Sauvaire Intermet (ca. 1573 – 1657 in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

) was a 17th-century French musician and composer.

Biography

Originally from

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

, Sauvaire is perhaps the son of Giraud Antermet who was baptized on 30 November 1573 in the Sainte-Marthe church of Tarascon. He was appointed a clerk. In 1590, Sauvaire Intermet was appointed music master of the

Church of St. Trophime, Arles The Church of St. Trophime () (''Trophimus'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the 12th century and the 15th century, and is ...

until 1595, when he seems to have moved to Avignon where he was already benefiting from the

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of Saint-Agricol. An act of 25 March 1599 qualifies him as ''mestre de chapelle de la Reyne de France'', probably Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont (1553-1601), widow of Henri III and retired at

Chenonceaux Chenonceaux () is a commune in the French department of Indre-et-Loire, and the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is situated in the valley of the river Cher, a tributary of the Loire, about 26 km (16 mi) east of Tours and on ...

. He was able at that time to meet masters of the Chapel or the King's Chamber. On 24 August 1599, he was received

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

in the chapter of Saint-Agricol of

and took on the role of ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

''. His career in this church lasted several decades; it was punctuated with the classic incidents of a master's life, such as a procedure for insults uttered against the master of children in 1612. On 1 May 1619 he became auditor of the accounts of the chapter of Saint-Agricol, which obliged him to be replaced. His career at Saint-Agricol suffered some interruptions at Saint-Just de

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

in 1613-1614 and around 1616, then at Saint-Sauveur of

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

from March to August 1629 (he was rehired on 28 August in Avignon). After his return from Aix-en-Provence in 1629 he returned to Avignon as a music master, and on 30 October 1629 as an auditor of the accounts. In addition to these engagements, Intermet was at the disposal of the City for royal entrances and other major events. For a musician, the city of Avignon was a choice position, situated in the pontifical possessions and thus subject to Italian influences. The

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s were very present there, with a and an important college which was greatly strengthened during the prohibition of the order in France between the end of 1594 and 1603. Avignon was in fact an advanced position of pontifical influence in France and a Jesuit stronghold surrounded by lands dominated by Protestantism. Here, Intermet was ''Kapellmeister'', and official musician of the city and county of Avignon, in charge of the musical animation of ceremonies and royal entrances, and probably also master of music at the Jesuit College. This triple status had given him a significant preeminence over the other Avignon musicians, if not Provençal, since he settled there for a period of about fifty years, particularly long for a chapel master. Archival records show him adding a band of violins to his singers to reinforce the music during solemn celebrations or major processions. Several relations mention him as the leader of the music during major celebrations, as in November 1600 at the entrance of

Marie de Médicis Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent l ...

for which he gathered the singers of all the chapels of Avignon, or at the end of July 1622 during the feasts of the canonization of

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

and

François Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

. He also intervened in November 1622 at the entrance of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

in Avignon (the king had a copy of Intermet's music made, so delighted he was). Intermet was also active for the brotherhoods of craftsmen or penitents, often located in the chapel of the Jesuit College. He was asked to direct their services in music or to compose hymns for them, as evidenced by a document from 1647 concerning the congregation of taffeta craftsmen. In Avignon, he had to be in contact with a few characters who were now more famous than he was: the Jesuit

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

(1602–1680), the master musician

Annibal Gantez Annibal Gantez (24 December 1607 – 1668) was a French composer and singer from the Baroque era. He is undoubtedly one of the most striking examples of a "vicarious" chapel master, that is, moving from post to post to earn a living, as many of his ...

(c. 1600–1668), or

Nicolas Saboly Nicolas Saboly (, ; 30 January 1614 – 26 July 1675) was a poet, composer and choirmaster from what was then part of the Papal States. He composed many Christmas carols in Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan which form one of the monuments of ...

(1614–1675), famous composers of

carols A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). ...

. Intermet made a first will on 3 January 1625, when he was ill. He planned on this occasion an annual mass of the dead and some donations. A new will was made on 8 February 1645, which provided for his burial in Avignon or Tarascon according to the place where he died. Finally, he appointed his nephew Michel Intermet as his executor and died shortly after 16 October 1657, aged 84. François Béraud, organist at Saint-Agricol since 1654, succeeded Intermet as music master.

Works

His work is mostly lost or fragmented and therefore difficult to appreciate.

Songs

* 4 songs in French, 4 v. in Ms. Bayle, c. 1597 (lost, mentioned by Gastoué 1904).

Carols and canticles

* Canticles pour l'entrée de Marie de Médicis, 1600. * ''Là ça qui veut voir un dieu enfant'' 4v ? Chicago NL : Case MS 5136 * ''Quand l'œil de Jesus je voy'' 4-8v Chicago NL : Case MS 5136 * ''Noëls'' 2v, anonymous and partly by Intermet, Avignon Ms. 1250 and Ms. 1181, copied ca. 1653-1664. * ''Cantiques spirituels à l'usage de la Congrégation des jeunes artisans érigée à Avignon'' (Lyon : Antoine Molin, 1653 (music printed by Robert III Ballard), lost. * Intermet may have contributed to music adapted to the ''Hymnes et cantiques'' by Michel Coyssard (Antwerpen, 1600, and Paris, 1623/1655).

Masses

* ''Missa pro defunctis'', 1613, lost, mentioned by Robert 1966 (p. 628). * ''Missa pour les Minimes'', lost, mentioned in 1965. * ''Missa 8 v In devotione'', lost. * ''Missa'' 6 v, lost, both mentioned by Dufourcq 1958.

Motets

Most of his known

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s are preserved in five separate parts, remnants of a set of twelve, recently discovered in the H. M. Brown Collection in Chicago, to which can be added an isolated part from another collection of the same origin. These motets are written on various

psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s, prayers, repons,

verset Alternatim refers to a technique of liturgical musical performance, especially in relationship to the Organ Mass, but also to the Hymns, Magnificat and ''Salve regina'' traditionally incorporated into the Vespers and other liturgies of the Catholic ...

s and

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely compo ...

s. Among the latter, most concern the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

on Fridays and

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

s. For the rest, the centonisation process is widely used, with verses extracted from, among other things, the following verses ''

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

'' 6, ''

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

'', and ''

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

''. This collection contains seven motets to the praise of great Jesuit figures:

Ignatius Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the So ...

and François Borgia. The dates found in this collection mention the years 1622, 1623 and 1624; it is therefore obvious that a part of these motets could have been composed for the feasts of the joint canonization of saints Ignatius Loyola and François Xavier, in 1622, as with those of the beatification of Francis Borgia in November 1624 (and we know from the testimonies above that Intermet took an active part in their celebration). The music is of a

contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...

style, quite varied, with sometimes very

homophonic Homophony and Homophonic are from the Greek language, Greek ὁμόφωνος (''homóphōnos''), literally 'same sounding,' from ὁμός (''homós''), "same" and φωνή (''phōnē''), "sound". It may refer to: *Homophones − words with the s ...

sections, in the style of

fauxbourdon Fauxbourdon (also fauxbordon, and also commonly two words: faux bourdon or faulx bourdon, and in Italian falso bordone) – Music of France, French for ''false drone'' – is a technique of musical harmony, harmonisation used in the late Medieval ...

or "simple counterpoint". This collection also contains evidence of the polychoral practice already described in the testimonies of 1600 and 1622: writing with two or three choirs, the early appearance of small soloists' choirs in opposition to the large choir, and sometimes a refrain-couplet structure that lends itself naturally to spatialization. It provides a unique testimony to the music that could be performed at Jesuit celebrations in Avignon in the early 17th century. ;Known motets by Sauvaire Intermet * ''Accepit Jesus calicem'' 6 v, lostmentioned by Dufourcq 1958. * ''Adeste filii confortamini'' 5v Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Attendite popule meus'' 8v, 1622, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Ave virgo gloriosa'' Chicago NL: MS 5123 * ''Caligaverunt'' 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''Cantate Domino filii Dei'' 8v, 1623, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Crux fidelis inter omnes'' 6v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Dilectus Deo et hominibus'' 8v, 1623, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Dixit Dominus Domino meo'', 4v, 1623, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Ecce tu pulchram anima mea'' Chicago NL: MS 5123 * ''Exultate et resonum'' 4v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Exultate et resonum'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Exultate et resonum'' 12v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Filia Jerusalem'' 4v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 + MS 5123 * ''Filiae Hierusalem'', lost * ''Heu moritur Christus'' 8v, 1624, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Hic est panis angelicus'' 4v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Hic est panis angelicus'' 8v, Aosta, Bibl. Capitolare: Mus. Cartella 7, f. 72 (T1 seul)Mentioned after Chatrian 1985 (p. 98). * ''Ignatius quasi oliva pullulans'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''In monte oliveti'', 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''In supremæ nocte'', 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''Laudate dominum omnes gentes'' 6v, lost * ''Laudate pueri Dominum'', 8v voci pari, 1624, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Magnum haereditatis'' 5v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Memoria Borgiae in compositione'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''O crux laudabilis'' 8v ? Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''O panis candidissime'' 6v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''O sacrum convivium'' 6v, lost * ''O vos omnes 6v'', Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Obstupescite et admiramini'' 8v, 1623, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Omnes sitientes venite'' 8v, 1624, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Pange lingua'' 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''Panis angelicus, fit panis hominum'', 4v. Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Popule meus'' 6v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Replete nos gaudio salutari'' 5-5v ? Chicago NL : MS 5123 * ''Rex angelorum paravit'', 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''Sacra christi caro'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Soror nostra es crescas'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Stabat mater dolorosa'' 6v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Tantum ergo'' 4v, Avignon BM: Ms. 1250 * ''Vade ad gentem convulsam'' 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Veni creator spiritus'', 8v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Vide Domine afflictionem meam'' 4v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136 * ''Videntes te Christe'' 4v, Chicago NL: Case MS 5136

Reception

Intermet's fame was great, and all the more significant since after 1600 he never seems to have left his native Provence and his works were almost never printed.

quoted him in 1643 as equal to

Eustache Du Caurroy François-Eustache du Caurroy (baptised February 4, 1549 – August 7, 1609) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was a prominent composer of both secular and sacred music at the end of the Renaissance, including ''musique mesurée'', ...

and

Claude le Jeune Claude Le Jeune (; 1528 to 1530 – buried 26 September 1600) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He was the primary representative of the musical movement known as '' musique mesurée'', and a significant composer of the "P ...

; the Jesuit Antoine Parran also quoted him in his ''Traité de musique'' in 1639.

References

Bibliography

* Giorgio Chatrian, ''Il fondo musicale della biblioteca capitolare di Aosta''. Torino : Centro Studi Piemontesi, 1985. *

Norbert Dufourcq Norbert Stéphane Jean-Marie Dufourcq (21 September 1904 – 19 December 1990) was a French organist, music educator, musicologist and musicographer. Biography Norbert Dufourcq was born in 1904 in Saint-Jean-de-Braye in the Loiret department ...

, "Un inventaire de la musique religieuse de la Collégiale Notre-Dame d'Annecy, 1661", ' 41 (1958), (pp. 38-59). * Henri-André Durand, "Les instruments dans la musique sacrée au chapitre collégial Saint-Agricol d'Avignon", ''Revue de Musicologie'' 52/1 (1966) (pp. 73-87). *

Amédée Gastoué Amédée Henri Gustave Noël Gastoué (19 March 1873 – 1 June 1943) was a French musicologist and composer. Biography A Kapellmeister at the , professor of gregorian chant at the Schola Cantorum of Paris, Gastoué was particularly interested ...

, "La musique à Avignon et dans le Comtat du XIVe au XVIIIe siècle", ''Rivista musicale italiana'' 11 (1904) (pp. 268-29141), 554-578, 768-777. Reprint in ''La vie musicale dans les provinces françaises'', IV (1980) (pp. 179-237). * Laurent Guillo, "Un recueil de motets de Sauvaire Intermet (Avignon, ca. 1620-1625): Chicago, Newberry Library, Case MS 5136", ''XVIIe siècle'', 232 (July 2006) (pp. 453-475). * Laurent Guillo, "Pierre I Ballard et Robert III Ballard, imprimeurs du roy pour la musique (1599-1673)". – Sprimont et Versailles: 2003. 2 vol. Supplément en ligne sur le site du CMBV (''Cahiers Philidor'' 33). *

Denise Launay Denise Launay (7 October 1906 – 13 March 1993) was a 20th-century French organist and musicologist. Biography Launay studied the history of music with André Pirro and Paul-Marie Masson at the Sorbonne, and the organ with André Marchal a ...

, "Les motets à double chœur en France dans la première moitié du XVIIe siècle", ''Revue de musicologie'', 40 (1957) (pp. 173-195). *

Margaret M. McGowan Margaret Mary McGowan CBE (21 December 1931 – 16 March 2022) was a British dance historian and historian of early modern France. Her work was mainly focused on the late Renaissance and the '' fin-de-siècle'' period at the end of the nineteent ...

, "Les Jésuites à Avignon : les fêtes au service de la propagande politique et religieuse", ''Les Fêtes de la Renaissance III : actes du Quinzième colloque international d'études humanistes'' (Tours, 10-22 July 1972). (Paris: 1975), (pp. 153-171). *

Joseph d'Ortigue Joseph Louis d'Ortigue (22 May 1802 – 20 November 1866) was a French musicologist and critic. A specialist in liturgical music and a conservative Catholic of ultramontane and royalist leanings, he was a close friend of both Berlioz and Liszt. His ...

, "La Musique à l'église". - Paris: Didier, 1861. * Félix Raugel, "La maîtrise et les orgues de la Primatiale Saint-Trophime d'Arles", ''Recherches sur la musique classique française'' 2 (1962), P• 102. * Jean Robert, "Maîtres de chapelle à Avignon, 1610-1675", ''Revue de musicologie'' 51/2 (1965), (pp. 149-169). * Jean Robert, "La maîtrise Saint-Agricol d'Avignon au XVIIe siècle", ''Actes du 90e Congrès national des sociétés savantes'' (Nice, 1965), Section d’histoire moderne et contemporaine, 3: De la Restauration à nos jours, histoire de l’art, Paris, 1966, (pp. 609-635).

External links

Sauvaire Intermet
on Musicalics

by Laurent Guillo {{DEFAULTSORT:Intermet, Sauvaire French Baroque composers French composers of sacred music People from Tarascon 1570s births 1657 deaths