Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (, 25 December 1711 (baptised) – 8 October 1772), also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

ist and

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 ...

. He was a younger contemporary of

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 ...

and enjoyed great success in his day. Pierre-Louis Daquin (son of the composer

Louis-Claude Daquin Louis-Claude Daquin (or D'Aquino, d'Aquin, d'Acquin; July 4, 1694 – June 15, 1772) was a French composer, writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist. Life Louis-Claude Daquin was born in Paris to a f ...

) claimed, "If I couldn't be Rameau, there's no one I would rather be than Mondonville".

Life

Mondonville was born in

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

(South

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 ...

) to an aristocratic family which had fallen on hard times. In 1733, he moved to

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 gained the patronage of the king's mistress

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

and won several musical posts, including violinist for 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 ...

. His first opus was a volume of violin

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s, published in 1733. He became a violinist of the

Chapelle royale The ''chapelle royale'' (chapel royal) was the musical establishment attached to the royal chapel of the French kings. The term may also be applied to the chapel buildings, the Chapelle royale de Versailles. The establishment included a choir, or ...

and chamber and performed in some 100 concerts. Some of his ''

grands motets The grand motet (plural grands motets) was a genre of motet cultivated at the height of the French baroque, although the term dates from later French usage. At the time, due to the stylistic feature of employing two alternating choirs, the works wer ...

'' were also performed that year, receiving considerable acclaim. He was appointed ''sous-maître'' in 1740 and, in 1744, ''intendant'' of the Chapelle royale. He produced operas and grands motets for the Opéra and Concert Spirituel respectively, and was associated with the Théatre des Petits-Cabinets, all the while maintaining his career as a violinist throughout the 1740s. In 1755, he became director of the Concert Spirituel on the death of Pancrace Royer. Mondonville died in Belleville near

at the age of sixty.

Music

Sacred music

Between 1734 and 1755, Mondonville composed 17 ''grands motets'', of which only nine have survived. The motet ''Venite exultemus domino'', published in 1740, won him the post of ''Maître de musique de la Chapelle'' (Master of Music of the Chapel). Thanks to his mastery of both orchestral and vocal music, Mondonville brought to the grand motet — the dominant genre of music in the repertory of the ''Chapelle royale'' (Royal Chapel) before the French Revolution — an intensity of colour and a dramatic quality hitherto unknown. In 1758, he introduced

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s as a new genre at the Concert Spirituel.

Operas

Although Mondonville's first stage work, '' Isbé'', was a failure, he enjoyed great success with the lighter forms of French Baroque opera: the ''

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 ...

'' and the ''

pastorale héroïque Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood. In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the trad ...

''. His most popular works were ''Le carnaval de Parnasse'', '' Titon et l'Aurore'' and ''

Daphnis et Alcimadure (in Occitan classical norm, ''Dafnís e Alcimadura'', or according to the original libretto spelling, ''Daphnis e Alcimaduro'') is an opera by the Baroque violinist, conductor and composer Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville to a libretto in th ...

'' (for which he wrote his own

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan language, Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Lang ...

, his native dialect of the

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

language).Viking ''Titon et l'Aurore'' played an important role in the

Querelle des Bouffons The ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors"), also known as the ("War of the Comic Actors"), was the name given to a battle of musical philosophies that took place in Paris between 1752 and 1754. The controversy concerned the relative merits of French ...

, the controversy between partisans of French and Italian opera which raged in Paris in the early 1750s. Members of the "French party" ensured that ''Titons premiere was a resounding success (their opponents even alleged they had guaranteed this result by packing the

Académie Royale de Musique The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, where the staging took place, with royal soldiers). Mondonville's one foray into serious French opera - the genre known as ''

tragédie en musique ''Tragédie en musique'' (, musical tragedy), also known as ''tragédie lyrique'' (, lyric tragedy), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas i ...

'' - was a failure however. He took the unusual step of re-using a libretto, '' Thésée'', which had originally been set in 1675 by the "father of French opera",

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 ...

. Mondonville's bold move to substitute Lully's much-loved music with his own did not pay off. The premiere at the court in 1765 had a mixed reception and a public performance two years later ended with the audience demanding it be replaced by the original. Yet Mondonville was merely ahead of his time - in the 1770s, it became fashionable to reset Lully's tragedies with new music, the most famous example being '' Armide'' by

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

List of works

Instrumental

* Op.1 - Sonates pour violon (1733) * Op.2 - 6 ''Sonates en trio pour deux Violons avec la basse continue Œuvre Second, Dédiées à Monsieur le Marquis de la Bourdonnaye, gravées par Le Duc,'' (Paris 1734) * Op.3 - 6 Pièces de clavecin en sonates (1734) and orchestrated as ''Sonates en symphonies'' (1749) * Op.4 - "Les sons harmoniques" (Paris and Lille, 1738) The preface contains the first evidence of a written text concerning playing with harmonic sounds * Op.5 - Pièces de clavecin avec voix ou violon (1748)

Operas

* '' Isbé'' (1742) * ''Bacchus et Erigone'' (1747) (Later reused/adapted as Act 2 of ''Les fêtes de Paphos'') * ''Le carnaval du Parnasse'' (1749) * ''Vénus et Adonis'' (1752) (Later reused/adapted as Act 1 of ''Les fêtes de Paphos'') * '' Titon et l'Aurore'' (1753) * ''

'' (1754) * ''

Les fêtes de Paphos ''Les fêtes de Paphos'' (''The Festivals of Paphos'') is an ''opéra-ballet'' in three acts (or ''entrées'') by the French composer Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville. The work was described as a ''ballet héroïque'' on the title page of the ...

'' (1758) * '' Thésée'' (1765) (music lost) * ''Les projets de l'Amour'' (1771) (music lost)

Grands motets

Mondonville's nine surviving ''grands motets'' are: * ''Dominus regnavit'' (

Psalm 92 Psalm 92 is the 92nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate transl ...

) (1734) * ''Jubilate Deo'' (

Psalm 100 Psalm 100 is the 100th psalm in the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English, it is translated as "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" in the King James Version (KJV), and as "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands" in the Book of C ...

) (1734) * ''Magnus Dominus'' ( Psalm 48) (1734) * ''Cantate domino'' (

Psalm 150 Psalm 150 is the 150th and final psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the . Praise God in his sanctuary". In Latin, it is known as "Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius". In Psalm 150, the psalmist ...

) (1743) * ''Venite exultemus'' (

Psalm 95 Psalm 95 is the 95th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation". The Book of Psalms starts the third section of the H ...

) (1743) * ''Nisi Dominus'' (

Psalm 127 Psalm 127 is the 127th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Except the Lord build the house". In Latin, it is known by a two-word incipit, . It is one of 15 " Songs of Ascents" and the only one among them ...

) (1743) * ''De profundis'' (

Psalm 130 Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of the penitential psalms and one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from "out of the depths" or ...

) (1748) * ''Coeli enarrant'' (

Psalm 19 Psalm 19 is the 19th psalm in the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The heavens declare the almighty of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Se ...

) (1750) * ''In exitu Israel'' (

Psalm 114 Psalm 114 is the 114th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "When Israel went out of Egypt". In the slightly different Psalms#Numbering, numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate versi ...

) (1753)

Oratorios

Mondonville's three oratorios (none survive) were: * ''Les Israélites à la Montagne d'Oreb'' (1758) * ''Les Fureurs de Saul'' (1759) * ''Les Titans'' (1761)

Recordings of works by Mondonville

As of 2016, all extant sacred works by Mondonville had been recorded and as of 2024, all extant operatic/dramatic works had also been recorded.

Motets

* Grand motet: ''Cantate Domino,'' Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France, Orchestre Jean-François Paillard, dir. Louis Martini, Erato (1963) * Grand motets : ''Venite exultemus, Dominus regnavit,'' Ensemble Regional "A Coeur Joie", Ensemble "Adam de la Halle" d'Arras, Orchestre De Chambre Jean-François Paillard, dir. Jean-François Paillard, Erato (1981) * Grands motets : ''Venite exultemus'' ; ''De profundis''. Petits motets : ''Regna terrae'' ; ''In decachordo psaltorio'' ; ''Benefac Domine'', London Baroque, New College Oxford Choir, dir. Edward Higginbottom, 1 CD Hyperion (1988) (OCLC 517682353) ; réédition, 1 CD Hyperion, coll. « Helios » (2000) (OCLC 50117510) * Grands motets '': Dominus regnavit, In exitu Israël, De profundis'', Les Arts florissants, dir. William Christie, 1 CD Erato (1997) (OCLC 255380558) * Grand motets '':'' ''Coeli enarrant'', ''Venite Exultemus'', ''Jubilate Deo'', Chantres de la Chapelle, Ensemble baroque de Limoges, dir. Christophe Coin, (1 CD Auvidis Astrée (1997) * Grand motet: ''Nisi Dominus,'' Le Parnasse Français, dir. Louis Castelain, Only available on YouTube (2003) * Grand motet: ''Dominus regnavit,'' Tafelmusik, dir. Ivars Taurins, CBC Records (2007) * Grands motets '':'' ''Cantate Domino'', ''Magnus Dominus'', ''De profundis'', ''Nisi Dominus'', Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, dir. Gyögy Vashegyi, Glossa (2016) * Grands motets : ''In exitu Israël, Dominus Regnavit, Coeli enarrant,'' Choeur & Orchestre Marguerite Louise, dir. Gaétan Jarry, Château de Versailles Spectacles (2022) * Grand motet: ''In exitu Israël,'' Le Concert d’Astrée, dir. Emmanuelle Haïm, Warner Classics (2023)

Instrumental Music (List Incomplete)

* ''Pièces de clavecin en sonates avec accompagnement de violon, œuvre 3'', Florence Malgoire (violin), Christophe Rousset (harpsichord) 1 CD Verany (1990) * ''Six sonates en symphonie, op. 3'', Les Musiciens du Louvre, dir. Marc Minkowski, 1 CD Archiv Produktion (1998) (OCLC 956264542) ; réédition, 1 CD Archiv Produktion coll. "Blue" (2003) (OCLC 724831406) * ''Pièces de clavecin avec voix ou violon, op. 5'', Luc Beauséjour, Shannon Mercer, Hélène Plouffe, 1 CD Analekta (2008) (OCLC 705324011) * ''Sonates en trio, opus 2'', Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler, violin, Audax (2016)

Dramatic works

* ''Daphnis et Alcimadure'' (Abridged version)'','' Orquèstre e Còrs del Teatre de Montpelhièr, dir. Louis Bertholon, Ventadorn (1981) * ''Titon et l'Aurore'', Ensemble Vocal Françoise Herr, Les Musiciens du Louvre, dir. Marc Minkowski, 2 CD Erato (1992) (OCLC 39039271) * ''Les Fêtes de Paphos'', Choeur de Chambre Accentus, Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe Rousset, 3 CD L'Oiseau-Lyre (1997) * ''Isbé'', Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, dir. György Vashegyi, Glossa (2017) * ''Titon et l'Aurore'', Les Arts Florissants, dir. William Christie, Naxos DVD (2021) * ''Daphnis et Alcimadure'' (Complete opera), Orchestre Baroque de Montauban, Ensemble Les Passions, dir. Jean-Marc Andrieu, 2 CD Ligia Digital (2023) * ''Le carnaval du Parnasse'', Les Ambassadeurs - La Grande Écurie, Choeur de Chambre de Namur, dir. Alexis Kossenko, Château de Versailles Spectacles (2024)

References

Sources

* Brief biographical entry in the ''Grove Concise Dictionary of Music'', 1994, published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Inc. on th
Gramophone
website. *Booklets to the above recordings * ''The Viking Opera Guide'' ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993) * C. Pierre, ''Histoire du Concert spirituel'' (Paris: Société française de musicologie, 1975). * R. Machard, ''Jean-Joseph Cassanea de Mondonville: Virtuose, compositeur et Chef d'orchestre'' (Béziers: Société de Musicologie du Languedoc, 1980).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mondonville, Jean-Joseph 1711 births 1772 deaths 18th-century French classical composers 18th-century French male musicians 18th-century French violinists French male classical violinists French Baroque composers French opera composers French ballet composers French male opera composers Occitan-language writers People from Narbonne 17th-century French male musicians