Jean (Jehan) Titelouze (c. 1562/63 – 24 October 1633) was a French Catholic priest, composer, poet and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
His work was not limited to Rouen: he also acted as organ consultant and helped with the installation and repair of important instruments in various cities.
In 1613, he won his first award from Rouen's literary society, the Académie des Palinods, for his poems.
The same year, due to health problems, Titelouze partially retired from his organist position (although he kept the post until his death).
[2] Titelouze was a friend of Marin Mersenne, an important French music theorist, mathematician, philosopher and theologian.
As an example, the Parisian composer and organist Nicolas Gigault included a fugue à la maniere de Titelouze (literally "in Titelouze's style") in his 1685 Livre de musique pour l'orgue.
Some three hundred years later, the composer inspired one of Marcel Dupré's organ works, Le Tombeau de Titelouze, op.
[3] The second collection, Le Magnificat ou Cantique de la Vierge pour toucher sur l'orgue suivant les huit tons de l'Église, published in 1626, contains eight Magnificat settings in all eight church modes.
According to the prefaces of both collections, he was concerned with making his pieces easier to play and playable by hands alone.