Jean Rousseau (1 October 1644 – 1 June 1699) was a French

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

player,

theorist A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

, composer, and author remembered principally for his ''Traité de la viole'' (1687), a valuable source of information on the performance practices of his time, as well as on techniques used in the construction of viols . Rousseau was a pupil of Sainte Colombe for just one month, as the culmination of three years' study of the viol, and later dedicated his ''Traité'' to him. In that work, Rousseau defended Sainte Colombe's innovations in left-hand technique, and systematically refuted the attacks made by

Le Sieur de Machy Machy, known as Le Sieur de Machy ( fl. 1655–1700) was a French viol player, composer, and teacher remembered principally for his ''Pièces de Violle en Musique et en Tablature'' (1685), a valuable source of information on the performance practic ...

in the preface to his ''Pièces de violle'' (1685) .

References

* People from Moulins, Allier 1644 births 1699 deaths French classical composers French male classical composers French Baroque composers French Baroque viol players French music theorists French male non-fiction writers 17th-century classical composers 17th-century male musicians {{Bowed-musician-stub