Pierre Cerveau

Pierre Cerveau was a French Baroque composer, born in Anjou and active during the last quarter of the 16th century. Biography The name Cerveau first appeared in 1573, as a “passing cantor” in the church’s capitularies archives of the Cathedral Sainte-Croix d’Orléans. Later, the dedication to , the bishop of Angers, of his “Airs” published in 1599 suggests that he could have been in the service of this prelate at that time. He was quoted in Troyes around 1604, at the time when he was working on putting Lorenza Strozzi’s Latin hymns to music at the request of , Archdeacon of Angers. (lost works). This last mention suggests that Cerveau remained faithful to the Angevine province throughout his life. Works Cerveau’s arias are similar to several styles used at the time, such as ballet arias, old-fashioned tunes or more rhythmic dance arias. *Airs mis en musique à quatre parties, par Pierre Cerveau Angevin. Paris: Widow and her son , 1599. 4 ou 5 vol. in-8° oblong. RISM C 1719, Guillo 2003 n° 1599-B. Only the “Superius” part of this collection is kept. It contains 46 tunes in 4 voices and 6 tunes in 5 voices. Piece 52 is a spiritual aria on the paraphrase of the Libera me, by Philippe De