Michel Pignolet de Montéclair

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the baroque period. He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Champagne (province), France, and only later added “Montéclair” (the name of a fortress in his home town) to his name. Little is known of his life, and no official portraits exist. He was the son of a weaver; his entrance into the choir school at the age of nine may have been the only chance of escaping the poverty of a weaver’s life. In 1687, he went to Paris and joined the orchestra of the Opera, where he played the basse de violon. In Paris he studied with Jean-Baptiste Moreau. At some point between 1687 and the early years of the new century, he seems to have been maître de musique to the Prince de Vaudémont and to have followed him to Italy. It was probably from there that he brought the idea to add the double bass to the opera orchestra. All the time Montéclair must have worked as a music teacher of high regard: among his pupils were the daughters of his colleague François Couperin. Montéclair’s approach to teaching was fresh and almost modern. He published books on teaching music (e.g., in 1709), and around 1730 he published