Nicolas Métru (c. 1610 in

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube (river), Aube'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture in the Aube Departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and ...

– 1668 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French organist, viol player, and composer of pieces for viol and airs. From 1642 he was organist at St. Nicolas-des-Champs, then some time later master of music for the Jesuits. He taught

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...

and

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

and was an outstanding viol player. His first publication - which survives - was a collection of laudatory airs to verse by Guillaume de Baïf, a minor poet but son of

Jean-Antoine de Baïf Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the '' Pléiade''. Life Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French amb ...

, for the victorious return of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

to Paris in 1628 after the end of the 14-month siege of Protestant

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

. His third collection of airs also contains laudatory texts, for the marriage of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. His duets for two viols (Paris, 1642) are the first printed example, and therefore probably antedate the duets of Sainte-Colombe. His fantasias for viols, as those of Henry and Moulinié, derive from the ''

air de cour The ''air de cour'' was a popular type of secular vocal music in France in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, from about 1570 until around 1650. From approximately 1610 to 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, this was the predominant ...

'' and the dance rather than older styles. His 1642 publication reflects the change in development of the

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

in the 1630-1650s with the upper parts being written with the new smaller viols in mind.

Works, editions and recordings

Works *''Recueil des vers du Sr. G. de Baïf, mis en musique par N. Métru, chantez en l'alégresse de l'heureux retour du roy'', Paris, 1628 *''Fantaisies'', a 2 viole, Paris, 1642 *''Premier livre d'airs'' Paris 1646, - lost *''Deuxième livre d’airs'', Paris, 1646 *''Troisième livre d'airs'', Paris, 1661 *''Missa ad imitationem moduli Brevis oratio'', Paris, 1663 *''Contrafacta'', 1632 Editions The CMBV have prepared editions of his duets.Works at "Centre musique baroque de Versailles"
Recordings * ''Neufiesme Fantaisie'' on ''Orpheus,'' Ensemble L'Amoroso, Sou GuiBalestraccio. Zig Zag, 2008

References

Sources

Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, ''The Polyphonic Mass in France, 1600-1780: The Evidence of the Printed Choirbooks,'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Metru, Nicolas 1610s births 1668 deaths People from Champagne (province) People from Bar-sur-Aube French Baroque viol players French Baroque composers French male classical composers 17th-century French classical composers 17th-century French male musicians