Biography
Le Jeune served as both composer and musician at the court of the Duke of Anjou before later taking up the same duties under Henry IV. As a Protestant he endured repeated religious persecution and at one point had to escape Paris amid Catholic attacks. A principal advocate of musique mesuree a l'antique along with several other forward-looking ideas, he exerted considerable influence on French musical practice during his era. By testing new approaches to rhythm and harmony he reworked ancient procedures and merged them with developments from the two preceding centuries. His compositions stand out for their refined character and novel rhythmic designs; they stayed in favor across the seventeenth century and helped shape the air de cour, the ballet de cour, and Monteverdi’s Scherzi musicali.