Jean Baptiste Senaillé (23 November 1687 – 15 October 1730) was a French

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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

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 ...

virtuoso.

Biography

His father Jean Senaillé was a member of

Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi (in original orthography ''Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roy'' and in English ''The King's 24 Violin-Family Instruments'') was a five–part string ensemble at the French royal court, existing from 1626 to 1761. The fi ...

from September 1, 1687 to 1713. According to Fetis., Senaillé first studied under two members of the Les Vingt-Quatre Violons, a Queversin (or Querversin) and a Bonnefons (probably François Marillet de Bonnefons) and then Jean-Baptiste Anet and (known in France as Jean-Antoine Desplanes), who stayed in Paris from 1704, where he was in the service of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon. Senaillé soon started composing, and published his first book of sonatas in 1710, dedicated to Paul Étienne Brunet (1653-1717), treasurer general of the King's household. In 1716 or 1717, Jean-Baptiste Senaillé went to Italy to perfect his art. He made a name for himself in Modena, and was invited, perhaps by

Tomaso Antonio Vitali Tomaso Antonio Vitali (7 March 1663 – 9 May 1745) was an Italian composer and violinist of the mid to late Baroque music, Baroque era. The eldest son of Giovanni Battista Vitali, he is chiefly known for a Chaconne in G minor for violin and Fig ...

, to play in his orchestra for a season. He was probably also noticed by

Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (22 October 1700 – 19 January 1761) was Duchess of Modena and Reggio by marriage to Francesco III d'Este. She was the third daughter of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and his wife, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. Sh ...

, Duchess of Modena, and on his return to Paris in 1719 he was attached to the private service of the

Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans () was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his yo ...

, regent of the kingdom and father of Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans. He was heard at the

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel () was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts with the same name occurred in multiple places including Paris, Vienna ...

. During his lifetime he published five books of ten violin sonatas (in 1710, 1712, 1716, 1721 and 1727) Fétis underlines that he sometimes imitated Arcangelo Corelli's opus 5. He imported Italian musical features into the French court. Senaillé was replaced at the Twenty-Four by

François Francœur François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; ...

on 22 October 1730.

Lionel de La Laurencie Lionel de La Laurencie (24 July 1861 – 21 November 1933) was a French musicologist and first president of the 1917 founded ''Société française de musicologie'' (French association of musicologists) from 1917 to 1920 and from 1931 to 1933. ...

devotes several pages to Senaillé, and analyzes his works.''L'école française de violon, de Lully à Viotti; études d'histoire et d'esthétique''. Delagrave, Paris 1922, S. 166, p. 165-179 : Archive.org

/ref> He is best known for a fast 2/4 movement from the Sonata No.4 in D minor (10 Violin Sonatas, Op.4), ''Allegro spiritoso'', which has been transcribed for a wide variety of instruments, from cello to bassoon to euphonium. Some of these transcriptions were edited by Robin De Smet.

Selected recordings

* ''Premier Livre de Sonates à violon seul avec la Basse continue'', Odile Édouard, violin, Freddy Eichelberger, harpsichord, Emmanuel Jacques, cello & violin bass (K617 2004) * ''Sonata in E minor op.4 n°5, Sonata in G minor op.1 n°6, Sonata in D major op.3 n°10, Sonata in C minor op.1 n°5,'' Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin, William Christie (musician), William Christie harpsichord. CD Harmonia Mundi 2021. Choc Classica

References

External links

Biographical notes on Senaille
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senaille, Jean Baptiste Musicians from Paris 1687 births 1730 deaths French Baroque composers French male classical composers French male classical violinists 18th-century classical composers 18th-century French composers 17th-century male musicians 18th-century French violinists 18th-century French male musicians