a French composer of the baroque period. He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Haute-Marne, France, and only later added "Montéclair" (the name of a fortress in his home town) to his name. Little is known of his life, and there are no known portraits. He was the son of a weaver; his entrance into the choir school at the age of nine may have been the only chance of escaping the poverty of a weaver's life. In 1687, he went to Paris and joined the orchestra of the Opera, where he played the basse de violon. Montéclair was not greatly productive as a composer, but was an innovator in orchestration who had a significant influence on the development of the art form.
