Denis Gaultier

Denis Gaultier (Gautier, Gaulthier; also known as Gaultier le jeune and Gaultier de Paris) (1597 or 1602/3 – 1672) was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier.

Gaultier was born in Paris; two conflicting sources point to either 1597 or 1603 as the year of birth. The former can be deduced from an account by Thorian, who claimed that Gaultier died in 1672 at the age of seventy-five. However, an archival document from the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris hospital states that Gaultier was twenty-three at the time of his convalescence in the hospital, which was from 24 October 1626 to 12 December 1626.

Very little is known about Gaultier's career. He may have studied under Charles Racquet, since he commemorated the lutenist's death with a tombeau. Until at least 1631 Denis's career was closely linked to that of his older cousin, Ennemond; so much that contemporary writers referred to either composer by surname only, making no attempt to distinguish between them. Both lutenists had connections with Blancrocher and Henri de L'Enclos, and both secured a high reputation comparable to that of François Dufaut, Jacques Gallot, or Charles Mouton. In 1635 Denis married Françoise Daucourt. Their son Philippe Emmanuel would later become advisor to the king, but there is no evidence that Gaultier himself ever held a court position, even though his cousin did. Denis most probably gained fame and income through salon playing.

Denis and Ennemond are confused in many contemporary manuscripts and prints, leading to numerous attribution problems. A number of pieces are signed simply with the surname, some are attributed to Denis in one collection and to Ennemond in another, and still others are now known to have been be misattributed. Gaultier's output, as is to be expected from a 17th-century French lutenist, consists mainly of dance suites for the lute. In general, Gaultier was a masterful melodist, effortlessly writing graceful melodic lines with clear phrase structures, but his music is less inventive harmonically than that of some other French lutenists of the era, such as René Mesangeau or Pierre Dubut.

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