Antoine Geoffroy-Dechaume
Antoine Geoffroy-Dechaume(7 October 1905 in
Paris– 15 April 2000) was a French
musicologist,
organistand
harpsichordist. As a musicologist he was considered "the leading French pioneer in the field of
early music, both in the way it should be performed and in respect for the original scores of 16th, 17th and 18th century composers."His research and writings, especially his book
The Secrets of Early Music, or the search for its interpretation(1964), is credited as the catalyst for the revived interest in French
baroque musicby the classical music world during the 1970s. He was named a
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneurby the government of France.
Life and career
Born in Paris, Geoffroy-Dechaume studied at the
Paris Conservatoirefrom 1923-1931 where he was a pupil of
Eugène Gigout(organ) and
Georges Caussade(composition). From 1922-1937 he served as organist of
Notre Dame de Pontoiseand from 1937-1939 he taught on the faculty of the
University of Caen Lower Normandy. He then took a position at the
Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Poitierswhere he led a highly regarded early music group, the Collegium Musicae Antiquae. From 1962 until his retirement he was professor at the
Schola Cantorum de Paris.
Geoffroy-Dechaume was the resident harpsichordist at the
Bath International Music Festivalduring the 1960s. The festival notably used a score he had prepared for a revival of
Jean-Philippe Rameau's 1733 opera
Hippolyte et Aricie. He also prepared scores for broadcasts by the
BBC, performances at the
Aix-en-Provence Festivaland the
English Bach Festivals, and for concerts given by the
Orchestre National de France.
摘自:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Geoffroy-Dechaume