The destiny of Annibal Gantez, a composer born in Marseille in 1607, takes us throughout the France of Louis XIII, Richelieu and Louis XIV. So few elements have come to light. Baptised at La Major Cathedral, there is no trace of his early education. His career seems to have ended in Nancy, in the service of Charles IV of Lorraine. Since he is thought to have died at the age of 61 at the earliest, we can imagine his output must been substantial, but only 2 masses, a motet to Louis XIII and a three-voice song for the birth of the Grand Dauphin, Patapatapan, are extant.

On his arrival in Auxerre as maître de chapelle at Saint-Étienne Cathedral, he published his Entretien des musiciens, dedicated to the city’s bishop, Pierre de Broc. This 4-part mass (superius, contra, tenor & bassus) was published as a livre de chœur by Ballard under royal privilege in 1641. It enriches the fine series of 17th & 18th century masses published by the Éditions du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. This series provides a comprehensive and moving picture of the liturgies performed throughout the kingdom, at court, in cathedrals and churches, in Paris and in the provinces.