Willem de Fesch (, 1687, Alkmaar – 3 January 1761) was a virtuoso

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

violone The term violone (; literally "large viol" in Italian, " -one" being the augmentative suffix) can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted ...

player and composer. The pupil of Karel Rosier, who was a Vice- Kapellmeister at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, de Fesch later married his daughter, Maria Anna Rosier. De Fesch was active in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

between 1710 and 1725. From 1725 to 1731 he served as '' Kapellmeister'' at Antwerp Cathedral. Thereafter he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where he gave concerts and played the violone in Handel's

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

in 1746. In 1748 and 1749 he conducted at

Marylebone Gardens Marylebone Gardens or Marybone Gardens was a London pleasure garden sited in the grounds of the old manor house of Marylebone and frequented from the mid-17th century, when Marylebone was a village separated from London by fields and market ga ...

. He apparently made no public appearances after 1750. His works included the

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s ''Judith'' (1732) and ''Joseph'' (1746), as well as

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...

duets, solo and trio sonatas, concertos and part songs. Both oratorios were thought lost until 1980 when a copy of a manuscript of ''Joseph'' was found in London's Royal Academy of Music. De Fesch's music was influenced by the Italians, particularly

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

, as well as Handel.

Works

*Op. 1: 6 Sonate per 2 Violini e 6 Sonate per due Cioloncelli (

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/Amsterdam 1715) *Op. 2: Molti Concerti e

Concerti grossi The concerto grosso (; Italian for ''big concert(o)'', plural ''concerti grossi'' ) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the '' concertino'') and full orchestra (the ''ripieno'', ''tu ...

(Roger/Amsterdam 1717) *Op. 3: Molti Concerti e Concerti grossi (Roger/Amsterdam 1718) *Op. 4: 6 Sonate per Violino e Basso continuo (B. c.), 6 Sonate per 2 violoncelli (1725) *Op. 5: Concerti e Concerti grossi ( Le Cène/Amsterdam 1725) *Op. 6: Sonate per Strumento solo con B. c. (1730) *Op. 7: 10 Sonate a tre (a 2 Flauti o Violini e Basso continuo) (1733) *Op. 8: Sonate (1736) *Op. 9: Sonate per 2 Violini o Flauti ( Walsh/London 1739) *Op. 10: Molti Concerti e Concerti grossi (Walsh/London 1741) *Op. 11: Duo per 2 Violoni o Flauti (1743) *Op. 12: Sonate per 2 Violoni o Flauti (1748) *Op. 13: Sonate per Violoncello e B. c. (1750) * Carillon ( 1725–26) *Missa paschalis (1730) *Oratorios ''Judith'' (1733), ''Joseph'' (1745)

References

External links

Biography at allclassical.com

Joseph
Brilliant Classics 96107 (February 2021) * 1687 births 1761 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 18th-century musicians Composers for carillon Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Dutch Baroque composers People from Alkmaar {{Netherlands-composer-stub