Sébastien de Brossard

Sébastien de Brossard was a French and music theorist who was born in Dompierre, Orne, France on September 12, 1655 and died at Meaux April 10, 1730.

After studying philosophy and theology at Caen, he studied music and established himself in Paris en 1678, and was later named a vicar at the Strasbourg Cathedral. He founded an Académie de Musique there in 1687, and it was there that he acquired most of his music library, which has since become legendary. A collection of 157 sonatas acquired by Brossard bears the name Codex Rost, after the Cantor at Baden-Baden Franz Rost (1640 - 1688). It is sometimes the only source of works by certain German and Italian composers of the 17th century.

Brossard wrote a book on Greek, Latin, and Italian musical terms, the first music dictionary in French in 1703. In 1724, he offered his very rich library, together with its annotated catalogue, to Louis XV, in exchange for a pension.

A manuscript work of 393 pages accompanied by an alphabetical index of 253 pages, this catalogue today constitutes an incomparable source of information on music bibliography, the quality of printings, aesthetics, and the musical theory of the era. The manuscript is kept at the Music Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

In addition, Brossard wrote six books of serious airs and drinking songs (1691-1698), several motets, and the "Lamentations du prophète Jérémie" (1721).

Source: translated from French Wikipedia