'O Jesu ! quam dulce nomen tuum', tiré Petits Motets
Sébastien de Brossard was a French music theorist who was born in Dompierre, Orne, France on 12 September 1655 and died at Meaux on 10 April 1730.
After studying philosophy and theology at Caen, he studied music and established himself in Paris in 1678 and remained there until 1687. He briefly was the private tutor of the young son of Nicolas-Joseph Foucault, a collector and bibliophile. He became a very close friend to Étienne Loulié, one of the musicians who performed the Italianate works that Marc-Antoine Charpentier was composing for Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, better known as "Mademoiselle de Guise." While in Paris, he also became close to Samuel Morland, an English inventor and polymath who was working with Joseph Sauveur, a mathematician, on the Machine de Marly. It was during talks about music with Morland that Brossard deduced the role that a major third versus a minor third play in differentiating a major scale from a minor scale.
These contacts shaped Brossard's future preoccupations. He enthusiastically embraced Italian music; he became a collector of musical manuscripts and music treatises; he perfected his knowledge of musical theory; and autodidact though he was, he honed his compositional skills.
In 1687, Brossard was named a vicar at the Strasbourg Cathedral. He remained there until 1698. He founded an Académie de Musique at Strasbourg in 1687 and arranged Lully's Alceste for performance there. It was during the decade he spent in Strasbourg that he acquired the bulk of his music library, which has since become legendary. A collection of 157 sonatas acquired by Brossard bears the name Codex Rost, after the Cantor at Baden-Baden Franz Rost (1640-1688). It is sometimes the only source of works by certain German and Italian composers of the 17th century.
In 1698, Brossard was appointed chapel master at the Cathedral of Meaux and remained in that post until 1715. After his retirement, he worked on liturgical publications for the diocese. He died at Meaux in 1730, at age 75.
Brossard wrote a book on Greek, Latin, and Italian musical terms, the first music dictionary in French in 1703. In 1724, he offered his very rich library, together with its annotated catalogue, to Louis XV, in exchange for a pension. (Among the items in the collection were the unpublished manuscripts of his late friend Étienne Loulié.
A manuscript work of 393 pages accompanied by an alphabetical index of 253 pages, this catalogue today constitutes an incomparable source of information on music bibliography, the quality of printings, aesthetics, and the musical theory of the era. The manuscript (now available in published form) is kept at the Music Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
In addition, Brossard wrote six books of serious airs and drinking songs (1691-1698), several motets, and the Lamentations du prophète Jérémie (1721).
Sébastien de Brossard, né le 12 septembre 1655 à Dompierre (Orne) et mort le 10 avril 1730 à Meaux, est un compositeur et un théoricien de la musique français.
Après des études de philosophie et de théologie à Caen, il étudie la musique et s'établit à Paris en 1678, puis est nommé vicaire à la cathédrale de Strasbourg. Il y fonde une Académie de Musique en 1687 et c'est là qu'il se procure la majeure partie de sa bibliothèque musicale, devenue légendaire. Cette collection de 157 sonates, acquise par Brossard porte le nom de Codex Rost, d'après le copiste Franz Rost (1640 - 1688), provenant de Baden-Baden. Elle est parfois la seule source d'œuvres de certains compositeurs allemands et italiens du XVIIe siècle.
Brossard a écrit un ouvrage sur les termes grecs, latins et italiens dans la musique et le premier Dictionnaire de musique en langue française en 1703. En 1724, Brossard offre sa très riche bibliothèque à Louis XV, en échange d'une pension, et en rédige le catalogue.
Ouvrage manuscrit de 393 pages accompagné d'une table alphabétique de 253 pages, ce catalogue constitue encore aujourd'hui une source inépuisable de renseignements sur la bibliographie musicale, la qualité des impressions, l'esthétique et les théories musicales de l'époque. Le manuscrit est conservé au département de la musique de la Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Brossard a en outre écrit six Livres d'airs sérieux et à boire (1691-1698), plusieurs grands et petits motets, des cantates et les Lamentations du prophète Jérémie (1721). Son œuvre instrumental, contient des sonates pour violon et b.c., des sonates en trio, et des pièces pour orchestre.
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Cyrille Dubois remind me about Giovanni Battista Pergolesi who has so limited compositions and still so great reason to remember like Mozart or Bach.
For my opinion only those two solo and duet with Alain Buet on this album make Cyrille Dubois one of those memorable treble.
Oh man, only that one and half minute "Amen" end ot this motet could make it.
elmyr4art 2 years ago
For me too Elmyr4art, Cyrille is one of those memorable treble. And this CD is wonderful, also other with Cyrille 'Virgo Gloriosa'.
treblechoir99 2 years ago