About Marie Bobillier
Lived 1858 – 1918 (aged 60). Marie Bobillier was a French musicologist, biographer, music critic and writer.
Marie Bobillier, real name Antoinette Christine Marie Bobillier (12 April 1858 – 4 November 1918) was a French musicologist, music critic, writing under her pseudonym Michel Brenet.
Biography Born in Lunéville of a military father, captain and then colonel in the artillery, Marie Bobillier, a single daughter, lived her childhood in several cities, including Strasbourg and Metz, before finally settling in Paris in 1871. She learned to play the piano, but a scarlet fever contracted at the age of thirteen rendered her disabled, influencing her decision to devote her life to research, after having been to the Pasdeloup concerts.
Her first publication, Histoire de la symphonie à orchestre (1882), won a prize in Brussels (Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium), engaging her ever-increasing reputation in the French musicological world. completed and published by Amédée Gastoué in 1926.
Her book Notes sur l’histoire du luth en France paved the way for further research in this area. ("her masterpiece" according to La Laurencie ), Les concerts en France sous l’ancien régime and La librairie musicale en France de 1653 à 1790, where she demonstrates her great scholarship and competence as a music historian. summed up Marie Bobillier's work in one sentence: "It is of exceptional quality, both in terms of the variety of subjects dealt with and the method applied".
As a critic or musicologist, she collaborated with magazines such as (from 1911 to 1913), of which she was one of the founders with Jean Chantavoine (1877–1952), Louis Laloy and Lionel de La Laurencie
Her pseudonym comes from the village of Les Brenets in the Doubs department, where her father's family came from. She died in Paris on 4 November 1918, aged 60.
Works Monographs (a work distinguished by the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium)
(contient : Les musiciens de Philippe le Hardi, Jean de Ockeghem, maître de la chapelle des rois Charles VII et Louis XI, et Essai sur les origines de la musique descriptive par Jacques Mauduit)
Musiciens d’autrefois (Paris, 1912)
Articles (chronological order) Gounod et la musique sacrée ?, Le Correspondant, 10 December 1893 . Quatre femmes musiciennes : Jacquet de La Guerre, Hélène de Montgeroult, Louise Bertin, Louise Farrenc, L’Art 2nd series, volume 4 (1894), (pp. 107–112, 142–147, 177–183/183–187), Jacquet de La Guerre, Hélène de Montgeroult, Louise Bertin et L. Farrenc. Les Opéras féminins, Gazette musicale de la Suisse Romande, 28 February 1895, (pp. 68–72). "Jean Mouton", Tribune de Saint-Gervais 5 (1899), (pp. 323–334). "Guy d’Arezzo", Ponthus Teutonicus et l’abbé Odon », Tribune de Saint-Gervais 8 (1902), (pp. 121). L’amitié de Berlioz et de Liszt, Guide musical 50 (1904), (pp. 595–687). .
Mme de Genlis musicienne, Revue musicale S.I.M. 2 (1912), (pp. 1–14) Read online. (F. Alcan) L'Année musicale 1911 vol. 1 on archive.org, Deux traductions françaises inédites des institutions harmoniques de Zarlino (1911) (pp. 125–144). L'Année musicale 1912 vol. 2 on archive.org, Participe à la bibliographie uniquement L'Année musicale 1913 vol. 3 on archive.org, Bibliographie des bibliographies musicales, Année musicale (1913), (pp. 1–52),
Publisher Marie Bobillier published music scores by Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly at M. Senart (before 1909). 30 caprices, opus 2 (1816) 24 pieces for piano, opus 22 (1858) Pieces for piano, opus 34 (1810) Pieces for piano, opus 47 (1846) Pieces for piano, opus 48 (1848–51) Pieces for piano, opus 50 (1816–1854) Pieces for piano, opus 51 (1853) Pieces for piano, opus 52 (1853) Pieces for piano, opus 55 (1855)
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Important facts
People in Marie Bobillier's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Marie Bobillier's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Marie Bobillier?
French musicologist (1858-1918)
When was Marie Bobillier born?
Marie Bobillier was born on 12 April 1858 in Lunéville.
When did Marie Bobillier die?
Marie Bobillier died on 4 November 1918 in 6th arrondissement of Paris.
What was Marie Bobillier's occupation?
Marie Bobillier was a musicologist, biographer, music critic and writer.
What nationality was Marie Bobillier?
Marie Bobillier was French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Marie Bobillier. https://biography.guide/marie-bobillier/
MLA: "Marie Bobillier." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/marie-bobillier/.
Chicago: "Marie Bobillier." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/marie-bobillier/.
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