Marie Bobillier, real name Antoinette Christine Marie Bobillier (12 April 1858 – 4 November 1918) was a French
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
,
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
, writing under her
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Michel Brenet.
Biography
Born in
Lunéville
Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) 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 Vezouze.
History
Lun ...
of a military father, captain and then colonel in the artillery, Marie Bobillier, a single daughter, lived her childhood in several cities, including
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
and
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, before finally settling in Paris in 1871. She learned to play the piano, but a scarlet fever contracted at the age of thirteen rendered her disabled, influencing her decision to devote her life to research, after having been to the Pasdeloup concerts. She was one of the first French women musicologists.
Her first publication, ''Histoire de la symphonie à orchestre'' (1882), won a prize in Brussels (
Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
The Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, sometimes referred to as ') is the independent learned society of science and arts of the French Comm ...
), engaging her ever-increasing reputation in the French musicological world. With a rigorous method that drew on the most reliable sources and documents, she made a series of publications – several valuable studies devoted to vocal music by Ockeghem,
Goudimel
Claude Goudimel (c. 1514 to 1520 – between 28 August and 31 August 1572) was a FrenchPaul-André Gaillard, "Goudimel, Claude", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1 ...
,
Palestrina
Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...
(1906),
Sébastien de Brossard
Sébastien de Brossard, pronounced e.bɑs.tjẽ də brɔ.saːr (12 September 1655 – 10 August 1730) was a French music theorist, composer and collector.
Life
Brossard was born in Dompierre, Orne. After studying philosophy and theology a ...
,
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
,
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
, Grétry and Berlioz. Bobillier also approached classical and medieval instrumental music and left a precious and independent ''Dictionnaire pratique et historique de la musique'', completed and published by
Amédée Gastoué
Amédée Henri Gustave Noël Gastoué (19 March 1873 – 1 June 1943) was a French musicologist and composer.
Biography
A Kapellmeister at the , professor of gregorian chant at the Schola Cantorum of Paris, Gastoué was particularly interested ...
in 1926.
Her book ''Notes sur l’histoire du luth en France'' paved the way for further research in this area. Her major works are ''Les musiciens de la Sainte-Chapelle du Palais''("her masterpiece" according to La Laurencie), ''Les concerts en France sous l’ancien régime'' and ''La librairie musicale en France de 1653 à 1790'', where she demonstrates her great scholarship and competence as a music historian. Jean-Marie Fauquet summed up Marie Bobillier's work in one sentence: "It is of exceptional quality, both in terms of the variety of subjects dealt with and the method applied".
As a critic or musicologist, she collaborated with magazines such as ' (from 1911 to 1913), of which she was one of the founders with
Jean Chantavoine
Jean Chantavoine (17 May 1877 – 16 July 1952) was a French musicologist and biographer and the secretary general for the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique.
Chantavoine was born in Paris. He published numerous books and articles ...
(1877–1952),
Louis Laloy
Louis Laloy ( Gray, 18 February 1874 – Dole, 4 March 1944 ) was a French musicologist, writer and sinologist.
A Doctor of Letters (he spoke French, English, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, Greek and Chinese), he became an eminent musicologist, ...
and
Lionel de La Laurencie
Lionel de La Laurencie (24 July 1861 – 21 November 1933) was a French musicologist and first president of the 1917 founded ''Société française de musicologie'' (French association of musicologists) from 1917 to 1920 and from 1931 to 1933.
...
– she wrote bibliographies of French, German, English and Italian books, in the ''Revue musicale'', the ', the ''Archives historiques, artistiques, littéraires'', '' Le Correspondant'', the ''Courrier musical'', the ''Guide du concert'', the ''Journal musical'', ''Le ménestrel'' and the ''Tribune de Saint-Gervais'' (the monthly newsletter of the ''
Schola Cantorum de Paris
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera.
History
La Schola was founded i ...
Musical Quarterly
''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including Car ...
''. She also contributed to Lavignac's Encyclopedia of music. Endowed with a very reserved personality and while "the stage frightened her", she gave a few lectures but declined participating in learned societies.
She left notes, quotations and transcripts, accumulated throughout her research, bound after her death in nineteen volumes, and preserved under the name ''Documents sur l’histoire de la musique'' at the
Bibliothèque nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
.
Her pseudonym comes from the village of Les Brenets in the
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Le Correspondant'', 10 December 1893 .
* ''Quatre femmes musiciennes '': Jacquet de La Guerre, Hélène de Montgeroult,
Louise Bertin
Louise-Angélique Bertin (15 January 1805 – 26 April 1877) was a French composer and poet.Hugh Macdonald, "Bertin, Louise", in: ''Grove Music Online'Oxford Music Online(subscription required) (accessed 30 December 2010).
Life and music
Louise ...
,
Louise Farrenc
Louise Farrenc (née Jeanne-Louise Dumont; 31 May 1804 – 15 September 1875) was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, numerous chamber pieces and a ...
, '' L’Art'' 2nd series, volume 4 (1894), (pp. 107–112, 142–147, 177–183/183–187) Jacquet de La GuerreHélène de MontgeroultLouise Bertin et L. Farrenc
* ''Les Opéras féminins'', ''Gazette musicale de la Suisse Romande'', 28 February 1895, (pp. 68–72).
* "Jean Mouton", ''Tribune de Saint-Gervais'' 5 (1899), (pp. 323–334).
* "Guy d’Arezzo", Ponthus Teutonicus et l’abbé Odon », ''Tribune de Saint-Gervais'' 8 (1902), (pp. 121).
* ''L’amitié de Berlioz et de Liszt'', ''Guide musical'' 50 (1904), (pp. 595–687).
* .
*
* ''Mme de Genlis musicienne'', ''Revue musicale S.I.M.'' 2 (1912), (pp. 1–14 Read online
* ' (F. Alcan)
* L'Année musicale 1911 vol. 1 on archive.org, ''Deux traductions françaises inédites des institutions harmoniques de Zarlino'' (1911) (pp. 125–144).
* L'Année musicale 1912 vol. 2 on archive.org, Participe à la bibliographie uniquement
* L'Année musicale 1913 vol. 3 on archive.org, ''Bibliographie des bibliographies musicales'', Année musicale (1913), (pp. 1–52),
Publisher
Marie Bobillier published music scores by Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly at M. Senart (before 1909).
* ''30 caprices'', opus 2 (1816)
* 24 pieces for piano, opus 22 (1858)
* Pieces for piano, opus 34 (1810)
* Pieces for piano, opus 47 (1846)
* Pieces for piano, opus 48 (1848–51)
* Pieces for piano, opus 50 (1816–1854)
* Pieces for piano, opus 51 (1853)
* Pieces for piano, opus 52 (1853)
* Pieces for piano, opus 55 (1855)