Pierre Cerveau
Pierre Cerveau was a French Baroque composer, born in Anjou and active during the last quarter of the 16th century. Biography. The name Cerveau first appeared in 1573, as a "passing cantor" in the church's capitularies archives of the Cathedral Sainte-Croix d’Orléans. Later, the dedication to , the bishop of Angers, of his "Airs" published in 1599 suggests that he could have been in the service of this prelate at that time. He was quoted in Troyes around 1604, at the time when he was working on putting Lorenza Strozzi's Latin hymns to music at the  request of , Archdeacon of Angers. (lost works). This last mention suggests that Cerveau remained faithful to the Angevine province throughout his life. Works. Cerveau's arias are similar to several styles used at the time, such as ballet arias, old-fashioned tunes or more rhythmic dance arias. Some of the melodies used by Cerveau can be found in the tunes of Gabriel Bataille and Pierre Guédron - we don't know if they were borrowings or whether both have drawn from a common source. Cerveau explains in the preface of his arias that, "according to the most doctrinal musicians", there are  two ways to perform his arias "either with voices simply without an instrument, or with instruments married to the voice." (which, by emphasizing the superior voice, underlines the aria character of these pieces) Cerveau's arias can still be found in some later collections: In short, the only Cerveau tunes known to be harmonized are those published from 1609. Sources. RISM : "Répertoire international des sources musicales".