Pierre Gaultier
Encyclopedia
Pierre Gaultier (c. 1599, Orléans
, France – 1681, Caen
, France) was a French scholar, lute
nist and composer.
After joining the order of the Society of Jesus in Orléans in 1621, he became an ordained priest and universal scholar. He was sent to the headquarters of his order in Rome, where he made the acquaintance of his future secular patron, prince Johann Anton I. of Eggenberg (1610–1649), then ambassador of the Habsburgian emperor Ferdinand III to Pope Urban VIII. Probably around 1640, Gaultier returned to the monastery of Caen, where he worked as director of studies until his death in 1681.
It is the only print of French lute music of that period that was published outside of France. Gaultier's music is typical in that it features the contemporary style of broken melody (the inappropriate term stile brisée was coined during the 20th century) and in that he experimented with new tunings (so called accords nouveaux).
Atypical of French lute music of that period, however, was his extensive use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, and of campanella technique, both of which betray the strong influence of Italian guitarists and theorbists
.
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
, France – 1681, Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, France) was a French scholar, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
nist and composer.
After joining the order of the Society of Jesus in Orléans in 1621, he became an ordained priest and universal scholar. He was sent to the headquarters of his order in Rome, where he made the acquaintance of his future secular patron, prince Johann Anton I. of Eggenberg (1610–1649), then ambassador of the Habsburgian emperor Ferdinand III to Pope Urban VIII. Probably around 1640, Gaultier returned to the monastery of Caen, where he worked as director of studies until his death in 1681.
Works
Music by Gaultier has survived in a single print:- Les Oeuvres de Pierre Gaultier (Rome, 1638), dedicated to his patron, the prince of Eggenberg; that is probably why it was published under his secular name.
It is the only print of French lute music of that period that was published outside of France. Gaultier's music is typical in that it features the contemporary style of broken melody (the inappropriate term stile brisée was coined during the 20th century) and in that he experimented with new tunings (so called accords nouveaux).
Atypical of French lute music of that period, however, was his extensive use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, and of campanella technique, both of which betray the strong influence of Italian guitarists and theorbists
Theorbo
A theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...
.