Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe

Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (Born: 1640??, France, Died: 1690??, France), is the deferential way in which his contemporaries referred to this celebrated viol player, of whom few solid facts are known, as neither his given name, the names of his parents, nor the dates of his life have survived. He is known through a handful of contemporary references, which among other things attribute to him the innovation of the seventh (AA) string on the bass viol. He is presumed to have been of the Lyonnaise or Burgundian petty nobility. Unconnected with the royal court and probably an amateur, by 1680 he was widely regarded as a master of his art. The musicians and composers who are known to have been his students are Danoville, Desfontaines, Marin Marais, Méliton, and Jean Rousseau, who stated that Sainte-Colombe "perfected" the art of viol playing. Sainte-Colombe presumably also taught his own children: he is said to have given concerts at his home at which he and his two daughters played in consort (du Tillet, 1732). Among his surviving works are the sixty-seven "Concerts à deux violes esgales", for two bass viols, and solo viol pieces which may or may not represent fully finished works.

Related Topics:
1640 - France - 1690 - Viol - Danoville - Desfontaines - Marin Marais - Méliton - Jean Rousseau - Du Tillet - 1732

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