Bernard Jumentier

Bernard Jumentier (24 March 1749 – 7 December 1829) was a French composer of classical and sacred music as well as maître de chapelle. Biography The son of a vine-grower, destined for the ecclesiastical state by his parents, Bernard Jumentier entered the seminary of Chartres to attend his studies. More interested in music than in orders, he has been placed according to his wish in the mastership of the Chartres Cathedral, under the direction of Michel Delalande (1739–1812), master of music of this church since 1761. It is therefore in this capacity of “choir boy” (child singing in the choir) that he learned singing, (including plainsong) and more generally the main musical disciplines, harmony, counterpoint and musical composition. He was also trained to play the pipe organ and the harpsichord. He was only eighteen years old, in 1767, when he became a music master at Senlis before returning to Notre-Dame de Chartres, as early as 1768, as cantor. He later served in Saint-Malo and subsequently in the Coutances Cathedral. At the end of 1776 he was appointed chapel-master of the collégiale et royale de Saint-Quentin. He remained in control until his death in 1829, despite an interrupti