Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné (Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder) (10 May 1697 – 22 October 1764) was a French

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regula ...

ist 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 Def ...

. He is considered to have founded the French violin school. His brothers, the lesser-known Jean-Marie Leclair the younger (1703–77) as well as Pierre Leclair (1709–84) and Jean-Benoît Leclair (1714–after 1759), were also musicians.

Biography

Leclair was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, but left to study

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

and the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

. In 1716, he married Marie-Rose Casthanie, a dancer, who died about 1728. Leclair had returned to

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 ...

in 1723, where he played at 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, Lon ...

, the main semi-public music series. His works included several sonatas for

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 ...

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 the ...

. In 1730, Leclair married for the second time. His new wife was the engraver Louise Roussel, who prepared for printing all his works from Opus 2 onward. He was named ''ordinaire de la musique'' (Director of Music of the Chapel and the Apartments) by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

in 1733, Leclair dedicated his third book of violin sonatas to the king. Leclair resigned in 1736 after a clash with Jean-Pierre Guignon over control of the musique du Roi. Leclair was then engaged by the Princess of Orange – a fine

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 ...

and former student of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his trainin ...

– and from 1738 until 1743, served three months annually at her court in Leeuwarden, working in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital ...

as a private for the remainder of the year. He returned to

in 1743. His only opera '' Scylla et Glaucus'' was first performed in 1746 and has been revived in modern times. From 1740 until his death in Paris, he served the Duke of Gramont, in whose private theatre at Puteaux were staged works to which Leclair is known to have contributed. They included, in particular, a lengthy divertissement for the comedy (1749) and one complete entrée, , for the

opéra-ballet ''Opéra-ballet'' (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early sevent ...

by various authors, (1750). Leclair was renowned as a violinist and as a composer. He successfully drew upon all of Europe's national styles. Many suites, sonatas, and concertos survive along with his opera, while some vocal works, ballets, and other stage music are lost.

Murder

In 1758, after the break-up of his second marriage, Leclair purchased a small house in a dangerous Parisian neighborhood in the northern part of

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arro ...

near the old

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, where he was found stabbed to death on October 23, 1764. Although the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

remains a mystery, there is a possibility that his ex-wife may have been behind it—her motive being financial gain—although suspicion also rests on his nephew, Guillaume-François Vial.

List of works

*Op. 1 No. 1 – Violin Sonata in A minor *Op. 1 No. 2 – Violin Sonata in C major *Op. 1 No. 3 – Violin Sonata in B flat major *Op. 1 No. 4 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 1 No. 5 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 1 No. 6 – Violin Sonata in E minor *Op. 1 No. 7 – Violin Sonata in F major *Op. 1 No. 8 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 1 No. 9 – Violin Sonata in A major *Op. 1 No. 10 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 1 No. 11 – Violin Sonata in B flat major *Op. 1 No. 12 – Violin Sonata in B minor *Op. 2 No. 1 – Violin Sonata in E minor *Op. 2 No. 2 – Violin Sonata in F major *Op. 2 No. 3 – Violin Sonata in C major *Op. 2 No. 4 – Violin Sonata in A major *Op. 2 No. 5 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 2 No. 6 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 2 No. 7 – Violin Sonata in B flat major *Op. 2 No. 8 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 2 No. 9 – Violin Sonata in E major *Op. 2 No. 10 – Violin Sonata in C minor *Op. 2 No. 11 – Violin Sonata in B minor *Op. 2 No. 12 – Violin Sonata in G minor *Op. 3 No. 1 – Sonata for 2 violins in G major *Op. 3 No. 2 – Sonata for 2 violins in A major *Op. 3 No. 3 – Sonata for 2 violins in C major *Op. 3 No. 4 – Sonata for 2 violins in F major *Op. 3 No. 5 – Sonata for 2 violins in E minor *Op. 3 No. 6 – Sonata for 2 violins in D major *Op. 4 No. 1 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in D minor *Op. 4 No. 2 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in B flat major *Op. 4 No. 3 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in D minor *Op. 4 No. 4 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in F major *Op. 4 No. 5 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in G minor *Op. 4 No. 6 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in A major *Op. 5 No. 1 – Violin Sonata in A major *Op. 5 No. 2 – Violin Sonata in F major *Op. 5 No. 3 – Violin Sonata in E minor *Op. 5 No. 4 – Violin Sonata in B flat major *Op. 5 No. 5 – Violin Sonata in B minor *Op. 5 No. 6 – Violin Sonata in C minor *Op. 5 No. 7 – Violin Sonata in A minor *Op. 5 No. 8 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 5 No. 9 – Violin Sonata in E major *Op. 5 No. 10 – Violin Sonata in C major *Op. 5 No. 11 – Violin Sonata in G minor *Op. 5 No. 12 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 6 – Récréation de musique in D major *Op. 7 No. 1 – Violin Concerto in D minor (1737 homotonal, with all movements in D minor) *Op. 7 No. 2 – Violin Concerto in D major *Op. 7 No. 3 – Violin Concerto in C major *Op. 7 No. 4 – Violin Concerto in F major *Op. 7 No. 5 – Violin Concerto in A minor *Op. 7 No. 6 – Violin Concerto in A major *Op. 8 – Récréation de musique in G minor *Op. 9 No. 1 – Violin Sonata in A major *Op. 9 No. 2 – Violin Sonata in E minor *Op. 9 No. 3 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 9 No. 4 – Violin Sonata in A major *Op. 9 No. 5 – Violin Sonata in A minor *Op. 9 No. 6 – Violin Sonata in D major *Op. 9 No. 7 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 9 No. 8 – Violin Sonata in C major *Op. 9 No. 9 – Violin Sonata in E flat major *Op. 9 No. 10 – Violin Sonata in F sharp minor *Op. 9 No. 11 – Violin Sonata in G minor *Op. 9 No. 12 – Violin Sonata in G major *Op. 10 No. 1 – Violin Concerto in B flat major *Op. 10 No. 2 – Violin Concerto in A major *Op. 10 No. 3 – Violin Concerto in D major *Op. 10 No. 4 – Violin Concerto in F major *Op. 10 No. 5 – Violin Concerto in E minor *Op. 10 No. 6 – Violin Concerto in G minor *Op. 11 – '' Scylla et Glaucus'',

tragédie en musique Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in t ...

with prologue and five acts (opera, fp. 1746) *Op. 12 No. 1 – Sonata for 2 violins in B minor *Op. 12 No. 2 – Sonata for 2 violins in E major *Op. 12 No. 3 – Sonata for 2 violins in D major *Op. 12 No. 4 – Sonata for 2 violins in A major *Op. 12 No. 5 – Sonata for 2 violins in G minor *Op. 12 No. 6 – Sonata for 2 violins in B flat major * Divertissement for ''Le danger des épreuves'', a one-act comedy given at the Duke of Gramont's theatre at Puteaux on 19 June 1749 ostref name="rep">Catalogue of Leclair's works a
Musicologie.org
* ''Apollon et Climène'', second entrée of ''Les amusements lyriques'', given at the Duke of Gramont's theatre at Puteaux, in February 1750 ostref name="rep"/> * Incidental airs and dances for various theatrical productions (1751–1764) ostref name="rep"/> *Op. 13 No. 1 – Ouvertura for 2 violins & continuo in G major *Op. 13 No. 2 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in D major *Op. 13 No. 3 – Ouvertura for 2 violins & continuo in D major *Op. 13 No. 4 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in B minor *Op. 13 No. 5 – Ouvertura for 2 violins & continuo in A major *Op. 13 No. 6 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in G minor *Op. 14 – Trio for 2 violins & continuo in A major *Op. 15 – Violin Sonata in F major

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

Pougin, Arthur Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux (Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Alard (violin) and Reber (harmony). In 1855 he becam ...

, ''Le violon: Les violonistes et la musique de violon du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle'', Paris, Fishbacher, 1924 (accessible online a
Gallica BNF
* Sadler, Graham, ''Leclair, Jean-Marie'', in

Sadie, Stanley Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publi ...

(ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four vol ...

'', New York, Grove (Oxford University Press), 1997, II, pp. 1118–1119 ()

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leclair, Jean-Marie 1697 births 1764 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male classical violinists French Baroque composers French male classical composers Musicians from Lyon Deaths by stabbing in France French murder victims Male murder victims People murdered in Paris Unsolved murders in France 17th-century male musicians

Biography

Murder

See also

List of works

References

External links