Jean-Baptiste Nôtre (4 September 1732 – 20 February 1807) was a French composer and

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Biography

Born in

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

, Jean-Baptiste Nôtre's father, Jacob Notter, from

Mels Mels is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the Seeztal, canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. History Mels is first mentioned in 765 as ''Maile'' though this comes from a later copy of the original document. ...

near

Sargans Sargans is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland (Wahlkreis), Sarganserland in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. Sargans is known for ...

in Switzerland, married in Toul in 1721 and settled there, after serving as a soldier in the Esly regiment; he became the Swiss of the cathedral, under the French name Jacques Nôtre. Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, who was initially a choirboy in the cathedral, probably received his first organ lessons from the organists Noirel et Martelet. In 1754, the canons awarded him a scholarship to train for six months in Paris by Guillaume-Antoine Calvière (1695–1755), one of the organists of the

Chapelle Royale The ''chapelle royale'' (chapel royal) was the musical establishment attached to the royal chapel of the French kings. The term may also be applied to the chapel buildings, the Chapelle royale de Versailles. The establishment included a choir, or ...

and titular at

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

. When he returned, they named him organist of the

Toul Cathedral Toul Cathedral or Cathedral of Saint Stephen of Toul (''Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul'') is a Roman Catholic church in Toul, Lorraine, France. It is a classic example of late Gothic architecture in the Flamboyant style. The cathedral has one ...

, which had a magnificent instrument built by between 1751 and 1755. He was asked to appraise the organs of the Cistercian abbey Notre-Dame de Beaupré. (1775), the (1778), the (1779), as well as those of the

Nancy Cathedral Nancy Cathedral or Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation and St. Sigisbert () is a Roman Catholic church building, church located in the town of Nancy, France, Nancy, Lorraine (region), Lorraine, France. It was erected in the 18th century. The ...

(1787, 1789). In 1793, he was commissioned to estimate the organs of all the churches in Toul, which became national property. Even though the French Revolution suspended his activities for a while, he remained organist of the cathedral until his death. In 1757, he married Nancy Françoise Mangin, daughter of an innkeeper, who gave him five children. Their daughter Marguerite Nôtre (1759–1837) was an organist in the

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German : ''Lünstadt'' ; Lorrain: ''Leneinvile'') is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Ve ...

parish of Saint-Jacques.

His ''Livre d'orgue''

Preserved at the Municipal Library of

Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons ...

(manuscript 941), among the scores from the organist Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), and entitled ''Livres de piesses d'orgue par l'organiste de Toul'',Livre d'orgue
on Data.bnf.fr the collection of Nôtre's pieces contains eight suites of nine short pieces, ordered by

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

, which could in fact be verses for the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

: * irst ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Trio. Basse de trompette. Récit. Duo. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * econd ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Trio. Cornet. Basse de trompette. Grand jeu. Récit de cromhorne. Grand jeux. * hird ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Trio. Récit. Cornet. Trio. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * ourth tone Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Trio. Récit. Cornet. Duo. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * ifth ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Récit. Clairinette. Basse de trompette. Trio. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * ixth ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Clairinette. Duo. Trio. Basse de trompette. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * eventh ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Récit. Trompette. Trio. Basse de trompette. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. * ight ton Plein jeux. Fugue grave. Duo. Trio. Clairinette. Cornet. Récit. Grand jeux. Grand jeux. While in keeping with the great French tradition of liturgical organ books, Nôtre's book reflects the evolution of taste in the second half of the 18th century, particularly the influence of German music for the

pianoforte A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temp ...

. The pieces are written without a pedal and can be played on the piano.

Modern edition of the ''Livre d'orgue''

Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, ''Livre d'orgue…'', published by Jean-Luc Gester, intr. by Jean-Luc Gester and Damien Vaisse, Hombourg-Haut
Institut Théodore Gouvy
, 2003, 66 p.

Bibliography

* Gustave Clanché, ''La musique, le chœur, le bas-chœur de la cathédrale de Toul (documents historiques)'', Toul, 1936. * Olivier Douchain, ''Les organistes laïques du diocèse de Toul aux XVIIe–XVIIIe'', ''Recherches sur la musique française classique'', vol. 20, 1981, (pp. 77–181), vol. 21, 1983, (pp. 43–117) and vol. 22, 1984, (pp. 164–218). * Jean-Luc Gester et Damien Vaisse, Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, organiste de Toul, et son ''Livre d'orgue'', ''Études touloises'', no. 109, 2004, (pp. 29-39); article republished with some supplements in ''La Tribune de l'orgue. Revue suisse romande'', vol. 57/1, 2005, (pp. 10-23).

Discography

* Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, ''Le Livre d'Orgue'' –

Pascal Vigneron Pascal Vigneron (born 23 June 1963) is a French classical musician, both trumpeter, organist, and conductor. Life Born in Commercy (Lorraine), Vigneron's genealogy goes back to 1841, when his ancestors lived in the town of Bruley. He has been ...

at the large Curt Schwenkedel organs (1963) of the

and the historical organ of Charles Cachet (1720) at Domgermain – ref. Quantum QM 7064 (2012). * The "Livres de Piesses dorgue" by Jean-Baptiste Nôtre was recorded (October 2016) by Dominique Dantand, titular of the historical Küttinger organ of

Vézelise Vézelise () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department References

Communes of Meurthe-et-Moselle ...

, organ received and played by J-B Nôtre in 1775. The CD is available from the Association des Amis de l'orgue de Vézelise. This is currently the only truly historical record of these pages.

Jean-Charles Ablitzer Jean-Charles Gaston Ablitzer (born 5 August 1946) is a French organist and pedagogue who specialises in music and organs of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Biography Ablitzer was born in Grandvillars in the Territoire de Belfort, a depar ...

wrote:

References

External links

Nôtre, Jean-Baptiste (1732-1807)
on IdRef
Bibliothèque de Châlons-en Champagne
* , Dominique Dantand, Küttinger organ of Vézelise (19 June 2016) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Notre, Jean-Baptiste French classical organists French Classical-period composers French male classical composers 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male musicians 19th-century French composers 1732 births 1807 deaths 19th-century French male musicians French male classical organists People from Toul