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
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...]
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 Étienne Loulié, pronounced .tjɛn lu.lje (1654 – 16 July 1702) was a musician, pedagogue and musical theorist.
Life
Born into a family of Parisian sword-finishers, Loulié learned both musical practice
and musical theory as a choir boy at the ...
, one of the musicians who performed the Italianate works that
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...
was composing for
Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise
Marie de Lorraine (15 August 1615 – 3 March 1688) was the daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Guise and Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse and the last member of the House of Guise, a branch of the House of Lorraine.
Biography
Marie de Lor ...
, better known as "Mademoiselle de Guise." While in Paris, he also became close to
Samuel Morland
Sir Samuel Morland, 1st Baronet (1625 – 30 December 1695), or Moreland, was an English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician of the 17th century, a polymath credited with early developments in relation to computing, hydraulics a ...
, an English inventor and polymath who was working with
Joseph Sauveur
Joseph Sauveur (24 March 1653 – 9 July 1716) was a French mathematician and physicist. He was a professor of mathematics and in 1696 became a member of the French Academy of Sciences.
Life
Joseph Sauveur was born in La Flèche, the son of a ...
, a mathematician, on the
Machine de Marly
The Machine de Marly, also known as the Marly Machine or the Machine of Marly, was a large hydraulic system in Yvelines, France, built in 1684 to pump water from the river Seine and deliver it to the Palace of Versailles.Thompson 2006, p. 251 ...
. It was during talks about music with Morland that Brossard deduced the role that a
major third
In classical music, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony in Concept and P ...
versus a
minor third
In music theory, a minor third is a musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval number). The minor third is one of two com ...
play in differentiating a
major scale
The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double i ...
from a
minor scale
In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...
.
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
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
at the
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 ...
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
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, 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
Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris.
Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...
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.
Writings
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
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
, in exchange for a pension. Among the items in the collection were the unpublished manuscripts of his late friend
Étienne Loulié Étienne Loulié, pronounced .tjɛn lu.lje (1654 – 16 July 1702) was a musician, pedagogue and musical theorist.
Life
Born into a family of Parisian sword-finishers, Loulié learned both musical practice
and musical theory as a choir boy at the ...
, and his own set of four motets ''
Leçons des mortes'', written in 1696-7.
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
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
.
Compositions
Brossard wrote six books of serious airs and drinking songs (1691-1698), several
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
s, some
trio sonata
The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. Originating in the early 17th century, the trio sonata was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era.
Basic str ...
s, and the ''Lamentations du prophète Jérémie'' (1721).
Motets
* 4 Leçons des morts :
** ''Parce mihi Domine'' SdB.43
** ''Taedet animam meam'' SdB.44
** ''Manus tuae fecerunt me'' SdB.45
** ''Responde mihi'' SdB.46
9 Leçons de Ténèbres SdB.57 à SdB.65:
* ''Première leçon de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint'' (1696-1697)
* ''Première leçon de Ténèbres du Jeudi Saint''
* ''Première leçons de Ténèbres du Vendredi Saint''
* ''Deuxième leçon de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint''
* ''Deuxième leçon de Ténèbres du Jeudi Saint''
* ''Deuxième leçon de Ténèbres du Vendredi Saint''
* ''Troisième leçon de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint''
* ''Troisième leçon de Ténèbres du Jeudi Saint''
* ''Troisième leçon de Ténèbres du Vendredi Saint''
** ''Ave vivens hostia'' (version de la source PR.I - 1702) SdB.23
** ''Ave vivens hostia'' (version de la source Ms, BERK) SdB.23
** ''O Jesu quam dulce'' SdB.24
** ''Congratulamini filiae Syon'' SdB.25
** ''O vos aetherei'' SdB.26
** ''Festivi martyres'' SdB.27
** ''Angele sancte'' SdB.28
** ''Sonitus armorum'' SdB.29
** ''Quemadmodum desiderat cervus'' SdB.30
** ''Sicut cervus ad fontes'' SdB.38
** ''O plenus irarum dies'' SdB.31
** ''Salve Rex Christe - Salve regina'' SdB.32
** ''O Domine quia refugium'' SdB.33
** ''Qui non diligent te'' SdB.34
** ''Psallite superi'' SdB.36
** ''Pange lingua'' SdB.40
** ''O Mysterium ineffabile'' SdB.39
** ''Festis laeta sonent'' SdB.35
** ''Lauda anima mea'' SdB.41
** ''Pulchra chora anima'' SdB.42
** ''Templa nunc fument'' SdB.37
Selected Discography
* ''The Paris Album'' (Trio Sonatas) Ensemble Diderot,
Johannes Pramsohler
Johannes Pramsohler is a violinist, conductor and record producer, specialised in Historically informed performance, currently based in Paris.
Biography
Johannes Pramsohler was born 5 April 1980 in Sterzing in the autonomous Italian province of ...
(Audax Records, 2019)
* ''Oeuvres Chorales'' Les Pages et les Chantres de la Chapelle, Olivier Schneebli (Astrée 1997)
References
*Source: translated from French Wikipedia (which is a shortened version of the article by Yolande de Brossard in Marcelle Benoit, ed., ''Dictionnaire de la musique en France aux XVII
e et XVIII
e siècles'' (Paris: Fayard, 1992).
*Yolande de Brossard, ''Sébastien de Brossard, théoricien et compositeur, encyclopédiste et maître de chapelle'', (Paris: Picard, 1987)
*Yolande de Brossard, ed., ''La Collection de Sébastien de Brossard, 1655-1730'' (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1994), a scholarly edition of Brossard's famous catalogue.
*Jean Duron, ''L'œuvre de Sébastien de Brossard (1655-1730),'' (Paris: Klincksieck, 1995), a thematic catalog with a very useful introduction.
*Jean Duron, ed., ''Sébastien de Brossard, Musicien'' (Paris: Klincksieck, 1998), a collection of articles about Brossard the man, Brossard the composer, and Brossard the collector.
*
Catherine Cessac
Catherine Cessac (born 19 August 1952 in Bordeaux) is a French musicologist and music publisher.
Biography
Catherine Cessac studied at the University and the Conservatory of Bordeaux, and later studied musicology at the Sorbonne. From 1990 to 2 ...
, "The Presentation of Lully's ''Alceste'' at the Strasbourg Académie de Musique," in John Hajdu Heyer, ed., ''Lully Studies'' (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press: 2000), pp. 199–215.
*
Yavor Konov
Yavor Svetozarov Konov bg, Явор Светозаров Конов, (born 23 October 1964 in Sofia, Bulgaria), is a Bulgarian classical pianist, professor, author and translator of books, articles and textbooks in music.
Early life and educa ...
, “Sébastien de Brossard and his Dictionary of Music” (Sofia, Bulgaria: Music Society “Vassil Stephanoff", 2003, 180 p.)
*Yavor Konov, “Lexicographic, historiographic & bibliographic Heritage of Sébastien de Brossard (1655–1730): Ecclesiastic, Musician & Erudite” (Sofia, Bulgaria: Music Society “Vassil Stephanoff", 2008, 464 p.)
*Sébastien de Brossard, Dictionnaire de musique (2, 1705), translation in Bulgarian, annotations and monograph - Yavor Konov (Sofia, Bulgaria: Niba Consult, 2010, 640 p.)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brossard, Sebastien de
1655 births
1730 deaths
People from Orne
French male classical composers
French Baroque composers
French music theorists
French male non-fiction writers
18th-century classical composers
18th-century French composers
18th-century French male musicians
17th-century male musicians