Nicolas Siret (3 March 1663 – 22 June 1754) was a French
baroque composer,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...
and
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...
ist. He was born and died in
Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...
, France, where he worked as organist in the Church of Saint Jean and the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Both his grandfather and his father were organists in Troyes.
Siret was a friend and admirer of
François Couperin, and his first collection of harpsichord pieces, published approximately in 1709, was dedicated to Couperin. The
suite
Suite may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition
** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach
** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó
** ''Suite' ...
s of this collection all begin with a
French overture
The French overture is a musical form widely used in the Baroque music, Baroque period. Its basic formal division is into two parts, which are usually enclosed by double bars and repeat signs. They are complementary in style (slow in dotted rhythm ...
, following the tradition established by
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas ...
. Siret's second volume of harpsichord pieces (''Second livre de pièces de clavecin'', published in 1719) was, along with Couperin's ''
L'art de toucher le clavecin
''L'art de toucher le clavecin'' (English: ''The Art of Playing the Harpsichord'') is a didactic treatise by the French composer François Couperin. It was first published in 1716, and was followed by a revised edition in 1717.
The treatise wa ...
'', one of the last publications to include
unmeasured prelude Unmeasured or non-measured prelude is a prelude in which the duration of each note is left to the performer. Typically the term is used for 17th century harpsichord compositions that are written without rhythm or metre indications, although various ...
s. Siret also wrote some "pièces de caractère" (pieces of descriptive character, not dances), stylistically reminiscent of Couperin, and a single
organ work by him survives, ''
Fugue
In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...
primi toni''.
See also
*
French baroque harpsichordists
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siret, Nicolas
French classical composers
French male classical composers
French Baroque composers
French classical organists
French male organists
French harpsichordists
People from Troyes
1663 births
1754 deaths
18th-century keyboardists
18th-century classical composers
18th-century French composers
18th-century French male musicians
17th-century male musicians
Male classical organists