Pierre Robert (c. 1618 – 30 December 1699) was a French composer and early master of the French ''

grand motet The grand motet (plural grands motets) was a genre of motet cultivated at the height of the French baroque, although the term dates from later French usage. At the time, due to the stylistic feature of employing two alternating choirs, the works wer ...

''.

Biography

Robert was educated at the boys choir, or ''maîtrise'', of

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

under the direction of Henry Frémart, Jean Francois, and Cosset Veillot before being appointed master of music at the

Senlis Cathedral Senlis Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Senlis) is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Senlis, Oise, France. It was formerly the seat of the Bishopric of Senlis, abolished under the Concordat of 1801, when its territory wa ...

in 1643. In 1650 he went to the

Cathedral of Chartres Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

before returning to Senlis in March 1652. On 28 April 1653, he was appointed music master of Notre Dame de Paris, replacing

Valentin de Bournonville Valentin de Bournonville (c. 1610 – c. December 1663) was a French Baroque composer and music master active in the middle of the 17th century. Biography Valentin de Bournonville was the son of Jean de Bournonville, and trained by his father in ...

. Robert remained ten years as head of the ''maîtrise''.Bianconi L. Music in the seventeenth century 1987 p. 149 In 1663,

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

chose him with

Henry Du Mont Henri Dumont (also Henry Du Mont, originally Henry de Thier) (1610 – 8 May 1684) was a baroque composer of the French school, born in the Southern Netherlands. Life Dumont was born to Henry de Thier and Elisabeth Orban in Looz (Borgloon). Th ...

to occupy one of the four posts of Assistant Master of the ''Chapelle Royale''. He initially filled this function in conjunction with Thomas Gobert, Gabriel Expilly and Henry Du Mont, though Gobert and Expilly resigned in 1668. Du Mont and Robert developed the ''

'', the characteristic genre of French baroque sacred music. Du Mont and Robert retired in 1682 when Louis XIV relocated the court to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, and a competition was held to find four replacements among thirty five contenders; the four chosen were

Michel Richard Delalande Michel Richard Delalande e Lalande'' (; 15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726) was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote orche ...

Pascal Collasse Pascal Collasse (or Colasse) (22 January 1649 ( baptised) – 17 July 1709) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Rheims, Collasse became a disciple of Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lu ...

and two minor composers

Nicolas Coupillet Nicolas Goupillet also Coupillet or Goupillier (Senlis, ca. 1650 - Paris, ca. 1713) was a French Baroque composer - albeit a composer who may not have himself composed all of his works. In 1683 the then fifty-year-old "Sun King" Louis XIV commande ...

, and Guillaume Minoret. Among those passed over were

Paolo Lorenzani Paolo Francesco Lorenzani (5 January 1640 – 28 October 1713) was an Italian composer of the Baroque Era. While living in France, he helped promote appreciation for the Italian style of music. Lorenzani was born in Rome and was trained by ...

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c. 1632, Paris – 13 November 1714) was a French organist, composer and theorist. His first ''livre d'orgue'' is the earliest surviving published collection with traditional French organ school forms (a collection by L ...

Jean-Féry Rebel Jean-Féry Rebel (18 April 1666 – 2 January 1747) was an innovative French Baroque composer and violinist. Biography Rebel, a child violin prodigy, was the most famous offspring of Jean Rebel, a tenor in Louis XIV's private chapel. He lat ...

Henry Desmarets Henri Desmarets (February 1661 – 7 September 1741) was a French composer of the Baroque music, Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumenta ...

and

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still u ...

who withdrew from the competition because of illness. Robert died in Paris and was buried at Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs.

Works

* 2 contrapuntal motets, prior to 1663: ''Regina Coeli'' (2 versions), ''

Tristis est anima mea Tristis est anima mea (Sad is my soul) is the Latin phrase with which starts. It is Tristis est anima mea (responsory), the second responsory of the Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday which was often set to music. It may also refer to: *Movement XI of ...

'' * 24 ''

grands motets The grand motet (plural grands motets) was a genre of motet cultivated at the height of the French baroque, although the term dates from later French usage. At the time, due to the stylistic feature of employing two alternating choirs, the works wer ...

'' for the ''Chapelle du roi'' - published in Paris by

Christophe Ballard Christophe Ballard (french: ʁistɔf balaʁ}; April 12, 1641 — May 28, 1715) was a Parisian printer, bookseller, and music publisher employed by Louis XIV, from the family of publishers founded by Robert Ballard (1530–1588) in the mid-16th ...

in 1684. **''De profundis'' **''Quare fremuerunt gentes'' **''Te decet hymnus'' **''Nisi Dominus'' **Bonum est confiteri Domine **Conserva me Domine **Veniat dilectus meus **Laudate Dominum **Exultate justi in Domino * 10 elevations (''

petits motets The ''petit motet'' ("little motet") was a genre of domestic sacred chamber music popular in France during the baroque era. It was the sacred counterpart of the secular cantata, and small-scale counterpart of the ''grand motet The grand motet (plu ...

'') for the ''Chapelle du roi'' * 3 hymns plainchant on poems of

Jean Santeul Jean-Baptiste de Santeul (or Santeuil, Santeüil; 12 May 1630 - 5 August 1697) was a French poet who wrote in Latin. Life Jean-Baptiste de Santeul was born on 12 May 1630 in Paris, to a good family. His father was Claude de Santeuil, a bourgeois ...

for the new breviary of Paris (1680)

Discography

* Pierre Robert - Grands Motets: ''De profundis,'' ''Quare fremuerunt gentes,'' ''Te decet hymnus, Nisi Dominus,''

Musica Florea Musica Florea is a Czech Baroque music ensemble in Prague, founded in 1992 by conductor and cellist Marek Štryncl. Profile The group of young professionals with a common interest in the study and authentic performance of Baroque music eng ...

Olivier Schneebeli Olivier Schneebeli is a French conductor and choirmaster, as well as music teacher, known for his work on Baroque music. He was named to the Legion of Honour in 2021. Olivier Schneebeli won a Diapason d'Or with Ensemble Vocal. Schneebeli led the ...

2009 K617

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Pierre 1610s births 1699 deaths French classical composers French male classical composers French Baroque composers 17th-century classical composers 17th-century male musicians