Du Caurroy, Fran-ois-Eustache, Sieur de St.- Frémin
Du Caurroy, Fran-ois-Eustache, Sieur de St.- Frémin
Du Caurroy, Fran-ois-Eustache, Sieur de St.- Frémin, French composer; b. Beauvais (baptized), Feb. 4, 1549; d. Paris, Aug. 7, 1609. He was a member of the French nobility; his father was “procureur du roi.” He entered the Royal Chapel as a singer in 1569, and in 1575 received a prize for a chanson, Beaux yeux. In 1578 he was “sous-maitre,” and in 1599 he became superintendent of “la musique du roi,” Influenced by Le Jeune, he began to compose “musique mesuree.” He advanced in the favor of the court, and received honors and awards. He held the ecclesiastical titles of canon at the Ste. Chapelle of Dijon, Ste. Croix of Orleans, and other provincial posts. His greatest work was the collection Meslanges de la musique, containing Psalms, “chansons mesurees,” noels, in 4, 5, and 6 Voices (Paris, 1610; some specimens reprinted in Expert’s Maitres musiciens, Vol. XIII). Other works include Preces ecclesiasticae for 4 to 7 Voices (Paris, 1609), instrumental Fantaisies for 3 and 6 parts (Paris, 1610; several publ. separately by Expert), and Missa pro defunctis for 5 Voices (Paris, 1636).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire