Few details of his life are known; for example, neither the names of his parents, nor the precise dates of his birth and death. Research has revealed that his first name was Jean (other sources mention the name of Augustine of Autrecourt, Sieur de Sainte-Colombe) and also that he had as teacher the theorbo and viola player,
Nicolas Hotman. Sainte-Colombe performed publicly in the Parisian Salons, as did most of his colleagues and music masters such as Le Sieur Dubuisson. According to Titon du Tillet, he often performed in consort with his two daughters and with his own students, as attested by the copyist who wrote out his pieces for two viols as well as the solo-viol Tournus Manuscript. Sainte-Colombe's most notable student was
Marin Marais, who wrote
Tombeau pour Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, in 1701, as a memorial to his instructor. Sainte-Colombe's students also included the
Sieur de Danoville,
Jean Desfontaines,
Pierre Méliton,
Jean Rousseau and two women known only as Mlle Rougevillle and Mlle Vignon. Amongst the extant works of Sainte-Colombe are sixty-seven
Concerts à deux violes esgales, and over 170 pieces for solo seven-string viol, making him perhaps the most prolific French viol composer before Marin Marais. ==Family history==