Christophe Moyreau (4 April 1700 – 11 May 1774) was a French
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
and
harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
Orléans Cathedral
Orléans Cathedral ( French: ''Basilique Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the city of Orléans, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Orléans. Built on the ruins of a Roman temple from ...
.
Works
Moyreau's surviving oeuvre consists of 6 ''livres'' of
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mus ...
music. None of the pieces are dated, but it is known that Moyreau got a publication privilege on 30 January 1753 and that all six collections were published the same year, engraved by Marie-Charlotte Vendôme, one of the finest engravers of the era; who was also responsible for the first publication of
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's music in 1764 (
KV6
Tomb KV6 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings is the final resting place of the 20th-Dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses IX. However, the archaeological evidence and the quality of decoration it contains indicates that the tomb was not finished in time for Ram ...
and
KV7
Tomb KV7 was the tomb of Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great"), an ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the Nineteenth Dynasty.
It is located in the Valley of the Kings opposite the tomb of his sons, KV5, and near to the tomb of his son and successor M ...
). Moyreau dedicated the pieces to
Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (12 May 1725 – 18 November 1785), known as ''le Gros'' (the Fat), was a French royal of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The First Prince of the Blood after 1752, he was the most senior male at th ...
(the full title read: ''Pièces de clavecin dédiées à Son Altesse Sérénissime Monseigneur le Duc d’Orléans''). Only one exemplar of books I-II survives, and two of books III-VI.
The dance
suite
Suite may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition
** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach
** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó
** ''Suite' ...
s from books I-V are particularly notable for their length and variety of included pieces. A single suite may contain as many as 26 movements (which is far more than in any other suite ever composed), usually beginning with an introductory
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
followed by several standard dance movements. The movements that come after these are usually pieces with descriptive titles, not unlike
Couperin
The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coup ...
's, highly varied in style and mood. Livre 6, uniquely for French harpsichord music, consists of several three-movement keyboard ''simphonies'' written in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
style.
Contemporary sources also mention a treatise by Moyreau, ''Petit abrégé des principes de musique par demandes et réponses'' (1753), which has been conserved at Orléans (Médiathèque), at the
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
of Ithaca and at the
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...
of Chicago (USA).
In 2022, Brilliant Classics released a 7-CD set of Moyreau's "Complete Harpsichord Music" with Fernando De Luca, harpsichord (catalogue number 96285). The instrument is a Blanchet copy and the recordings took place at the Palazzo Annibaldeschi, Monte Compatri, Rome, Italy.
Recordings
French Collection (2017); Katarzyna Kowalik (harpsichord); Recording includes La Chinoisse and La Japonoisse (op. 1).
See also
*
List of French harpsichordists
This article lists France, French composers who wrote for the harpsichord during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Chronology
1640–1710: Beginnings of harpsichord music in France
*Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629–1691)
*Jacques Champion ...
References
* TURELLIER (François), 'Christophe Moyreau (1700–1774) : organiste, claveciniste et compositeur orléanais', Bulletin de la Société Archéologique et Historique de l'Orléanais, Nouvelle série, T. XIX, N° 161, Décembre 2009, p. 5-39 (''errata'' in : BSAHO, Nouvelle série, T. XX, N° 163, 1er semestre 2010, p. 134).
* HEAU (Gérard), 'Christophe Moyreau musicien d’Orléans (1700–1774) et sa famille', onnery Typewriting, 1984, 12 p.