Jacques Gaultier (or Gauterius, Gouterus, Goutier, Gautier, Gautier d'Angleterre, also James Gwaltier) (born ca. 1600, fl. 1617 – 1652) was a French Baroque

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), 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 "lu ...

nist and composer. He was not related to the composers and lutenists

Denis Gaultier Denis Gaultier (''Gautier'', ''Gaulthier''; also known as Gaultier le jeune and Gaultier de Paris) (1597 or 1602/3 – 1672) was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier. Life Gaultier was born in Paris; two conflict ...

and

Ennemond Gaultier Ennemond Gaultier (Gaultier le Vieux, Gaultier de Lyon; also spelled ''Gautier'' or ''Gauthier'') (c. 157517 December 1651) was a French lutenist and composer. He was one of the masters of the 17th century French lute school. Gaultier was born i ...

. Not much is known about his early life. In 1617, he had to leave France due to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

and he escaped to England. He enjoyed the patronage of George Villiers, the favourite of

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

. In 1622, Gaultier met Dutch poet and composer

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist C ...

, with whom he engaged in an exchange of letters. He joined the household of Prince Charles and went to Spain in 1623 with Charles and Buckingham during the "

Spanish Match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles I of England, Charles, the son of King James VI & I of Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of England, England, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of ...

". From 1625, he was a musician at the English royal court under

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

. He remained there at least until 1640 as he appears as an employee in the court records for that year. In 1627, he was arrested and imprisoned for a while. There were rumours that he was involved in an assassination plot or had seduced a young lady. In 1630, he travelled to the Netherlands. From there he went to Madrid to play at the Spanish court. In the early 1630s, Gaultier returned to England. Then he was employed again as a court musician, among others, at the performances of the masques ''

The Triumph of Peace ''The Triumph of Peace'' was a Caroline era masque, "invented and written" by James Shirley, performed on 3 February 1634 and published the same year. The production was designed by Inigo Jones. Inspiration The masque was lavishly sponsored b ...

'' (1634) by

James Shirley James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 – October 1666) was an English dramatist. He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Charles Lamb (writer), Charles Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of ...

and

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bo ...

's ''Britannia triumphans'' (1637). In April 1645 Constantijn Huygens was trying to obtain a nine rib

Laux Maler Laux Maler or Laux Mahler or Lucas Maller (1485–1552) was a renaissance luthier specialising in lutes, from Füssen, Germany. He worked in Bologna, Italy. Lutes made by Laux Maler were highly prized by musicians in the seventeenth century. In Apr ...

lute to accompany singing. Gaultier said there were only fifty extant, six in London, all of medium size and not suitable to accompany a singer. Soon after Gaultier found one of the larger sizes, recently rebuilt in London by a Master Nichols. Huygens had the lute sent to him on approval but did not buy it. In 1649 Charles I gave Gaultier another Laux Maler lute, formerly belonging to the royal lutenist John Ballard. Gaultier offered this lute to Huygens and sent it to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

but could not secure an expert recommendation for it from their mutual friend

Mary Woodhouse Mary Woodhouse, Lady Killigrew (d. 1656), musician and correspondent of Constantijn Huygens, was the daughter of Henry Woodhouse (MP) of Hickling and Waxham, and Anne Bacon, daughter of Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper), Sir Nicholas Bacon. (Without su ...

. Like several royal servants, in 1651 Gaultier was paid compensation (£150) for unpaid wages by the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Committee for the Sale of Late King's Goods.''Journals of the House of Commons'', vol. 6 (London, 1803), p. 606.

References

*Article o
German
Wikipedia

External links

Portrait by Jan LievensPortrait by Jan Lievens
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaultier, Jacques 1600s births 17th-century deaths French lutenists French male classical composers French Baroque composers 17th-century French classical composers 17th-century French male musicians