Jean-Pierre Guignon, ''né'' Giovanni Pietro Ghignone (10 February 1702 – 30 January 1774) was an 18th-century Franco-Italian

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 ...

and

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

Life

Born in Turin, Guignon was the son of a merchant from this city and a disciple of

Giovanni Battista Somis Giovanni Battista Somis (December 25, 1686 – August 14, 1763) was an Italian violinist and composer of the Baroque music era. He studied under Arcangelo Corelli between 1703 and 1706 or 1707. He was later appointed solo violinist to the ...

. He gave his first performance in Paris in 1725. He became a musician in the chapel of the Prince of Savoie-Carignan in 1730, a position he retained for about 20 years. At the same time, he was admired by the queen and also entered the royal chapel in 1733, where he remained until his pension in 1762. His merits as a violinist earned him the nickname of "Roy des violonistes", i.e. director of the , a title which was then in disuse and which would be deleted after him. The performances of his own concertos and those of the Venetian master

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

at the

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel () 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 with the same name occurred in multiple places including Paris, Vienna ...

were received with great success. A viola da gamba piece and a solo harpsichord piece by Antoine Forqueray bears his name: ''La Guignon,'' published in 1747 by Forqueray's son Jean-Baptiste. However, the similarity of age between Guignon and Jean-Baptiste may indicate that Jean-Baptiste actually wrote the pieces, and published them in his father's name.

Royal Maître des Ménétriers

In 1741, king

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

granted him French nationality and the title of "Royal Master of the Menetriers". Guignon thus supervised the singers and dancers of the kingdom, officially becoming the first violin of the time. Guignon died 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 ...

aged 71.

Selected works

* 18 duets for two violins (Op. II, III and VII), * 17 violin sonatas with basso continuo (Op. I and VI) * 1 sonata for transverse flute with basso continuo (Op. I No 8) * 12

trio sonata The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. It originated in the early 17th century and was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era. Basic structure T ...

s (Op. IV and V) * His violin concertos, masses and other compositions were not printed.

External links

*
Jean Pierre Guignon, Sonate op.II n.1
on YouTube
Jean-Pierre Guignon
on Musicalics {{DEFAULTSORT:Guignon, Jean-Pierre French male classical violinists Italian classical violinists 18th-century French composers French Baroque composers French male classical composers 1702 births Musicians from Turin 1774 deaths 17th-century male musicians 18th-century French violinists 18th-century French male musicians