Pierre Attaingnant 1494 – 1552

Biography

Pierre Attaingnant was a French music printer and composer born on January 1, 1494, in Douai. He spent much of his career in Paris, where he became a pioneering figure in the dissemination of music during the Renaissance. His work as a printer was instrumental in making musical compositions accessible to a wider audience during a transformative period in European musical history.

Throughout his life, Attaingnant balanced his roles as both a skilled printer and a creative composer. His contributions to the field of music printing helped establish new standards for the reproduction and distribution of musical scores, making significant works available to musicians and scholars across France and beyond. His dual expertise allowed him to understand the technical and artistic demands of his profession with unusual depth.

Attaingnant remained active in Paris until his death on January 1, 1552, exactly fifty-eight years after his birth. Though details of his final years and burial place remain undocumented, his legacy as a music printer and composer endured long after his passing, influencing how music would be produced and shared for centuries to come.