Short Name: | Louis Bourgeois |
Full Name: | Bourgeois, Louis, 1510-1561 |
Birth Year: | 1510 |
Death Year: | 1561 |
Louis Bourgeois (b. Paris, France, c. 1510; d. Paris, 1561). In both his early and later years Bourgeois wrote French songs to entertain the rich, but in the history of church music he is known especially for his contribution to the Genevan Psalter. Apparently moving to Geneva in 1541, the same year John Calvin returned to Geneva from Strasbourg, Bourgeois served as cantor and master of the choristers at both St. Pierre and St. Gervais, which is to say he was music director there under the pastoral leadership of Calvin. Bourgeois used the choristers to teach the new psalm tunes to the congregation.
The extent of Bourgeois's involvement in the Genevan Psalter is a matter of scholarly debate. Calvin had published several partial psalters, including one in Strasbourg in 1539 and another in Geneva in 1542, with melodies by unknown composers. In 1551 another French psalter appeared in Geneva, Eighty-three Psalms of David, with texts by Marot and de Beze, and with most of the melodies by Bourgeois, who supplied thirty four original tunes and thirty-six revisions of older tunes. This edition was republished repeatedly, and later Bourgeois's tunes were incorporated into the complete Genevan Psalter (1562). However, his revision of some older tunes was not uniformly appreciated by those who were familiar with the original versions; he was actually imprisoned overnight for some of his musical arrangements but freed after Calvin's intervention. In addition to his contribution to the 1551 Psalter, Bourgeois produced a four-part harmonization of fifty psalms, published in Lyons (1547, enlarged 1554), and wrote a textbook on singing and sight-reading, La Droit Chemin de Musique (1550). He left Geneva in 1552 and lived in Lyons and Paris for the remainder of his life.
Bert Polman
Tunes by Louis Bourgeois (57) | As | Instances | Incipit |
---|---|---|---|
GEWISSHEIT | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 11232 17133 23543 |
HERZLIEBSTER JESU | Loys Bourgeois (Arranger) | 1 | 11175 12334 22345 |
[O Lord Most High] (Bourgeois) | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | |
HÖCHSTEN NÖTHEN | Loys Bourgeois, h. 1510-h. 1561 (Composer) | 1 | 11231 42134 32171 |
AUTUMN (Barthélemon) | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 12321 65312 32352 |
GENEVAN 150 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 13213 45132 13453 |
[Az Ur én nekem őriző pásztorom] | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 11155 71211 71321 |
[Te benned biztunk eleitől fogva] | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 55175 77654 55315 |
[O Lord, our God! how great art thou] | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 1 | 15344 32113 45766 |
LAMENT (Bourgeois) | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 2 | 51233 33243 25123 |
RICHIER | Louis Bourgeois, c. 1510-1561 (Composer) | 2 | |
[そむくものの かずは [Somuku Mono no Kazu wa]] | Louis Bourgeois, 1510-1572 (Composer) | 2 | |
OLD 117TH | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 2 | 51175 67117 65432 |
FRANC | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 2 | 32123 45454 32455 |
WIL MIJ, WANNEER IK ROEP | Louis Bourgeois, 1510-1572 (Composer) | 2 | |
[Óh felséges Ur mi kegyes Istenünk] | Loys Bourgeois, h. 1510-h. 1561 (Composer) | 2 | 13451 76576 51117 |
ALL LANDS | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 2 | |
GENEVAN 27 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 2 | 53455 11716 52354 |
GENEVAN 43 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 12211 44321 24321 |
NEAR UNTO GOD | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 56176 54517 61567 |
GENEVAN 121 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 12143 22144 34566 |
BOURGEOIS | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 12765 23432 11232 |
[Nosza Isten félő szent hivek] | L. Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 15576 54322 34517 |
GENEVAN 133 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 13215 61756 51171 |
GENEVAN PSALM 110 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 17123 45321 32171 |
JE TE SALUE | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 51322 35432 11765 |
[Så älskade Gud världen all] | Bourgeois (Composer) | 3 | 51765 12333 21143 |
JERUSALEM'S PEACE | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 4 | 55651 76553 45654 |
GENEVAN 101 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 4 | 51322 35432 11765 |
REVELATION (Bourgeois) | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 4 | 52232 11234 32611 |
HEUREUX CELUI QUI FUIT | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 4 | 56535 43421 13455 |
GENEVAN 51 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 4 | 57715 77465 55435 |
AUX PAROLES | Louis Bourgeois, 1510-1572 (Composer) | 5 | 15677 17651 11765 |
GENEVAN 138 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 5 | 13451 76556 53343 |
ASCENDING KING | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 5 | 53123 43221 55671 |
GENEVAN 47 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 5 | 53123 43221 55671 |
OLD 107TH | Louis Bourgeois (Composer or Arranger) | 5 | 11511 77556 5343 |
GENEVAN 119 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 5 | 12313 55432 31765 |
GENEVAN 100 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 6 | 12732 17151 71332 |
GENEVAN 65 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 7 | 55515 65434 54321 |
O SEIGNEUR | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 7 | 15567 11765 45331 |
DONNE SECOURS | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 8 | 53457 53432 15545 |
[Amen] (Bourgeois) | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 8 | 12343 23 |
AU FORT DE MA DETRESSE | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 8 | 51232 17312 34554 |
GENEVAN 6 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 9 | 11177 13235 57654 |
GENEVAN PSALM 22 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 10 | 31433 66543 |
L'OMNIPOTENT | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 10 | 17123 45432 1 |
GENEVAN 25 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 11 | 17651 23133 43121 |
GENEVAN 77 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 13 | 11712 32111 71232 |
OLD 124TH | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 18 | 12343 21171 34565 |
TOULON | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 33 | 12343 21171 34565 |
ST. MICHAEL (Genevan) | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 33 | 51322 35432 21176 |
NUNC DIMITTIS (Bourgeois) | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 43 | 56543 24312 21155 |
LES COMANDEMENS DE DIEU | Louis Bourgeois (Attributed) | 54 | 11232 43213 43217 |
GENEVAN 42 | Louis Bourgeois (Composer) | 79 | 12321 76512 34321 |
RENDEZ À DIEU | Louis Bourgeois, c. 1510-1561 (Composer (attr.)) | 104 | 16511 24325 33143 |
OLD HUNDREDTH | Louis Bourgeois (Attributed to) | 727 | 11765 12333 32143 |