Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the baroque period.
He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Haute-Marne, France, and only later added "Montéclair" (the name of a fortress in his home town) to his name. Little is known of his life, and there are no known official portraits. He was the son of a weaver; his entrance into the choir school at the age of nine may have been the only chance of escaping the poverty of a weaver's life. In 1687, he went to Paris and joined the orchestra of the Opera, where he played the basse de violon. In Paris he studied with Jean-Baptiste Moreau.
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. 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 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 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. 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, 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)
michel, pignolet, montéclair, december, 1667, september, 1737, french, composer, baroque, period, born, michel, pignolet, andelot, haute, marne, france, only, later, added, montéclair, name, fortress, home, town, name, little, known, life, there, known, offici. Michel Pignolet de Monteclair 4 December 1667 22 September 1737 was a French composer of the baroque period He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot Haute Marne France and only later added Monteclair the name of a fortress in his home town to his name Little is known of his life and there are no known official portraits He was the son of a weaver his entrance into the choir school at the age of nine may have been the only chance of escaping the poverty of a weaver s life In 1687 he went to Paris and joined the orchestra of the Opera where he played the basse de violon In Paris he studied with Jean Baptiste Moreau At some point between 1687 and the early years of the new century he seems to have been maitre de musique to the Prince de Vaudemont 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 Monteclair must have worked as a music teacher of high regard among his pupils were the daughters of his colleague Francois Couperin Monteclair 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 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 in 1737 Monteclair 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 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 ete and Jephte which was considered difficult by contemporaries Works EditHis 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 Thisbe in French Le Depit genereux Le Retour de la Paix La Badine Pan et Syrinx Europe Ariane et Bacchus Jephte Musette Les festes de l ete 1716 Recueil de brunettes Paris Boivin ca 1730 References EditDuron Jean 1992 Monteclair Michel Pignolet de in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ed Stanley Sadie London ISBN 0 333 73432 7 https www findagrave com memorial 194103335 michel pignolet de mont clair view photo 177504655External links EditFree scores by Michel Pignolet de Monteclair at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michel Pignolet de Monteclair amp oldid 1074837672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
