Machy, known as Le Sieur de Machy (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1655–1700) was a French

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

player,

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 teacher remembered principally for his ''Pièces de Violle en Musique et en Tablature'' (1685), a valuable source of information on the performance practices of his time. "The publication of the Pièces de Violle (..) unleashed a veritable polemic or querelle with Jean Rousseau concerning the “true manner of playing the viol”, which had been described by Machy with a wealth of details in the prologue to his work (..)". As a reply to Machy's 1685 prologue, Rousseau in 1688 published ''Réponce de Monsieur Rousseau''. This polemic and a general discussion of Machy was treated by Ng in 2008.Shaun Ng, Le Sieur de Machy and the French solo viol tradition. Conservatorium of Music, University of Western Australia Master's thesis 2008. Abstract and full pdf: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/le-sieur-de-machy-and-the-french-solo-viol-tradition Machy studied with

Nicolas Hotman Nicolas Hotman (also ''Autheman'', ''Haultemant'', ''Hautman'', ''Otteman''; ca. 1610–1663) was a baroque music, Baroque composer, who spent most of his career in France. He is believed to have been from Germany, but was probably born in Bru ...

. He resided in Paris from at least 1692. He described himself as the first composer whose

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

works were published. This is not technically correct, as the collection ''Fantaisies pour les violles'' by

Nicolas Métru Nicolas Métru (c. 1610 in Bar-sur-Aube – 1668 in Paris) was a French organist, viol player, and composer of pieces for viol and airs. From 1642 he was organist at St. Nicolas-des-Champs, then some time later master of music for the Jesuits. He ta ...

had already been published in 1642. These and other earlier pieces were, however, written as

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

s for treble and bass viol, while Machy, in his ''Pièces de violle'' (1685), preferred polyphonic playing for solo gamba in the tradition of Nicolas Hotman,

André Maugars André Maugars (c. 1580 – c. 1645) was a French viola da gamba player. Marin Mersenne described him, along with Nicolas Hotman, as the most excellent French viola da gamba virtuoso, in particular, improviser of diminutions. He is first identi ...

and

Jean de Sainte-Colombe Jean (?) de Sainte-Colombe () was a French composer and violist. He was a celebrated master of the viola da gamba and was credited (by Jean Rousseau in his ''Traité de la viole'' (1687)) with adding the seventh string, tuned to the note AA (A1 i ...

. The eight surviving suites by Machy are printed half in notation and half in tablature. He preceded these suites with a technical introduction that has high historic value, as it lists the most important

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Ornamental turning *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals tha ...

along with the methods of playing those instruments.

References

External links

*
Tablatures for Suites nos. 1 - 4
French musicians French male classical composers French Baroque composers French Baroque viol players 17th-century French people People from Abbeville Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century French composers 17th-century French male musicians 17th-century French educators {{bowed-musician-stub