Girard de Beaulieu, better known by the incorrectly recorded name Lambert de Beaulieu (? – after 1587) was a French bass singer, instrumentalist, and composer. He was employed at the court of Henri III as basse singer and composer from 1559. He was associated with the

Académie de Baïf An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, one of whose aristocratic poets, Nicolas Filleul de La Chesnaye, the king's

almoner An almoner () is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used f ...

, was to provide the lyrics for the ballet '' Circé'' in the first French ''

ballet de cour ''Ballet de cour'' ("court ballet") is the name given to ballets performed in the 16th and 17th centuries at courts. The court ballet was a gathering of noblemen and women, as the cast and audience were largely supplied by the ruling class. The fe ...

'', the '' Balet Comique de la Royne'' of 1581, for which Beaulieu and Jacques Salmon provided the music. Choreography and overall direction were provided by the Italian dancing master Baltazarini, known as

Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx (modernized French: Balthazar de Beaujoyeux ), originally Baldassare da (or di) Belgiojoso (modern Italian pronunciation: ; died c. 1587 in Paris) was an Italian violinist, composer, and choreographer.

. Sets and costumes were provided by Jacques Patin. Beaulieu's wife was the Genoese soprano and

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" commonly r ...

Violante Doria. They had a daughter Claude de Beaulieu who later was paid as a lutenist at the court. The original documents of 1581 indicate the composer only as "Sieur de Beaulieu". The error concerning his name, and consequent separation of the bass singer and composer into two biographies, is due to an erroneous "Lambert de Beaulieu" in a letter by

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

to the French king attempting to employ the composer Beaulieu for his own court. The error in Rudolf's letter was reproduced by

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ...

in his influential ''Biographie universelle des musiciens''.

Works, editions and recordings

* Lambert de Beaulieu, AirsLambert De Beaulieu (The Sixteenth Century Chanson Series) ardcoverJane A. Bernstein (Editor) Hardcover: 280 pages Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 1, 1994) * Lambert de Beaulieu, Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx: Balet Comique de la Royne 1581. Ensemble Elyma,

K617 K617 is a French classical music record label based in Metz and founded by Alain Pacquier, music author and creator of the Festival de Saintes at the Abbaye aux Dames in Charente-Maritime, and the Festival de Sarrebourg (July) at the Couvent d ...

080, 1998

References

External links

operabaroque.fr Lambert de Beaulieu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaulieu, Girard French Renaissance composers French male composers French male singers 1590s deaths Year of birth unknown