The Lure and Legacy of Music at Versailles
Louis XIV and the Aix School

Taking its departure from King Louis XIV's 1660 visit to Provence, this book reveals the remarkable musical developments that followed.

John Hajdu Heyer (Author)

9780521519885, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 November 2014

299 pages, 14 b/w illus. 4 tables 23 music examples
25.4 x 18.2 x 2 cm, 0.76 kg

'[John] Hajdu Heyer's study is a major contribution to the study of the grand motet, a richly documented, generous book that opens up the field for those who wish to pursue the lines of inquiry he has initiated … the study more generally provides a fascinating insight into the background and training of a number of under-appreciated composers - Campra in particular - who had an outsized influence in Paris. The volume should be of interest to all those who work on sacred music in France and to all scholars interested in Parisian interactions with the provinces.' Peter Bennett, Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music

Louis XIV and his court at Versailles had a profound influence on music in France and throughout Europe. In 1660 Louis visited Aix-en-Provence, a trip that resulted in political and cultural transformations throughout the region. Soon thereafter Aix became an important center of sacred music composition, eventually rivaling Paris for the quality of the composers it produced. John Hajdu Heyer documents the young king's visit and examines how he and his court deployed sacred music to enhance the royal image and secure the loyalty of the populace. Exploring the circle of composers at Aix, Heyer provides the most up-to-date and complete biographies in English of nine key figures, including Guillaume Poitevin, André Campra, Jean Gilles, François Estienne, and Antoine Blanchard. The book goes on to reveal how the history of political power in the region was reflected through church music, and how musicians were affected by contemporary events.

Foreword Lionel Sawkins
Prologue
General introduction
Part I. Rendezvous in Provence: 1. The winter of 1660: Louis XIV and the royal court visit Provence
2. A choirboy and his king: the early life of Guillaume Poitevin
Part II. The Aix School: A Legacy of Maîtres: 3. Guillaume Poitevin: maître of Saint-Sauveur
4. André Campra: an extraordinary career
5. Jean Gilles: an independent spirit
6. The 'petits maîtres'
7. Antoine Blanchard: the eighteenth-century master
Part III. The Lure and Legacy: 8. The lure of music at Versailles and the Île-de-France
9. Patronage and the Provençal networks
10. The legacy of the Aix School
Conclusion
Epilogue
Appendix I
Appendix II.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], European history [HBJD], Western "classical" music [AVGC], Music [AV]