Joseph-Hector Fiocco (20 January 1703 – 21 June 1741), born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, was a

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

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

of the late

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 ...

period. His father, the Italian composer Pietro Antonio Fiocco, and one of his older step-brothers

Jean-Joseph Fiocco Jean-Joseph Fiocco (15 December 1686 – 30 March 1746) was a Flemish composer of the high and late Baroque period. His father was the Venetian composer Pietro Antonio Fiocco (1654–1714), and his brothers included the violinist Joseph-Hector. ...

gave him much of his musical education. He also learned Greek and Latin well enough to be able to become a school teacher in both those subjects. Joseph Hector Fiocco worked under his stepbrother's direction at the Ducal Chapel of the Notre-Dame du Sablon most sources cite some time before 1730. In 1730, Joseph Hector became sous-maitre (submaster) of the Notre-Dame du Sablon; he did not keep this position for long, because he resigned in 1731 to become sangmeester (choirmaster) at

Antwerp Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's seat of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. It was construct ...

. At Antwerp (1731–37) he was in charge of the music. In 1737 he returned to his birthplace and worked in the Collegiate Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula (future cathedral of Brussels). He died in Brussels at the age of 38. In connection with his cathedral employment, Fiocco wrote many choral works, including

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s and

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

settings. Some of his most significant compositions are ''Lamentations du Jeudi Saint'', a ''

Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass.Mass
, ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. N.p., Appleton, 1910. 797. and is a genre of < ...

'' and ''Pièces de Clavecin''. His two suites for

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 ...

were dedicated to the

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot ...

, and they incorporate French and Italian styles. The first suite begins in the style of

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 ...

and ends with four Italian-style movements: ''Adagio, Allegro, Andante'', and ''Vivace''. He is also known to

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

violin students for his ''Allegro'', which is part of the Book Six Suzuki violin repertoire (and has been recorded by

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

and

Augustin Hadelich Augustin Hadelich (born April 4, 1984) is an Italian-German-American Grammy-winning classical violinist. Early life and education Augustin Hadelich was born in Cecina, Italy, to German parents. His two older brothers were already playing cello ...

, among others). This piece has also been arranged for string quartet, and is sometimes heard at weddings.

Sources

* *Stellfeld, Christiane. Les Fiocco, une famille de musiciens belges aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Imprint russels, Palace of Academies, 1941">Palace_of_Academies.html" ;"title="russels, Palace of Academies">russels, Palace of Academies, 1941172 pages, 3 leaves, illustrations (including ports., facsimiles, music) 29 c

External links

* 1703 births 1741 deaths Composers from the Austrian Netherlands Baroque composers Classical composers Male classical composers 18th-century classical violinists Male classical violinists 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians Composers for harpsichord {{Composer-stub