Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633 – 11 March 1694) was a French

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

ist,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and composer.The registration of baroque organ music,

Barbara Owen Barbara Owen may refer to: * Barbara Owen (organist) * Barbara Owen (EastEnders) The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2000, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduce ...

- 1997 "Jean-Nicolas Geoffrey (fl. 1633-94)" His birthplace is unknown; he died in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

. His life before 1690 is unknown; he was probably a pupil of

Nicolas Lebègue Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue (also ''Le Bègue''; c. 16316 July 1702) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was born in Laon and in the 1650s settled in Paris, quickly establishing himself as one of the best organists of the c ...

and served as titular organist of the

Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet () is a Catholic church in the centre of Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement. It was constructed between 1656 and 1763. The facade was designed in the classical style by Charles Le Brun. It contains many notable ...

church in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was considered an expert in organ building and at some point in life settled in Perpignan where he played the organ of

Perpignan Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (; ) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, located in the town of Perpignan in Languedoc-Roussillon. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Construction of the cathedral ...

(''Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste''). Geoffroy's harpsichord oeuvre is, along with those of

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

and

Jean-François Dandrieu Jean-François Dandrieu, also spelled D'Andrieu (c. 168217 January 1738) was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist. Biography He was born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians. A gifted and precocious child, he gave hi ...

, one of the most important contributions to French music of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era. A single collection of his pieces survives in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

. It contains 255 pieces and is unique for European music of the late 17th century because the pieces systematically explore all major and minor

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

References

Bibliography

* J.-N. Geoffroy, ''Stabat Mater'' - A 4 voice A Cappella (or Organ Continuo) version. Paris, 1675 c.ca. Modern transcription by M.G. Genesi, Milan, Tip. Giusti, 2009, pp. 20.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geoffroy, Jean-Nicolas People from Vitry-le-François 1633 births 1694 deaths French Baroque composers French male classical composers French harpsichordists 17th-century French classical composers 17th-century French male musicians Musicians from Pyrénées-Orientales