Pierre-Jean Garat (25 April 1764 – 1 March 1823) was a French Basque singer and nephew of

Dominique Joseph Garat Dominique Joseph Garat (8 September 17499 December 1833) was a French Basque writer, lawyer, journalist, philosopher and politician. Biography Garat was born at Bayonne, in the French Basque Country. After a good education under the direction ...

. He was born in

Ustaritz Ustaritz (; eu, Uztaritze) is a town in the traditional French Basque Country, Basque province of Labourd, now a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department, southwestern France. It is located on ...

. Garat devoted himself from an early age to the cultivation of his musical talents. Because he professed a distaste for the legal profession, which his father wished him to pursue, he was deprived of his allowance, but through the patronage of a friend he obtained the office of secretary to

Comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

, and was afterwards engaged to give musical lessons to the queen of France. At the beginning of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

he accompanied Rode to England, where the two musicians appeared together in concerts. He returned to Paris in 1794. After the Revolution he became a professional singer and was thrown into prison for a song he composed about the misfortunes of the royal family. On regaining his liberty Garat went to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, where he at once achieved extraordinary success. By his subsequent appearances in Paris, and his visits to Italy, Spain, Germany and Russia, he made for himself a reputation as a singer unequalled by any other of his own time. In addition, he became a professor of singing for the Conservatoire de Musique, and composed several songs. He was known as a keen partisan of

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

in opposition to Handel. Garat died on 1 March 1823 in Paris.

French bibliography

* Natalie Morel-Borotra, « Le chant et l’identification culturelle des Basques (1800–1850) », ''Lapurdum'', n^o 5, 2000, pp. 351–38
online
* Joann Élart, « Circulation des quatre symphonies œuvre VII de Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel de l'Allemagne à Rouen : un itinéraire singulier du goût musical entre 1770 et 1825 », ''Studien zu den deutsch-französischen Musikbeziehungen im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, bericht über die erste gemeinsame Jahrestagung der

Gesellschaft für Musikforschung The ''Gesellschaft für Musikforschung'' (GfM) is a professional association of musicologists and institutes active in study, research and teaching in Germany. It has over 1600 members. The association is based in Kassel, Hesse. History The so ...

und der Société française de musicologie Saarbrücken 1999'', Hildesheim, Georg Olms Verlag, 2002, . * Joann Élart et Patrick Taïeb, « La Complainte du Troubadour de Pierre-Jean Garat (1762–1823) », ''Les Orages'', n° 2, L'imaginaire du héros, Besançon, Apocope, mai 2003,
online
* Natalie Morel-Borotra, « Un élève de Franz Beck à Bordeaux. Quelques notes sur Pierre-Jean Garat », ''Lumières'', n^o 2 (« Franz Beck, un musicien des Lumières », dir. Alain Ruiz), 2003, pp. 81–96. * Natalie Morel-Borotra, « Comment Pierre-Jean Garat est devenu un chanteur basque : de l’Histoire au(x) mythe(s) », ''Lapurdum'', n^o 9, 2004, pp. 159–17
online
* Joann Élart, « La mobilité des musiciens et des répertoires : Punto, Garat et Rode aux concerts du Musée », ''in'' Patrick Taïeb, Natalie Morel-Borotra et Jean Gribenski (dir.), ''Le Musée de Bordeaux et la musique 1783–1793'', Rouen, PURH, 2005, pp. 157–173. * Joann Élart, « Les origines du concert public à Rouen à la fin de l'Ancien Régime », ''Revue de musicologie'', n° 93/1, 2007, pp. 53–73.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garat, Pierre-Jean 1764 births 1823 deaths People from Labourd French male singers French operatic baritones Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French expatriates in England French-Basque people