Claude Balbastre (8 December 1724 – 9 May 1799) was a French
composer,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...
,
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecÃn; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...
ist and
fortepianist. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time.
Life
Claude Balbastre was born in Dijon in 1724. Although his exact birthdate has been disputed, the discovery of his baptismal record has now made that date, 8 December, certain.
Balbastre's father, Bénigne, a church organist in Dijon, had 18 children from two marriages; Claude was the 16th. Three of his brothers were also named Claude. He is often confused with younger brother Claude-Bénigne Balbastre (22 Jan. 1727-before 22 March 1737). (He received his first music lessons from his father, then became a pupil of
Claude Rameau Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
, the younger brother of
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...
, the most famous French musician at the time and also a native of Dijon.
Balbastre settled in Paris in 1750 and studied there with
Pierre Février, whom he succeeded as organist of the
Saint Roch church.
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...
helped and protected Balbastre when he settled in the city, so Balbastre was quickly and efficiently introduced to the Parisian musical circles and high society, and made a brilliant career: he played at the ''
Concert Spirituel
The Concert Spirituel ( en, Spiritual Concert) was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, Londo ...
'' until 1782,
[Sadie, S.(ed), The Norton/Grove Concise Encyclopaedia of Music, Norton, 1994, p.54] became organist of the
Notre-Dame cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
and of the ''Chapelle Royale'', became harpsichordist to the French royal court where he taught queen
Marie-Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
, and became organist for Louis-Stanislas-Xavier,
Count of Provence
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
, who later became
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
,
King of France
France was ruled by Monarch, monarchs from the establishment of the West Francia, Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Cl ...
. Balbastre's fame was so great that the Archbishop of Paris,
Christophe de Beaumont had to forbid him to play at Saint Roch during some of the services, because the churches were always crowded when Balbastre played.
An account of one of these services at Saint Roch is provided by Dr
Charles Burney
Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist ...
who recounts that, on Sunday 17 June 1770, he left a dinner early in order to hear the "celebrated" Balbastre play the organ at Saint Roch. Balbastre "''performed in all styles in accompanying the choir. When the
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical service ...
was sung, he played likewise between each verse several minuets, fugues, imitations, and every species of music, even to hunting pieces and jigs, without surprising or offending the congregation, as far as I was able to discover.''"
[Preface to Curtis (ed.), CB Balbastre : Pièces de Clavecin d'Orgue, de Forte Piano, Huegel, 1973, p. VIII]
Burney visited Balbastre at home and reported that the latter owned a very beautiful harpsichord by
Ruckers
The Ruckers family (variants: Ruckaert, Ruckaerts, Rucqueer, Rueckers, Ruekaerts, Ruijkers, Rukkers, Rycardt) were harpsichord and virginal makers from the Southern Netherlands based in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century. Their influence stre ...
: "''After church M. Balbastre invited me to his house, to see a fine Rucker harpsichord which he has had painted inside and out with as much delicacy as the finest coach or even snuff-box I ever saw at Paris.''" He also reported that he owned a "''very large organ, with pedals, which it may be necessary for a French organist to have for practice; it is too large and coarse for a chamber, and the keys are as noisy as those at St. Roque (sic).''" Burney reports that Balbastre was on very good terms with his fellow composer
Armand-Louis Couperin, to whom he introduced Burney, remarking "''I was glad to see two eminent men of the same profession, so candid and friendly together.''"
In 1763, he married Marie-Geneviève Hotteterre, daughter of
Jacques Martin Hotteterre
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (29 September 167316 July 1763), also known as Jacques Martin or Jacques Hotteterre, was a French composer and flautist who was the most celebrated of a family of wind instrument makers and wind performers.
Biograp ...
and descendant of the famous family of Norman musicians. During the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, Balbastre's connection with nobility and the royal court might have endangered his life, but he adapted to the new political situation, playing the Revolutionary hymns and songs on his organ. He did lose his official posts and, temporarily, his pension. He died in Paris in 1799.
Works
Balbastre's best-known compositions include the following:
*14 organ concertos (all lost but one)
*
quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...
sonatas
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
*two collections of harpsichord pieces (from 1748 and 1759)
*four ''noëls variés'' suites for the organ or
fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. M ...
(1770).
*
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...
on
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du ...
: ''Marche des Marseillois et l’Air Ça-ira Arrangés pour le Forte Piano / Par le Citoyen C. Balbastre / Aux braves défenseurs de la République française l’an 1792 1er de la République''
See also
*
List of French harpsichordists
This article lists 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 de Cham ...
*
French organ school
References
External links
*
*Listen t
Petite chasse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbastre, Claude
French male classical composers
French Classical-period composers
Composers for harpsichord
French classical organists
French male organists
French harpsichordists
1724 births
1799 deaths
Musicians from Dijon
18th-century classical composers
18th-century French composers
18th-century French male musicians
Male classical organists