Jean Lionnet, 1935–98

Abstract

When Tess Knighton decided in 1995 to enlarge the international advisory team of Early music one of her appointments was Jean Lionnet, who became the first French consultant editor. It was a natural choice. Not only did Lionnet occupy a central position in one of France's most lively and active musicological organizations-the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles (CMBV)-but he felt himself particularly close to the aims and aspirations of Early music. Readers will thus be saddened by news of his premature death in October, at the age of 63. Few musicologists can have lived quite such a diverse or colourful life as Jean Lionnet. Indeed, there is scarcely a hint in his early biography of the scholarly achievements to come. Born in Versailles in 1935, he would have pursued a naval career had it not been for imperfect eyesight. He subsequently trained as a sound engineer and, after a period of military service in Algeria, joined the French film industry. By the late 1960s he had established himself in Rome as sound engineer at Cinefonico (1966-70) and Studio International Recording (1971-7). There he collaborated with such distinguished directors as Federico Fellini (Amacord), Michelangelo Antonioni (The passenger), Joseph Losey (L'assassinat de Trotsky) and with Luchino Visconti on his last four films.