Guillaume Bouzignac

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Guillaume Bouzignac (* around 1587 , † after 1643 ) was a French priest, choirmaster and composer .

Live and act

Guillaume Bouzignac was probably born in Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude in southern France around 1587 . He received his education at the Saint-Just Cathedral of Narbonne . His career is typical of the traveling bandmasters of his time, who often only worked for a few years in one place. From 1607 Bouzignac was employed as a singer and sous-maître de musique at Angoulême Cathedral for about a year . In the meantime he was back in Narbonne. His appointment as maître de musique at Bourges Cathedral is documented from November 1624 . After a brief stay in Paris, in 1629 he took over the management of the maîtrise at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Rodez , where he worked until 1632. From 1643 his name appears as head of the Maîtrise of the Notre-Dame-du-Port de Clermont-Ferrand cathedral . Some evidence suggests that he visited the Basilica of Saint-Martin de Tours or the neighboring Marmoutier Abbey in 1642 .

In 1632 the royal juge-prévot from Angoulème wrote to his friend Marin Mersenne that around 1606 or 1607 Bouzignac was his servant and he already called him réputé pour estre un bon maîstre , a praise that Mersenne 1637 in his treatise Harmonie universal confirmed.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that Bouzignac's exclusively handwritten works were rediscovered. It is not certain, but it is believed that Bouzignac resided in Italy and / or Spain for a number of years after 1608. This would also explain the special characteristics of his music. What is striking about Bouzignac's way of composing is the special drama that he achieves by dividing the choir into groups that are in dialogue with one another.

literature

  • Martial Leroux: Guillaume Bouzignac (verse 1587 - verse 1643): l'énigme musicale du XVIIe siècle français , (Montpellier: Les Presses du Languedoc, 2002) ISBN 2-85998-270-1

Web links

Discography (selection)

personal data
SURNAME Bouzignac, Guillaume
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French choir director and composer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1587
DATE OF DEATH after 1643