Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period.
He was born Michel Pignolet in
Andelot
Andelot-Blancheville () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. It lies on the river Rognon, a tributary of the Marne.
Population
Treaty (587)
It was the site of an important pact, known as t ...
,
Haute-Marne
Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.basse de violon. In Paris he studied with
Jean-Baptiste Moreau
Jean-Baptiste Moreau (c.1656 – 24 August 1733) was a French composer of the baroque period. He served as the master of music at the court of Louis XIV. His compositional output includes several motets and music for the theatre.
Life and care ...
.
At some point between 1687 and the early years of the new century, he seems to have been ''maître de musique'' to the Prince de Vaudémont and to have followed him to Italy. It was probably from there that he brought the idea to add the double bass to the opera orchestra.
All the time Montéclair must have worked as a music teacher of high regard: among his pupils were the daughters of his colleague
François Couperin
François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented ...
. Montéclair's approach to teaching was fresh and almost modern. He published books on teaching music (e.g., in 1709), and around 1730 he published ''Recueil de brunettes,'' which contains vocal music adapted for
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
. The collection was expressly intended as a pedagogical tool to teach French style, and for this reason the music is underlaid with the text. He opened a music shop in 1721, retired from teaching in 1735, and gave up his position in the opera orchestra shortly before his death. He died in
Domont
Domont () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department and Île-de-France region of France. It is twinned with the Leicestershire village of Shepshed. Domont station has rail connections to Persan, Luzarches, Sarcelles and Paris.
Population
Tw ...
in 1737.
Montéclair was not greatly productive as a composer, but was an innovator in orchestration who had a significant influence on the development of the art form. His work was later taken up by
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...
. His specialty was using certain instruments to enhance the stage scene, e.g., letting horns play softly behind the stage to simulate a faraway hunt. Among his stage works are ''Festes de l'été'' and ''
Jephté ''Jephté'' (''Jephtha'') is an opera by the French composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts (because of its subject matter it was also styled a ''tragédie biblique''). The ...
'', which was considered difficult by contemporaries.
Works
His works include:
*Cantata: ''Morte di Lucretia'' (in Italian)
*Cantata: ''Il dispetto in amore'' (in Italian)
*Cantata: ''La mort de Didon'' (written circa 1709 in French)
*Cantata: ''Le triomphe de l'amour'' (in French)
*Cantata: ''Pyrame et Thisbé'' (in French)
*Le Dépit généreux
*Le Retour de la Paix
*La Badine
*Pan et Syrinx
*Europe
*Ariane et Bacchus
*Jephte
*Musette: ''Les festes de l'été'' (1716)
*"Recueil de brunettes" (Paris: Boivin, ca. 1730)
References
*Duron, Jean (1992), 'Montéclair, Michel Pignolet de' in ''The
New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London)
*https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194103335/michel-pignolet-de_mont_clair#view-photo=177504655