Gabriel Bataille

Gabriel Bataille
Born	between June 1574 and June 1575 probably Brie , Kingdom of France
Died	December 17, 1630<--163729 June 1696 (aged 55-56)--> Paris, Royaume de France
Occupation	Music master of the house of Anne of Austria (1601-1666) Composer lutenist
Years active	1605-1620
Era	Baroque
Style	Baroque
Spouse(s)	Catherine Carré
Relatives	Gabriel II Bataille (son)

Gabriel Bataille (born between June 1574 and June 1575, probably in the Brie region, and died in Paris on December 17, 1630) was a French musician, lutenist and composer of court airs. He should not be confused with his son Gabriel II Bataille.

Life

Allusions to the Brie region in his verses suggest that he was originally from this province. He had a brother Louis, a dressmaker, mentioned in a deed of 1621, and a sister Catherine, married to Didier Dutour, huissier des comptes et trésors in Paris, who died before 1600.

At the time of his marriage to Catherine Carré, on February 12, 1600, he was already a Parisian, but his marriage contract specifies that he was then a clerk to parliamentary advisor Germain Regnault; he was therefore not yet a professional musician. By the time Pierre I Ballard published the first volumes of his Airs de différents autheurs in 1608, he had probably become one: as early as 1614, he was listed as a maître de musique.

From 1617 to his death, he was master of music in the household of Anne of Austria (1601-1666), alternating half-yearly with Antoine Boësset. He had entered into a contract with Boësset, who was also seeking this position, so that whoever obtained it would share it with the other (which happened). On June 9, 1617, he testified at Léonora Galigaï's trial, describing the exorbitant conditions imposed by the Maréchal d'Ancre on musicians who had applied for the position of musician in the Queen's household (a full year's salary). Bataille inserted a piece of verse in praise of Jacques Le Fèvre in his Meslanges of 1613; in fact, on December 22, 1627, Le Fèvre bequeathed to Bataille part of the music books containing all his works. In 1617 and 1618, he also published verse pieces at the beginning of books by Antoine Boësset and Pierre Guédron; these three musicians were therefore central to his network of friends.

On February 5, 1614, he was best man at the wedding of Jean Rocher, sieur de Bréau, agent at the Conseil des Finances. His friendship with Pierre I Ballard, who fostered his career, can be seen in his sponsorship of Marguerite, daughter of the printer and Sansonne Coulon, on February 11, 1619. On January 22, 1624, Gabriel Bataille again witnessed the marriage of Nicolas Chastelet (like himself a musician to the Queen) to Marie Sodey, then on February 5 of the same year, the bride's witness at the marriage of Thomas Vassetz, notaire garde-note at the Châtelet, to Marie Carré, probably a sister of his wife.

He had four viable children: Pierre, musicien ordinaire de la musique des reines, Madeleine, Gabriel II, who succeeded him as maître de la musique de la reine (which suggests that he had obtained this position “en survivance” from his father), and Françoise.

His wife Catherine Carré was buried on February 8, 1624; he himself died on December 17, 1630, and was buried in Saint-Paul the following day; he had been living on Rue Geoffroy-l'Asnier (at least since 1611). An inventory of his possessions, drawn up on February 14, 1631, reveals five lutes, 29 music packages and an interesting library. (Source: Wikipedia)

Gabriel Bataille in Philippe Jaroussky's discography, filmography and performance history

Studio albums

Year	Work	Studio album	With
2023	"El baxel está en la playa"	Passacalle de la Follie (Album)

Concert programs

See the respective program page for a list of possible recordings.

Complete list of musical pieces by Gabriel Bataille

This listing only reflects the musical pieces performed by Philippe Jaroussky.

Year published or performed	Title	Lyricist	Work/Album	Album, video or concert Program	Year first published/performed
2023	"El baxel está en la playa"	Anonymous		Passacalle de la Follie (Album)	(?)