Honoré François Marie Langlé (; 1741–1807) was a French theorist of music of Monegasque origin, composer, and author of a ''Traité d'harmonie et de modulation'' (Paris: Boyer, 1795). Napoleon named him to the newly founded

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. Born to a family originally from

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

that was established at Monaco in the 18th century, Langlé showed so much early promise in music that Honoré III of Monaco sent him with an endowment to Naples at the age of fifteen. There he studied harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini under the direction of Pasquale Cafaro. He remained for more than eight years, composing Masses and

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s that gained him a sufficient reputation in Italy that he was appointed to direct the city theatre of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. In 1768, Langlé left for France. In Paris he supported himself by giving

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and singing lessons and taught musical composition to private pupils, while he gained a reputation through participating in

Anne Danican Philidor Anne Danican Philidor (11 April 1681 – 8 October 1728) was a French woodwind player and composer of the Philidor family. Born in Paris on 11 April 1681, his grandfather and father were also professional woodwind players in the king's service. ...

's Concerts spirituels, the most prominent venue for secular concert music in Paris. There several of his compositions premiered successfully, including a sung monologue, ''Alcide'' and a cantata ''Circé''. In the following decade his reputation spread from the Parisian musical world of

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 ...

, where as ''Langlois'', the spelling preferred by his son and grandson, he gave clavecin and

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

lessons to Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

. When the baron de Breteuil formed the École Royale de Chant et de Déclamations in 1784, Langlé was entrusted with teaching singing, a position he retained until the institutional changes that came with the French Revolution. With the creation of the

in 1795, Langlé was instituted as librarian, a place he held until 1802. His theoretical ''Traité d'harmonie et de modulation'' was published at Paris in 1795. His success in the field of

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

was less than secure. In 1786 his opera ''Antiochus et Stratonice'' failed to please at Versailles. Five years later, during the Revolution, his three-act opera ''Corisandre'', presented at the Académie de musique, sank without a trace. Undeterred, though unable to get them publicly mounted, Langlé continued to compose operas in private for the rest of hid life. His songs achieved more success: his "Hymne à Bara et à Viala" (1794) continued to be taught in music schools through the 19th century. In retirement towards the end of his life at his property, Villiers le Bel, Langlé devoted himself passionately to gardening. His posthumous reputation has supported

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ...

,Fétis, ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique'', vol. V, 1868. who found his music lacked qualities of genius, but his ''Traité d’harmonie et de modulation'' long remained a staple in academic teaching.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langle, Honore 1741 births 1807 deaths French music theorists French male non-fiction writers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery