François-Joseph Gossec (17 January 1734 – 16 February 1829) was a French composer of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinists ...

s, symphonies, and choral works.

Life and work

The son of a small farmer, Gossec was born at the village of Vergnies, then a French

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

, now an '' ancienne commune'' in the municipality of

Froidchapelle Froidchapelle (; pcd, Frèchecapelle; wa, Fritchapelle) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Froidchapelle had a total population of 3,626. The total area is 86.03 km2 which gives a p ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Showing an early taste for music, he became a choir-boy in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. He went to Paris in 1751 and was taken on by the composer

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, 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 Fr ...

. He followed Rameau as the conductor of a private orchestra kept by the '' fermier général'' Le Riche de La Poupelinière, a wealthy amateur and patron of music. Gradually he became determined to do something to revive the study of instrumental music in France. Gossec's own first symphony was performed in 1754, and as conductor to the

Prince de Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's orchestra he produced several operas and other compositions of his own. He imposed his influence on French music with remarkable success. His ''Requiem'' premiered in 1760, a ninety-minute piece which made him famous overnight. Years later, in 1778,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

visited Gossec during a trip to Paris, and described him in a letter to his father as "a very good friend and a very dry man." Gossec founded the '' Concert des Amateurs'' in 1769 and in 1773 he reorganised 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 ...

'' together with

Simon Le Duc Simon Le Duc, more commonly Leduc (Paris, 15 January 1742 22 January 1777), was a French violinist, soloist at the Concert Spirituel, music publisher and composer. His younger brother, Pierre Le Duc (1755–1818), was also a violinist. Leduc was a ...

and

Pierre Gaviniès Pierre Gaviniès (11 May 1728 – 8 September 1800) was a French violinist, pedagogue and composer. Life Born in Bordeaux as the son of a luthier, Gaviniès was taken to Paris by his father in 1734. At age 13, he made his debut at the Concert Spi ...

. In this concert series he conducted his own symphonies as well as those by his contemporaries, particularly works by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, whose music had become increasingly popular in Paris, finally even superseding Gossec's symphonic work. In the 1780s Gossec's symphonic output decreased as he began concentrating on operas. He organized the ''École de Chant'' in 1784, together with Etienne Méhul, was conductor of the band of the ''Garde Nationale'' of 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 considere ...

, and was appointed (with Méhul and Luigi Cherubini) inspector of the ''Conservatoire de Musique'' at its creation in 1795. He was an original member of the ''Institut'' and a ''

chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

'' of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. In 1803, he met

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

whom admired Gossec very much and asked him if he wanted to work under him which Gossec refused. In 1815, after the defeat of his friend Napoleon at Waterloo, the Conservatoire was closed for some time by

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 ...

, and the eighty-one-year-old Gossec had to retire. Until 1817 he worked on his last compositions, including a third ''

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

'', and was supported by a pension granted by the Conservatoire. He died in the Parisian suburb of Passy. The funeral service was attended by former colleagues, including Cherubini, at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

in Paris. His grave is near those of Méhul and Grétry. Some of his techniques anticipated the innovations of the Romantic era: he scored his ''Te Deum'' for 1200 singers and 300 wind instruments, and several oratorios require the physical separation of multiple choirs, including invisible ones behind the stage. He wrote several works in honor of 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 considere ...

, including ''Le Triomphe de la République'', and ''L'Offrande à la Liberté''. Gossec's ''

Gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. Ac ...

'', from his opera ''Rosine, ou L'épouse abandonnée'' (1786), remains familiar in popular culture because

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

and Charles M. Jones used arrangements of it in several

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

cartoons. Arguably the most notable of these is Porky Pig’s dance to an uncredited version of Gossec’s Gavotte in Jones’ ‘’Porky’s Cafe’’ (1942).Soundtrack, Porky’s Cafe, IMDB, https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0035202/soundtrack Gossec was little known outside France, and his own numerous compositions, sacred and secular, were overshadowed by those of more famous composers; but he was an inspiration to many, and powerfully stimulated the revival of instrumental music.

Works

Symphonies

* Sei sinfonie a più strumenti op. 4 (1759) * Sei sinfonie a più strumenti op. 5 (1761) * Six symphonies op. 6 (1762) * Six symphonies à grand orchestre op. 12 (1769) * Deux symphonies (1773) * Symphonie (c. 1771-1774) * Symphonie (c. 1771-1774) * Symphonie en fa majeur (1774) * Symphonie de chasse (1776) * Symphonie en ré (1776) * Symphonie en ré (1777) * Symphonie concertante en fa majeur , à plusieurs instruments (1778) * Symphonie en do majeur for wind orchestra (1794) * Symphonie à 17 parties de Gossec, Symphonie à 17 parties en fa majeur (1809)

Chamber music

*Sei sonate a due violini e basso, Op. 1 (c. 1753) *Sei quartetti per flauto e violino o sia per due violini, alto e basso, Op. 14 (1769) *Six quatuors à deux violons, alto et basse, Op. 15 (1772)

Vocal and choral works

*Messe des morts (Requiem) (1760) *''La Nativité'', oratorio (1774) *Te Deum (1779) *''Te Deum à la Fête de la Fédération'' for three voices, men's chorus and wind orchestra (1790) *''Hymne sur la translation du corps de

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

'' for three voices, men's chorus and wind orchestra (1791) *''Le Chant du 14 juillet'' (

Marie-Joseph Chénier Marie-Joseph Blaise de Chénier (11 February 1764 – 10 January 1811) was a French poet, dramatist and politician of French and Greek origin. Biography The younger brother of André Chénier, Joseph Chénier was born at Constantinople, but ...

) for three voices, men's chorus and wind orchestra (1791) *Dernière messe des vivants, for four voices, chorus and orchestra (1813)

Operas

*''Le tonnelier'', opéra comique (1765) *''Le faux Lord'', opéra comique (1765) *''Les pêcheurs'', opéra comique en 1 act (1766) *''Toinon et Toinette'', opéra comique (1767) *''Le double déguisement'', opéra comique (1767) *''Les agréments d'Hylas et Sylvie'', pastorale (1768) *'' Sabinus'', tragédie lyrique (1773) *''Berthe'', opera (1775, not extant) *''Alexis et Daphné'', pastorale (1775) *''Philémon et Baucis'', pastorale (1775) *''La fête de village'', intermezzo (1778) *''Thésée'', tragédie lyrique (1782) *''Nitocris'', opera (1783) *''Rosine, ou L'épouse abandonnée'', opera (1786) *''Le triomphe de la République, ou Le camp de Grandpré'', divertissement-lyrique en 1 acte, (Chénier) (1794) – includes a famous ''Tambourin''. *''Les sabots et le cerisier'', opera (1803)

Notes

References

*Thibaut, W., ''François Joseph Gossec, Chantre de la Révolution française'', (1970)

External links

Life and detailed work list

François-Joseph Gossec: "Le Tyrtée de la Révolution" – the official composer of the French Revolution
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gossec, Francois Joseph 1734 births 1829 deaths 19th-century Belgian male musicians Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers Belgian opera composers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Classical-period composers Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Directors of the Conservatoire de Paris Directors of the Paris Opera Male opera composers String quartet composers Walloon people