Guillaume Bouzignac (c. 1587 – c. 1643) was a French composer.

Guillaume Bouzignac
Bornc. 1587
Diedc. 1643
OccupationComposer

Bouzignac was probably born in 1587 in Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude. He studied at the Cathedral of Narbonne until 1604, and was choirmaster at the Cathedrals of Angoulême, Bourges, Tours, and Clermont-Ferrand.[1]

His motets are preserved in two manuscripts.[2] His motets are highly distinctive: "Simply stated, there is no other music of the time that looks the same on the page or sounds the same as the motets of Bouzignac."[3] "One name in this period rises above those of his contemporaries for all sacred music, including Masses: that of Guillaume Bouzignac."[4] His dialogue motets, such as Unus ex vobis and Dum silentium, are small scale oratorios which anticipate Giacomo Carissimi, and then Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704) two generations later.

Discography

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References

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  1. ^ Sadie S. The New Grove dictionary of music and musicians, Volume 3 1980 p121
  2. ^ Tours Ms. 168: the music of Guillaume Bouzignac, George Roberts Kolb 1984
  3. ^ Anthony J.R. French baroque music from Beaujoyeulx to Rameau 1978 p167
  4. ^ Lewis A. Fortune N. Opera and church music, 1630-1750 1975 p422