Antoine , Sieur de Villedieu Boësset

Antoine Boësset, also known as Anthoine de Boësset or Sieur de Villedieu, was one of the most distinguished French composers of the first half of the seventeenth century. Born in Blois in 1586 and dying in Paris in December 1643, he held a series of musical posts at the court of Louis XIII and of the queen, which he apparently kept almost all at the same time until his death.

His court career began in 1613, when he was appointed master of the children of the king's chamber music. Further posts followed: master of the queen's music in 1617, secretary of the chamber in 1620 and superintendent of chamber music in 1623, as well as councillor and maître d'hôtel ordinaire to the king in 1634. As superintendent he wrote music for numerous ballets, although there is no evidence that he composed sacred music; the motets and masses bearing his name are almost certainly attributed to his son Jean-Baptiste.

His reputation rests on the airs de cour, the first examples of which appeared in anthologies from 1608 onwards. Some two hundred of his airs for four and five voices were transcribed for lute, and Mersenne regarded him as a master of vocal ornamentation and recommended that young composers imitate him. His works combine great melodic beauty with an irregular polyphonic texture, designed to lend theatricality to the poems, which gives them a surprisingly modern air. Unlike Guédron, he avoids declamatory writing.

In his seventh book, of 1630, the indication «basse continue pour les instruments» appears several times, the first printed reference to basso continuo by a French composer. His prestige endured: his works were copied into manuscripts at the end of the seventeenth century, and his airs de cour were reissued in 1689, which suggests he remained highly esteemed half a century after his death.