Biography.guide
Home › People › Librarian › Catherine Massip
Portrait of Catherine Massip

Catherine Massip

b. 1946

French librarian, musicologist and music historian

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Catherine Massip

Born 1946. Catherine Massip is a French librarian, musicologist, university teacher and archivist.

Catherine Massip (born 12 May 1946) is a French curator of libraries and musicologist.

Biography A student of the École nationale des chartes, Massip obtained there her archivist palaeographer diploma in 1973 with a thesis entitled Les musiciens à Paris au milieu du XVIIe (1643–1661). Institutions et condition sociale. She also won first prizes at the conservatoire de Paris both in music history and musicology. She is also the holder of a State doctorate.

In 1973, she was appointed a curator at the . She spent her entire career there and headed the department from 1988 to 2012. She was appointed General curator in 1992.

At the same time, she taught modern musicology (16th to 20th centuries) as Director of Studies at the École pratique des hautes études and was a researcher at the Institute of Research on Musical Heritage in France. The Institute became the IReMus (Institut de Recherche en Musicologie) on 1 January 2014. Massip has been president of the French association of musicologists Société française de musicologie from 2005 to 2008.

Works In addition to numerous articles in scientific journals, she is the author of: Michel-Richard Delalande. Le Lully latin, Geneva, Papillon, 2005, 160 p. (Collection Mélophiles). Hector Berlioz. La Voix du romantisme, in collaboration with Cécile Reynaud, exhibition catalogue, Paris, BNF, 2003, 264 p.

L’art de bien chanter : Michel Lambert (1610–1696), Paris, Société française de musicologie, 1999, 412 p. Catalogue des manuscrits musicaux antérieurs à 1800 conservés au département de la Musique de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, under the direction of Cécile Grand and Catherine Massip. A et B. Paris, BnF, 1999. XVII-529 p. Au cœur du baroque : les vingt ans des Arts Florissants, in collaboration with Marie-José Kerhoas, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra, Sept. Dec. 1999. Portrait(s) de Darius Milhaud, under the direction of Myriam Chimènes and Catherine Massip, Paris, BnF, 1998, 151 p. À l'occasion de l'exposition « Les mythologies de Darius Milhaud » April–June 1999, including "Repères chronologiques", (pp. 57–91). André Gedalge, exhibition catalogue, in collaboration with Myriam Chimènes Paris, BnF, 1996. Hommage à Olivier Messiaen, exhibition catalogue, Paris, BnF, 1996. Portrait(s) d’Olivier Messiaen, under the direction of Catherine Massip, Paris, BnF, 1996. 175 p. including Regards sur Olivier Messiaen, textes réunis par Catherine Massip (pp. 6–37). Wagner, le Ring en images, in collaboration with Elisabeth Vilatte, exhibition catalogue, Paris, BNF, 1994. Don Juan (commissariat général), exhibition catalogue, Paris, BnF, 1991. Le Chant d’Euterpe, Paris, Hervas (BNP/BN), 1991, 188 p. (Iconographie musicale à la BnF). La France et la Russie au Siècle des Lumières, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Moscow, Leningrad (Hermitage Museum), 1987. Musiques anciennes (dation de Chambure), exhibition catalogue, in collaboration with François Lesure, Josiane BranRicci, Florence Gétreau (Abondance), Paris, BnF, 1980.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
École des chartes
Employers
École pratique des hautes études, Les Arts Florissants, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)
Awards
Knight of the Legion of Honour; Officer of the National Order of Merit; Commander of the National Order of Merit

People in Catherine Massip's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Catherine Massip's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Catherine Massip?

French librarian, musicologist and music historian

When was Catherine Massip born?

Catherine Massip was born on 12 May 1946 in Paris.

What is Catherine Massip's occupation?

Catherine Massip is a librarian, musicologist, university teacher and archivist.

What nationality is Catherine Massip?

Catherine Massip is French.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Catherine Massip

· Wikidata: Q2941994

· DBpedia: Catherine Massip

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Catherine Massip. https://biography.guide/catherine-massip/

MLA: "Catherine Massip." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/catherine-massip/.

Chicago: "Catherine Massip." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/catherine-massip/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:58 UTC