Adrian Le Roy

Adrian Le Roy (c.1520–1598) was an influential French music publisher, lutenist,

mandore player, guitarist, composer and music educator.

Contents
Life
Some Published Works
Bibliography
References
External links

Life Adrian Le Roy

Le Roy[1] was born in the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer in northern France to a

wealthy family. Very little is known about his formative years, but he was probably a
chorister and studied thelute, guitar[2] and cittern with various teachers.

He became an accomplished musician and entered the service of, first, Claude de Clermont, then, Jacques II (Baron de Semblançay
and Viscount of Tours), both members of the aristocracy who had influence at court. In 1546 he met the publisher Jean de Brouilly in
Paris and married his daughter Denise de Brouilly
.

[3] founded the printing firm "Le Roy & Ballard", and in August 1551 obtained a
Le Roy and his cousin Robert Ballard (c.1525–1588)
royal privilege from Henry II to print music.[4] In February 1553, the company was awarded the title of "Imprimeur du Roi en
musique" (previously held by Pierre Attaignant). This office, which was renewed by successive monarchs, gave the company legal
protection against competitors and commercially valuable prestige.[5] Royal patronage was a major factor in the company's success
since it ensured both a ready supply of new music from the court musicians and a market for its publications.[5] Over the following
two decades other rival companies dropped out of the market and from the 1570s onwards Le Roy & Ballard enjoyed a virtual
.[6]
monopoly in music publishing. The publishing house lasted to the 19th century

While Robert Ballard looked after the business side, Le Roy assumed the role of an artistic director. He achieved renown as a
composer and arranger of songs and instrumentals, his published work including at least six books of tablature for the lute, five
volumes for the guitar and arrangements for the cittern. Le Roy also helped to ensure the success of composer Orlande de Lassus,
[7]
introducing him to court and publishing his music.

Le Roy's book L'Instruction pour la mandore gives modern historians hints as to the instruments origins and design. Although lost
now, Pierre Trichet commented on things he read in Le Roy's book that tell us the instrument came to France by way of Navarre and
[8]
Biscay. Trichet also lets us know that Le Roy, the author of a mandoremethod book, did own the instrument which he wrote about.

Le Roy died in Paris in 1598.

Some Published Works

Premier Livre de Tablature de Luth (1551).
Briefve et facile instruction(1551).
 Tiers Livre de Tablature de Luth (1552).
Cinquiesme Livre de Guiterre(1554).
Second Livre de Guiterre(1556).
Instruction de Luth (1557).
Sixiesme Livre de Luth(1559).
A Briefe and Easye Instrution to Learne the T
ableture to Conducte and Dispose the Hande unto the Lute(1568; 2nd
ed. 1574); English translation by Alford.
[9]
Livre d'air de cours miz sur le Luth(1571): Solo songs with lute accompaniments.
Les Instructions pour le Luth(1574)
L'Instruction pour la mandore (1585)[8]

Bibliography
Keith Calmes: Guitar Music of the 16th Century(Pacific, Missouri: Mel Bay, 2008), pp. 46 f .
James Harr: European Music, 1520-1640(Martlesham, Surrey: The Boydell Press, 2006)), p. 172f.f
François Lesure & Geneviève Thibault:Bibliographie des éditions musicales d'Adrian Le Roy et Robert Ballard,
1551–1598 (Paris: Société française de musicologie / Heugel, 1955; reprint: Paris: Biblothèque nationale de France,
2002).
James Tyler & Paul Sparks: The Guitar and its Music: From the Renaissance to the Classical Era(Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2007), p. 17 f.

References
1. All Music Guide (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/q36/biography) (Retrieved 26 Aug 2009).
2. In those days "guitar" referred to an instrument with 4 courses – seeThe Renaissance Guitar(http://www.cs.dartmou
th.edu/~lsa/aboutLute/RenaissanceGuitar.html) at Society of America Lute Society of America(http://www.cs.dartmo
uth.edu/~lsa/index.htmlLute)(retrieved on 26 Aug 2009).
3. Robert Ballard snr. (c.1527–1588), not to beconfused with his son Robert Ballard (c.1575–1645), a distinguished
lutenist and composer. In addition there wasanother Robert Ballard, nephew to the aforementioned lutenist who took
over the publishing company of "Le Roy & Ballard" in 1639Music
( and Letters, vol. XLVI (1965), no. 4, pp. 375–6(htt
p://ml.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/XL
VI/4/375)).
4. Colin Clair: A History of European Printing(London: Academic Press, 1976), p. 213.
5. See Harr, p. 172.
6. Waldo S. Pratt: The History of Music: A Handbook and Guide for Students(New York: G. Schirmer, 1907), p. 155.
7. see Adrian Le Roy (https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060621/http://www
.virtuallybaroque.com/bioleroy.htm) (at
"Virtual Baroque").
8. James Tyler: The Mandore in the 16th and 17th Centuries (http://le.luth.free.fr/mandore/articles/01-T
yler_mandore.p
df).
9. See George J. Buelow:A History of Baroque Music(Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2004), pp. 156f.f

External links
Lute tablature.
Lute songs.
4 Pieces by Le Roy performed on the luteon YouTube
4 songs arranged by Le Royon YouTube.
Free scores by Adrian Le Royat the International Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)

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