Germain Pinel was born in Paris around 1600. His father, Pierre Pinel, was also a lutenist. Germain was cited as master of the lute in 1630. In 1645 he entered the service of Marguerite of Lorraine, Duchess of Orléans. From 1647 he was called to teach the lute to the young Louis XIV, then aged nine. From 1656 he was one of the musicians of the King’s Chamber for the lute and theorbo. In 1658 his post passed to his son Séraphin. He died in October 1661.

More than 80 surviving pieces for lute, and two for theorbo, are attributed to Pinel. One-third of these come from the manuscript Ms. Schwerin 641, written around 1651. Most of his compositions are dances: allemandes, courantes, sarabandes and gigues. In 2014 the lutenist Miguel Serdoura recorded an album devoted to him, “Les Rois de Versailles”, for Brilliant Classics.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germain_Pinel
• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3104135