André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) 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 def ...

and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

and

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

, Campra wrote several '' tragédies en musique'' and ''

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 seventeen ...

s'' that were extremely well received. He also wrote three books of

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s as well as religious music, including a

requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

Biography

Campra was the son of Giovanni Francesco Campra, a surgeon and violinist from Graglia, Italy, and Louise Fabry, from

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

. His father was his first music teacher. He was baptised on 4 December 1660 in the Église de la Madeleine in Aix. He became a choirboy in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur there in 1674 and commenced ecclesiastical studies four years later. He was reprimanded by his superiors in 1681 for having taken part in theatrical performances without permission, but was nevertheless made a chaplain on 27 May of that year. He served as ''maître de musique'' (music director) at the cathedrals of

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and then, from 1694 to 1700, served in a similar capacity at the cathedral of

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

. Campra added violins to the performance of sacred music at the Paris cathedral, a controversial innovation in an era when they were considered ''street instruments''. He began to compose for the theatre in 1697 and published some theatrical compositions under his brother's name to protect his reputation with church authorities. In 1700 he gave up his post at Notre-Dame and devoted himself to theatrical music with critical success. By 1705 he was such a musical celebrity that he became a target for negative articles in the press. In 1720, he adopted the composition of sacred music as his only profession. Although Campra had obtained critical success he lacked financial security. In 1722 he was engaged briefly as ''maître de musique'' by the

Prince of Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km southwest ...

. After the death of the regent Philippe d'Orléans in December 1723, Campra became ''sous-maître'' at the Royal Chapel in Versailles. In 1730 he became the ''Inspecteur Général'' at the Opéra (Royal Academy of Music). He died in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

on 29 June 1744 at the age of 83.

Compositions and style

With his composition of ''L'Europe galante'' (1697), he became highly regarded in ''

'', a musical genre originated by Pascal Colasse with ''Les saisons'' in 1695.

Principal works

Stage works * ''

L'Europe galante ''L'Europe galante'' (''Galant Europe'') is an opéra-ballet in a prologue and four entrées by André Campra to a French libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte. The opera is regarded as the first opéra-ballet, with the entrées sharing a com ...

'', opéra-ballet (1697) * '' Le carnaval de Venise'', opéra-ballet (1699) * '' Le Destin du Nouveau Siècle'', opéra-ballet (1700) * '' Hésione'', tragédie en musique (1700) * ''Aréthuse'', opéra-ballet (1701) * '' Tancrède'', tragédie en musique (1702) * ''Les muses'', opéra-ballet (1703) * '' Iphigénie en Tauride'', tragédie en musique (1704) * '' Télémaque'', tragédie en musique pastiche (1704) * '' Alcine'', tragédie en musique (1705) * '' Hippodamie'', tragédie en musique (1708) * '' Les fêtes vénitiennes'', opéra-ballet (1710) * '' Idoménée'', tragédie en musique (1712) * '' Télèphe'', tragédie en musique (1713) * ''Énée et Didon'', fête musicale (1714) * '' Camille, reine des volsques'', tragédie en musique (1717) * '' Les âges'', opéra-ballet (1718) * '' Achille et Déidamie'', tragédie en musique (1735) Cantatas * Book I 1708 – Hebe. L'Heureux jaloux. Didon. Daphne. Arion. Les femmes. * Book II 1714 – Les Heureux Epoux, Silène, Achille oisif, La Dispute de l'Amour et de l'Hymen, La danse de Flore, Enée et Didon. * Book III 1728 – L'heureux moment, Les caprices de l'Amour, La colère d'Achille, Les plaisirs de la campagne, Le papillon, Le jaloux, Le lys et la rose Sacred works * ''Nisi Dominus'' (1722) * ''Requiem'' (after 1723) * ''Motets for the royal chapel'' (1723–1741) * ''Te Deum''

Legacy

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

based his 1936 orchestral work '' Suite provençale'' on 18th-century themes, including some by Campra. * A theme from Campra's opera ''Camille, reine des Volsques'' (1717) was used as the basis of the collaborative work '' La guirlande de Campra'', a set of variations created by seven French composers in 1952. * The "Rigaudon" from his opera ''Idoménée'', in an arrangement for organ, is probably his most familiar work, often used as a wedding processional and often recorded. * The ''Collège Campra'', a state-owned

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the centre of

is named for him and houses a statue of him.

References

External links