François Hippolyte Barthélemon (27 July 1741 – 20 July 1808) was a French violinist,

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

, and composer active in England.

Biography

François Barthélemon was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

(

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He received his education in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he studied

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, and performed in the

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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

of the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

. In 1764, he traveled to England to lead a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

at the King's Theatre and 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 gard ...

where he was received with enthusiasm. This led to a commission for his first dramatic stage work, ''Pelopida'', an opera in three acts in the Italian style that was performed at the King's Theatre in 1766.

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

of the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

engaged him to compose music to Garrick's two-act farcical

burletta In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended w ...

based on the

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

myth, which premiered in 1768. In the same year, Barthélemon also premiered ''Oithona'', a three-act dramatic operatic poem; ''La fleuve Scamandre'' ("The

Scamander River Karamenderes is a river located entirely within the Çanakkale Province of Turkey. It flows west from Mount Ida (Turkey), Mount Ida and empties into the Aegean Sea near the Troy#Troy_Historical_National_Park, Troy Historical National Park. Acco ...

"), a French-style comic opera based on a

Greek myth Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancien ...

; and ''The Judgment of Paris'', another two-act burletta. Further engagements led him to decide to stay in England, where he wed

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and composer Polly Young in December 1766 and raised a family.Olive Baldwin, Thelma Wilson: "Charles Young", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 12 January 2009)
(subscription access), quote= [marriage info]
He is well known for his tune 'Morning Hymn' to Thomas Ken's hymn ' Awake my soul, and with the sun...', which Thomas Hardy praised in his ''Barthélemon at Vauxhall''. He also wrote the tune of the hymn, Mighty God While Angels Bless Thee. Barthélemon's dashing French style of composition allowed him to produce musical entertainments in a wide range of styles. He composed

salon music Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the Romantic music, romantic style, and is often performed by the composer at events known as "Salon (gathering), Salons". Salon compo ...

and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, as well as volumes of

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

s, some of which were published in London in 1790. The King's Theatre engaged him to write

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

music. Barthélemon also composed scenes for humorous English

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

s and for

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

s. ''The Maid of Oaks'', a masque within a comedy in five acts based on ''Sylvain'' by

Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel (; 11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a French historian, writer and a member of the Encyclopédistes movement. Biography He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin (today in Corrèze). After studying wi ...

, enjoyed much success in 1774. He also wrote six symphonies, and some concertos.Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music As a private teacher, Bartélemon received approval for his "scientific" technique of violin playing; however, some popular critics felt his musical compositions lacked "a clearly developed personal style." Barthélemon died at Christ Church,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, aged 66.

Selected works

*''Pelopida'', opera in 3 acts (1766) *''Orpheus'', burletta in 2 acts (1767) *''Oithona'', dramatic poem in 3 acts (1768) *''The Judgment of Paris'', burletta in 2 acts (1768) *''Le fleuve Scamandre'', comic opera (1768) *''The Magic Girdle'', burletta in 2 parts (1770) *''The Noble Pedlar, or The Fortune Hunter'', burletta in 2 parts (1770) *''The Portrait'', burletta in 2 parts (ca. 1771) *''The Wedding Day'', burletta in 2 parts (1773) *''La zingara, or The Gypsy'', burletta in 2 parts (1773) *''The Election'', musical interlude (1774) *'' The Maid of the Oaks'', masque with a comedy in 5 acts (1774) *''Belphagor, or The Wishes'', comic opera afterpiece in 2 acts (1778)

References

Sources

* Sadie, Stanley (Ed.)

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea. Euro ...

(1994). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 1, A-D, chpt: "Barthelemon arthélemon François Hippolyte" by Linda V. Troost, New York: MacMillan. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barthelemon, Francois Hippolyte 1741 births 1808 deaths French emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain 18th-century French male musicians People from Guyenne French male classical violinists 18th-century French violinists Young musical family (England) French opera composers French male opera composers People from Bordeaux