Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (29 September 167316 July 1763), also known as Jacques Martin or Jacques Hotteterre, 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 Defi ...
and
flautist
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
who was the most celebrated of a family of wind instrument makers and wind performers.
Biography
Hotteterre was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the son of Martin Hotteterre (d. 1712) and Marie Crespy. In about 1704, Jacques-Martin Hotteterre succeeded his cousin Jacques in the post of ''basse de hautbois et taille de violon'' at the royal court.
Hotteterre lived and studied in Rome early in his career, and his nickname ''le Romain'' (the Roman) came from this period. He spent two years (1698–1700) employed by Prince Francesco
Ruspoli
The House of Ruspoli is historically one of the great aristocratic families of Rome, but is originally from Florence. Following World War II and the fall of Fascism, the newly established Italian Republic officially abolished titles and hereditary ...
in Rome, before adopting the nickname of "Le Romain" at some point between 1705 and 1707. By 1708, he became a musician to the
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
, in the king's Grande Écurie,'' and in 1717, he inherited René Pignon Descoteaux's post as ''Jouëur de Fluste de la musique de chambre''.
Hotteterre owed his fame largely to his talent for playing the
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
, an instrument for which he wrote a number of pieces, significantly extending the repertory for the instrument. In addition, he played the
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed 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 virtuo ...
,
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
, and
musette
Musette may refer to:
Music
* Musette de cour, or baroque musette, a musical instrument of the bagpipe family
* Musette bechonnet, a type of French bagpipe
* Musette bressane, a type of French bagpipe
* Oboe musette, or piccolo oboe, the small ...
. Hotteterre was also an internationally celebrated teacher to aristocratic patrons. He wrote one method for the transverse flute, recorder, and oboe, published in 1707, as well as a method for the musette, published in 1737. His ''L'Art de préluder sur la flûte traversière'' was published in 1719. It was Europe's first flute manual and was used widely.
Several transverse flutes marked HOTTETERRE with the device of an anchor, discovered within the last hundred years or more, have provided actual specimens of the alleged result of the Hotteterres' efforts. Specialists in woodwind history are generally aware of three "Hotteterre" flutes—in Berlin, St. Petersburg and Graz—all of which closely resemble the one in Picart's engraving. However it has recently been shown that two of these are nineteenth-century replicas of a specimen now lost, and only the Graz example is in fact the work of Jacques Hotteterre or his father, Martin.
In addition to performance and teaching, Hotteterre continued his family's tradition of wind instrument making. It may have been Hotteterre who made a number of changes in the design of the transverse flute, though there is little concrete evidence for this. Most notably, the flute, which had previously been made in one cylindrical piece, was cut in three pieces: the head (with the mouthpiece), the body (with most of the holes), and the foot (with one, keyed hole for the low E).
Numerous other members of the Hotteterre family were reputed to have been fine woodwind players; some also had a decisive impact on woodwind instrument construction. Jacques's grandfather Jean (c. 1605 to 1690–1692) was noted for his playing and innovative building. He may have been influential in certain developments in woodwind instruments, and he is credited with creating the oboe. Jean and his son Martin (c. 1640–1712), father of Jacques-Martin, were responsible for important advances in musette making.
A number of recorders by the Hotteterre family also survive, none of which are believed to be by Jacques-Martin.
Jacques-Martin Hotteterre died in Paris in 1763.
Compositions
*Op. 1 ''Principes de la flûte traversière, ou flûte d'Allemangne, de la flûte à bec ou flûte douce et du hautbois, divisez par traictez'' (1707)
*Op. 2 ''Premier livre de pièces pour la flûte traversière et autres instruments avec la basse'' (1708)
*Op. 3 ''Sonates en trio pour les flûtes traversières et a bec, violon, hautbois'' (1712)
*Op. 4 ''Première suitte de pièces suite de pièces à deux dessus, sans basse continue. Pour les flûtes-traversières, flûtes à bec, violes, " (1712)
*Op. 5 ''Deuxième livre de pièces pour la flûte traversière et autres instruments avec la basse'' (1715)
*Op. 6 ''Deuxième suite de pièces à deux dessus pour les flûtes-traversières, flûtes à bec, violes, etc... avec une basse adjoutée et sans altération des dessus, laquelle on y pourra joindre pour le concert" (1717)
*Op. 7 ''L'art de Préluder'' (1719)
*Op. 8 ''Troisième suite de pièces à deux dessus'' (1722)
*Op. 9 ''Concert de Rossignol'' (lost)
*Op. 10 ''Méthode pour la
Musette
Musette may refer to:
Music
* Musette de cour, or baroque musette, a musical instrument of the bagpipe family
* Musette bechonnet, a type of French bagpipe
* Musette bressane, a type of French bagpipe
* Oboe musette, or piccolo oboe, the small ...
contenant des principes, par un recueil d'airs et quelques préludes'' (1738)
*''Airs et brunettes à deux et trois dessus avec la basse – Tirez des meilleurs autheurs'' (1721)
*Arrangements of pieces by Valentine and Torelli for two flutes
*Arrangement of trios by Albinoni (lost)
Media
References
Bibliography
*
Giannini, Tula. 1993a. "Jacques Hotteterre le Romain and his Father Martin: A Re-examination Based on Recently Found Documents". ''
Early Music
Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...
'' XXI, no. 3 (August): 377–395.
ncludes genealogical chart, illustrations, transcriptions and translations of documents.*Giannini, Tula. 1993b. ''Great Flute Makers of France, the Lot and Godfroy Families (1650–1900)''. London: Tony Bingham.
*Sardelli, Federico Maria. 2007. ''Vivaldi's Music for Flute and Recorder'', translated by Michael Talbot. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, in association with the Istituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi/Fondazione "Giorgio Cini".
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotteterre, Jacques-Martin
1673 births
1763 deaths
Musicians from Paris
18th-century classical composers
18th-century French composers
18th-century French male musicians
Flute makers
French Baroque composers
French classical bassoonists
French male classical composers
French classical flautists
17th-century male musicians