the circle of fifths, as well as dominant-tonic cadences, both features which foreshadow the changes in music which were to come at the end of the century.
He was the first to write a Missa quodlibetica, a five-voice mass which was a series of quodlibets—simultaneous presentations of several familiar tunes, from both sacred and secular sources.
In other compositions he also borrowed sections of pieces by his associates and predecessors, including Josquin, Jean Mouton, Jacquet of Mantua, Clemens non Papa and Cipriano de Rore.