Surname
Barré
Given Name
Léonard
Role
Composer
Employee of a court chapel (musician)
Musician
Singer
Active period
1537 - 1555
Workplace
Limoges
Biography
Barré [Barrae, Barri, Barret], Leonardo
(b diocese of Limoges; fl Rome, 1537–after 1555). French composer and singer active in Italy. On 13 July 1537 ‘Leonardus Barre Lemovicensis dioec.’ was made a singer of the papal chapel. He remained there until 1555, when, together with Palestrina, he was expelled for being married. He then became maestro di cappella of S Lorenzo in Damaso, Rome. Barré was probably unrelated to Antonio Barrè, but he may have been the father of ‘Alexandro Bare, sopranus, putto’, who served in the Cappella Giulia in 1560 and 1561 and possibly from 1564 to May 1566. His nine surviving madrigals and six published motets appeared in various collections from 1539 to 1544. In a collection of 1540 for five voices he is described as a disciple of Willaert and two of his madrigals, Oime’l bel viso and Lachrime meste, were attributed to Willaert in the latter’s posthumous Madrigali a quatro voci (Venice, 1563). If Barré was a pupil of Willaert, it must have been between 1527, when Willaert moved to Venice, and 1537, when Barré joined the Cappella Sistina.
Barré’s style is not remarkably different from that of his contemporaries, but his texture is somewhat distinctive in its relative lack of contrast. Clearly defined points of imitation are infrequent, as are passages in chordal style, with uniform declamation in all voices. More often, imitation is masked by the continuous accompaniment of other voices or by the use of paired entries. Word-painting, although not frequent and not very bold, nonetheless enhances the music by providing needed contrast and colour.
Barré’s music contains many concealed parallel 5ths and octaves, and too often the rhythmic motion is provided by the voices exchanging tones of the same chord. Nonetheless, his music moves forward smoothly and has many passages of great charm, some enhanced by decorative melismas.
WORKS
Come potro fidarmi di te, 5vv, 154018; Come potro fidarmi, 4vv, 154416; Cosi di ben amar, 5vv, 154216; I sospiri amorosi, 5vv, 154018; Lachrime meste, 4vv, 154416; Oime’l bel viso, 4vv, 154020; Se l’alto duol m’ancide, 5vv, 154018; Se sovra ogn’uso humano, 5vv, 154018; Tengan dunque, 4vv, 153924 (attrib. Barré only in 154518 ed. in CMM xxxi/5)
4 motets, 4vv, 15434; 2 motets, 5vv, 15446; further motets, D-Mbs, Wa
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AmbrosGM
EinsteinIM
G. Baini: Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Rome, 1828/R), i, 52
R. Casimiri: ‘I diarii sistini’, NA, iii (1926), 1–16, esp.10; xiv (1937), 19–33, esp.26
A. Ducrot: ‘Histoire de la Cappella Giulia au XVIe siècle depuis sa fondation par Jules II (1513) jusqu’à sa restoration par Grégoire XIII (1578)’, Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire, lxxv (1963), 179–240, 467–599, esp. 227
THOMAS W. BRIDGES
(b diocese of Limoges; fl Rome, 1537–after 1555). French composer and singer active in Italy. On 13 July 1537 ‘Leonardus Barre Lemovicensis dioec.’ was made a singer of the papal chapel. He remained there until 1555, when, together with Palestrina, he was expelled for being married. He then became maestro di cappella of S Lorenzo in Damaso, Rome. Barré was probably unrelated to Antonio Barrè, but he may have been the father of ‘Alexandro Bare, sopranus, putto’, who served in the Cappella Giulia in 1560 and 1561 and possibly from 1564 to May 1566. His nine surviving madrigals and six published motets appeared in various collections from 1539 to 1544. In a collection of 1540 for five voices he is described as a disciple of Willaert and two of his madrigals, Oime’l bel viso and Lachrime meste, were attributed to Willaert in the latter’s posthumous Madrigali a quatro voci (Venice, 1563). If Barré was a pupil of Willaert, it must have been between 1527, when Willaert moved to Venice, and 1537, when Barré joined the Cappella Sistina.
Barré’s style is not remarkably different from that of his contemporaries, but his texture is somewhat distinctive in its relative lack of contrast. Clearly defined points of imitation are infrequent, as are passages in chordal style, with uniform declamation in all voices. More often, imitation is masked by the continuous accompaniment of other voices or by the use of paired entries. Word-painting, although not frequent and not very bold, nonetheless enhances the music by providing needed contrast and colour.
Barré’s music contains many concealed parallel 5ths and octaves, and too often the rhythmic motion is provided by the voices exchanging tones of the same chord. Nonetheless, his music moves forward smoothly and has many passages of great charm, some enhanced by decorative melismas.
WORKS
Come potro fidarmi di te, 5vv, 154018; Come potro fidarmi, 4vv, 154416; Cosi di ben amar, 5vv, 154216; I sospiri amorosi, 5vv, 154018; Lachrime meste, 4vv, 154416; Oime’l bel viso, 4vv, 154020; Se l’alto duol m’ancide, 5vv, 154018; Se sovra ogn’uso humano, 5vv, 154018; Tengan dunque, 4vv, 153924 (attrib. Barré only in 154518 ed. in CMM xxxi/5)
4 motets, 4vv, 15434; 2 motets, 5vv, 15446; further motets, D-Mbs, Wa
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AmbrosGM
EinsteinIM
G. Baini: Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Rome, 1828/R), i, 52
R. Casimiri: ‘I diarii sistini’, NA, iii (1926), 1–16, esp.10; xiv (1937), 19–33, esp.26
A. Ducrot: ‘Histoire de la Cappella Giulia au XVIe siècle depuis sa fondation par Jules II (1513) jusqu’à sa restoration par Grégoire XIII (1578)’, Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire, lxxv (1963), 179–240, 467–599, esp. 227
THOMAS W. BRIDGES