Maillart, Pierre (EN)

Maillart, Maillard, Pierre, *1550 Valenciennes, †16 August 1622 Tournai, Franco-Flemish theorist and composer. Prior to 1562, he sang in the Tournai Cathedral boys’ choir. From 1562 he was a member of the chapel of Philip II in Hainaut, and from 1565 in Madrid, where he studied under the local maître de chapelle, J. Bonmarché. In 1570, he left Spain, and in 1572 he studied at the University of Louvain. in 1674 he stayed in Antwerp, and in 1581 he rejoined the cathedral in Tournai, where he initially trained singers, became a canon in 1589, and served as chantre from 23 May 1606. He wrote masses and motets for the cathedral, which are now lost; in 1598, the Processionale of the Diocese of Tournai, edited by him, was published in Antwerp. In 1610, a treatise on church modes and tones was published in Tournai, the only surviving work by Maillart – widely known and appreciated not only in French-speaking countries, quoted by M. Mersenne and G.B. Doni.

Maillart’s treatise is divided into two parts. In Part One, the author drew on the pseudo-classical system, describing modes as octave species based on the finalis, composed either of a fifth and a fourth (authentic mode) or of a fourth and a fifth (plagal mode). He endorsed Glarean’s system of twelve modes, regarding them as the tonal foundation of all musical composition, including chant. In Part Two, he discussed the eight psalm tones, which he considered subcategories of the modes, consisting of three components: intonation, médiation, and fin (“saeculorum amen”). In these tones, created specifically for the purposes of psalmody, the invariant element is not the finalis but the médiation, identified with the dominant. Depending on the choice of antiphon or responsory accompanying the psalm, the intonation and fin change accordingly. In distinguishing between modes and psalm tones, Maillart clearly drew on the classifications of Glarean (modi – intonationes) and Zarlino (modi – salmodie). Following the great Renaissance theorists, he also addressed the issue of musica reservata, the problem of the three Greek genera, and the relationship between contemporary musical practice and antiquity. His treatise functioned primarily as a compendium of modal and mensural knowledge and as a foundation of contemporary musical practice in regions of Franco-Flemish culture.

Literature: A. Auda Les modes et les tons de la musique, Brussels 1930; H. Schneider Die französische Kompositionslehre in der ersten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts, «Mainzer Studien zur Musikwissenschaft» III, Tutzing 1972; W. Seidel Französische Musiktheorie im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, «Geschichte der Musiktheorie» IX, Darmstadt 1986.