Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist, organist, and administrator.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer.

From the period sources

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer, born in Burgundy around 1700-1705, arrived in Paris about 1725, where he quickly gained renown for his singing and his exceptional skill on both the organ and harpsichord, according to A General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1875). Described as a “well-bred man, and of an amiable character,” Royer cultivated connections that led to his advancement at court. He secured a reversionary grant for the position of music-master to the royal family of France, taking possession in 1746. The following year, he was appointed director of the prestigious Concert Spirituel, a role he held until his death, being succeeded by Mondonville in 1755, as noted in A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1900). By 1754, Royer was also named composer of the music for the king’s chamber and inspector-general of the Opéra. His compositions include the operas Pyrrhus, Zaide, Le Pouvoir de l’Amour, Amalsis, and Prométhée, along with many harpsichord lessons, of which only one collection had been published by 1875. He died in January 1755, in his fiftieth year.