Jean-Baptiste Sebastien Bréval (6 November 1753 – 18 March 1823) was a French
cellist
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
and
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 ...
. He wrote mostly for his own instrument, including pedagogical works as well as virtuoso display pieces.
Life
Bréval was born in Paris, and went on to study with François Cupis (1735-1810) and
Martin Berteau
Martin Berteau (2 February 1691 in Valenciennes – 23 January 1771 in Angers) was a French classical cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of cello playing.
Life
Descriptions of Berte ...
. By 1774, he was an active cello teacher. In 1775, he published his opus 1, six concertante quartets. In 1776, he became a member of the «Société Académique des Enfants d'Apollon». Kicking off his career by performing one of his
sonata
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
s at a Concert Spirituel in 1778, he became a member of their orchestra from 1781 to 1791, and from 1791 to 1800 he played in the orchestra of the Théâtre Feydeau.
Later he became involved in the administration of the «Concerts de la rue de Cléry» and a member of the Paris Opera orchestra. He retired from the orchestra in 1816. The ''Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung'' states that Bréval taught at the Conservatoire although this can not be verified by Conservatoire documents. However, Bréval's compositions were definitely used for instruction at the Conservatoire. Bréval died in Colligis,
Aisne
Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.rondo form, or a one movement work using
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...
. His later works, such as ''Symphonie concertante for clarinet, horn and bassoon'', Op. 38 (c1795), show diversity and experimentation. His concertos, written for his own performance, were influenced by
Giovanni Battista Viotti
Giovanni Battista Viotti (12 May 1755 – 3 March 1824) was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness. He was also a director of French and Italia ...
who utilized a precise thematic organization interjected with virtuosic passages.
Bréval is most well known for his ''Sonata in C major'' Op. 40, No. 1, which is one of the classics of student cello literature, and often one of the first full sonatas a cello student will learn. The original version is available from several different publishers. Versions have also been published transcribed for other string instruments, including the viola, and for
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...
.
Perhaps his most important and influential work was ''Traité du Violoncelle'' (1804), a cello method. It was probably the first systematic treatise on the cello. Ill-reviewed in the ''Correspondance des amateurs musiciens'', it overlooked technical advances in the design of the cello that allowed for greater virtuosity on the instrument and was overshadowed by
Jean-Louis Duport
Jean-Louis Duport (4 October 17497 September 1819), sometimes known as Duport the Younger to distinguish him from his older brother (and teacher) Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), was a cellist, pedagogue, and composer.
He is perhaps best known today fo ...
's 1806 ''Essai''.
Orchestral
Symphonies concertantes (only solo instruments listed):
*2 as Op. 4 (1777), No. 1, 2 violins, viola obbl, cello in Andante, No. 2, 2 violins, cello obbl;
*2 as Op. 11 (1783), No. 1, No. 2, 2 violin, cello;
*1 as Op. 30, oboe, horn (c1789), lost;
*1 as Op. 31, flute, bassoon (c1790), ?arr. by Devienne of Op. 30;
*1 as Op. 33, violin, viola (c1792), lost;
*1 as Op. 38, clarinet, horn, bassoon (c1795);
*1 for violin, cello, perf. Paris, Concert Spirituel, 1787;
*1 for 2 cello, performance Paris Conservatoire, 1800
Cello Concertos:
*No. 1, G, Op. 14 (1784);
*No. 2, D, Op. 17 (1784);
*No. 3, F, Op. 20 (1785);
*No. 4, C, Op. 22 (1786);
*No. 5, Op. 24 (1786);
*No. 6, C, Op. 26 (1786);
Chamber
Quartets:
*6
quatuors concertants {{No footnotes, date=January 2014
The quatuor concertant is a special form of string quartet that developed in Paris around 1775 and became one of the leading genres of Parisian music until the French Revolution.
Name
The name "quatuor concertan ...
, 2 violin, viola, bass, Op. 1 (1775);
*6 quatuors concertants et dialogués, violin/flute, violin, viola, bass, Op. 5 (1778);
*6 quatuors concertants et dialogués, 2 violins, viola, bass, Op. 7 (1781);
*6 quatuors concertants et dialogués, 2 violins, viola, bass, Op. 18 (1785);
*Quatuors in dis, bassoon, viola, cello, doublebass, CZ-Pnm
Trios:
*6 trios concertants et dialogués, violin, viola, cello, Op. 3 (1777);
*6 for (flute, violin, cello)/(2 violins, bass), Op. 8 (1782);
*6 trio ... concertants et dialogués, violin, viola, cello, Op. 27 (c1786), ? 3 as Op. 32 (London, n.d.);
*3 for violin, cello obbl, doublebass, Op. 39 (c1795)
Duets:
*1 violins: 6 as Op. 6 (1780), arr. 2 violins/violin, cello (London, n.d.);
*6 as Op. 10 (1783), arr. 2 violins/violin, cello (London, n.d.);
*6 for 2 violins/violin, cello, Op. 19 (1785);
*6 for 2 violins/violin, cello, Op. 23 (1786), lost, arr. 2 violins/violin, cello (London, n.d.);
*6 as Op. 29 (c1783), lost; 6 as Op. 32 (c1791);
*6 as Op. 34 (c1794), ?lost, arr. 2 violins/(violin, cello)/2 cello as Op. 35 (London, n.d.);
*6 as Op. 37 (c1795), lost;
*6 duos concertantes, 2 violins/violin, cello, Op. 41 (c1798), nos.3, 5, 6 as duets (London, n.d.)
Other duets:
*6 for 2 cellos, Op. 2 (1783);
*6 for violin, viola, Op. 15 (1784);
*6 for 2 flutes, Op. 16 (1784);
*6 ''duos faciles'', violin, cello/bn, Op. 21 (1785), ? also as 6 duos, violin, cello, Op. 1 (Berlin, n.d.);
*6 ''duos … pour faciliter l’étude des différentes clefs'', 2 cellos, Op. 25 (1786)
Sonatas:
*Cello, b: 6 for cello/violin, b, Op. 12 (1783), also as Op. 2 (Berlin and Amsterdam, n.d.), ? also as 6 solos, Op. 10 (London, n.d.);
*6 as Op. 28 (1787);
*6 as Op. 40 (c1795)
---Other works---
*''Inès et Léonore, ou La sœur jalouse'' (oc, 3, Gautier, after Caldéron), Versailles, 14 Nov 1788 (1789);
*ov. arr. pf, J.B. Cramer (1790) ''À ma marraine, air populaire avec paroles nouvelles'', 1v unacc., F-Pn
*''Airs variés: Les nocturnes, ou 6 airs variés'', violin, cello, Op. 9 (1782), as ''6 Favorite Airs with Variations'' (London, n.d.);
*''Air de Marlborough'' (cello, doublebass)/(violin, cello) Op. 13 (1783);
*''Petits airs variés'', hpd, Op. 36 (c1795), lost;
*''12 petits airs'', cello (1799), ?arr. of Op. 36
*''Allegro First Movement from Concertino''
Treatises
''Traité du violoncelle'', Op. 42 (1804), partial English translation (?1810)