Jean-Baptiste Besard (c.1567 – c.1625) was a bisontin

lutenist A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can refer ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

who lived and worked in the Holy Roman Empire.Julia Sutton: ''The Lute Instructions of Jean-Baptiste Besard'', in: ''The Musical Quarterly'' vol. 51, no. 2 (April 1965), pp. 345-362. notable for publishing two anthologies which collected a diverse range of musical works of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

and early

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

periods and included instructions on playing the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

Biography

Born in

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

, Besard studied law (Licentiate and Doctor of Laws, 1587) at the University of Dole. He went on to Rome, where he studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

until c. 1595. While in Rome he also studied music with the famous lutenist Lorenzino del Liuto (Lorenzo Tracetti). In 1597 he was in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

where he may have taught the lute in addition to practising medicine and law. He then lived for a period in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

where in 1603 he published an anthology for lute, Thesaurus harmonicus, containing 403 arrangements for lute in French

tablature Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many fr ...

of contemporaneous instrumental works and songs by various composers (including some by himself).Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia: Jean-Baptiste Besard. The Thesaurus included an addendum on the method of playing the lute, De modo in testudine libellus, which was later translated into English by

Robert Dowland Robert Dowland (c. 15911641) was an English lutenist and composer. He was the son of the lutenist and composer John Dowland, who wrote almost 90 lute songs and other pieces written for the lute. Robert Dowland wrote only a few known compositions, ...

.''Varietie of Lute-lessons'' (London, 1610): "Wherento is annexed certaine Observations belonging to Lute-playing by Jon Baptiste Besardus of Visconti" Moving to

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

, probably around 1610, he continued practicing medicine and law, and possibly teaching the lute. In 1617, Besard published another collection in

: Novus Partus, sive Concertationes Musicae, containing approximately 60 solo and ensemble pieces, many of which were by Besard himself. He also wrote treatises on other subjects such as medicine, physics and history. Besard died some time after 22 October 1617 (the date of his last book), or perhaps in 1625 in Augsburg (Bavaria).

Legacy

Apart from repertoire for the lute, music from Besard's anthologies have been a rich source of transcriptions and adaptations in later periods.

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral su ...

used some pieces in his

Ancient Airs and Dances ''Ancient Airs and Dances'' ( it, Antiche arie e danze) is a set of three orchestral suites by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, freely transcribed from original pieces for lute. In addition to being a renowned composer and conductor, Respighi ...

and a small number form part of the

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

repertoire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besard, Jean-Baptiste 1567 births 1625 deaths Composers for lute Musicians from the Holy Roman Empire Expatriates of the Holy Roman Empire in Italy Musicians from Besançon University of Dole alumni 17th-century male musicians