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 17th century colleagues did. His route can be traced from two types of sources: letters from L’Entretien des musiciens, which he published in 1643, and various archival documents. Biography Born in Marseille, Gantez was baptized at the Notre-Dame La Major Cathedral. He was the son of Jean Gantez Gantes, Gantès, Ganteze… (whose father was a tailor and a native of Cuers) and Marie Joly Jollie . His parents had married in Aix-en-Provence on 19 September 1599. He was a godchild of Annibal Pollalion and Marquise Visse. As is often the case at this time, his conditions for learning music are unknown. It is when he reached the age of almost twenty that we begin to be able to follow him on his journey. From Marseille to Marseille via Toulon, Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre, La Châtre, Aurillac, Avignon, and Montauban He first appeared in Toulon (c. 1627–1628, after Lettre XXVIII), then was maître de chapelle at the collégiale Saint-André de Grenoble f