(b Tarascon, 8 Jan 1668; d Toulouse, 5 Feb 1705). French composer. He was maître de musique at Aix-en-Provence Cathedral from 1693, at Agde from 1695 and at Toulouse from 1697. He mainly composed in the form of the Versailles grand motet, showing an unusual expressiveness, bordering on pathos, in his text setting. Two of these works remained popular for most of the 18th century; still more so was his Messe des morts, which was widely praised and sung at Rameau's funeral (1764) and Louis XV's (1774).
The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.