Pierre Vachon (3 June 1738 – 7 October 1803) was a French

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 ...

. Vachon was born in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, France. He wrote around thirty

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s, various chamber works,

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s, and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l pieces. He studied the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

with Carlo Chiabrano 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 ...

and first performed on 24 December 1756, 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 ...

, playing one of his own compositions. He also performed as first violinist in the orchestra of the

Prince of Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km southwest ...

. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

at the age of 65.

Selected works

*Op. 1, 6 sonatas for violin and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

*Op. 4, 6 trios for two violins and basso continuo *Op. 5 (c. 1775), 6 string quartets #In A major #In G minor #In F minor #In B-flat major #In A major #In E-flat major *Op. 6 (1776?), 6 string quartets, published in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, different from the 1773 op. 6 # - # - # - # - # - #In D major *Op. 7 (1773), 6 string quartets #In F major #In D major #In E-flat major #In B-flat major #In D minor #In C minor *Op. 9 (1774), 6 string quartets (lost) *Op. 11 (1782), 6 string quartets #In A major #In E major #In G major #In B major #In F minor #In C minor *Opera: ''Renaud D'Ast'' (Comedy in two acts mixed with ariettes. Premiered 12 October 1765) *Opera: ''Les femmes et le secret'' (9 November 1767) *Opera: ''Sara, La fermière écossaise'' (in two acts) (8 May 1773)

References

External links

musicologie.org
Biography, works, bibliography * 1738 births 1803 deaths 18th-century French composers French Classical-period composers French opera composers French male opera composers French string quartet composers Musicians from Avignon {{France-composer-stub