François-René Gebauer (15 March 1773 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, France – 28 July 1845 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French composer, professor, and

bassoonist The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

and the son of a German military musician. He had four brothers, Michel-Joseph Gebauer (1763–1812), Pierre-Paul Gebauer, Jean-Luc Gebauer, and Étienne-François Gebauer, all of whom were also musicians and composers. The brothers played together in a quintet that was modeled on woodwind quintet instrumentation but modified by removing the flute parts to include their brother Jean-Luc, who was a percussionist. The quintet received favorable reviews from critics, who found the music to be "unusually lively for a wind quintet" and "full of earthly elegance". He took music lessons first with his brother Michel-Joseph Gebauer, which ended soon due to artistic differences between the two. He then took lessons with

François Devienne François Devienne (; 31 January 1759 – 5 September 1803) was a French composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period and professor for flute at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatory. Career Devienne was born in Joinvill ...

, which proved to be more successful. In 1788 he joined the

Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...

in Versailles as a bassoonist. In 1790 he joined the orchestra of the ''Musique de la garde nationale de Paris''. From 1801 to 1826 he was a bassoonist in the orchestra of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. In 1795 he was appointed professor of bassoon at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, a post he held until 1802 and then from 1824 to 1838. His most famous work was ''Duos Concertants'', Op. 48, for horn and bassoon, which featured repetitive rhythmic motifs in phase shifting patterns and strikingly modern asymmetrical melodies. The most memorable effect he achieved with this piece was the portrayal of

schadenfreude Schadenfreude (; ; "harm-joy") is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, pain, suffering, or humiliation of another. It is a loanword from German. Schadenfreude ...

through jarring note patterns in the bassoon line.

Works

Works for orchestra

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 "

Au clair de la lune "" (, ) is a French Folk music, folk song of the 18th century. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. Its simple melody () is commonly taught to beginners learning an instrument. Lyrics The song appears as early as 1820 i''Les Voitures Verse� ...

" for bassoon and orchestra

Works for wind ensemble

* ''Pas de manœuvre'' (No. 1) * ''Pas de manœuvre'' (No. 2)

Chamber music

* Six arias from ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

for two bassoons (1816) *#

Ecco, ridente in cielo "" is a cavatina from Gioachino Rossini's 1816 opera ''The Barber of Seville'', sung by the tenor Count Almaviva, disguised as the poor student Lindoro, at the beginning of act 1. Music The aria is an example of the bel canto style. The key signat ...

Largo al factotum "" (Make way for the factotum) is an aria (''cavatina'') from ''The Barber of Seville'' by Gioachino Rossini, sung at the first entrance of the title character, Figaro. The repeated "Figaro"s before the final patter section are an icon in popular ...

*# Una voce poco fa *# Dunque io son *# Zitti zitti, piano piano *# Di si felice innesto * Six Concert Duos, Op. 2, for two clarinets * Six Concert Duos, Op. 8, for clarinet and bassoon * "Menuet du Diable" for bassoon * Three wind quintets * Three arias from ''The Barber of Seville'' by Gioachino Rossini for two Bassoons *# Ecco ridente in cielo *# Una voce poco fa *# Largo al factorum * Nocturno Nr. 2 of arias by

Wolfgang Amadeus 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 ...

and Gioachino Rossini for bassoon and piano * Three quartets, Op. 20, for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon * Three quartets, Op. 27, for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon * Ten trios for three bassoons, Op. 33 (also for violin, cello and bassoon) * 3 quartets, Op. 37, for horn, violin, viola and double bass * Quartet in G minor, Op. 41, for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon * Three trios for flute, clarinet and bassoon, Op. 42 * Duos concertants, Op. 44, for two bassoons * Duos concertants, Op. 48, for horn in F and bassoon * Three trios for clarinet, horn und bassoon * Variations sur "Au clair de la lune" for two bassoons

Works

Works for orchestra

Works for wind ensemble

Chamber music

References

Further reading