Pierre Février (21 March 1696 – 5 November 1760) was a French baroque composer,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

and

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...

ist.

Biography

Born in

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...

in 1696, he arrived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1720 and served as titular organist of two churches on Saint-Honoré street: the Jacobins' church (destroyed at the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

) and Saint-Roch (still standing). Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, who moved to Paris in 1750, was among his pupils and eventually succeeded Février at Saint-Roch. Pierre Février died in Paris on 5 November 1760.

Works

Two volumes of his harpsichord pieces are extant. The first one is dated 1734 and contains five suites: * Suite in A major ** Allemande la Magnanime ** Le Concert des Dieux - Double du concert ** La Délectable ** Le Berceau ** La Boufonne ou la Paysanne * Suite in D minor ** Fugue ** Courante ** Les Plaisirs des Sens ** Le Labyrinthe ** Ariette et doubles * Suite in B minor ** Fugue ** L'Intrépide ** La Grotesque * Suite in D major ** Gavotte et doubles ** Le Brinborion ** Le Tendre Language ** Tambourin * Suite (''Festes de Campagne'') in C major ** Entrée ** Musette ** 2 Menuets ** Le Gros Colas et la Grosse Jeanne ** Les Petites Bergères The second volume, composed after 1734 and before 1737, was discovered in the late 1990s in a private collection in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th ...

). It contains two harpsichord suites that follow a similar pattern, mixing dances and descriptive ''pièces de caractère'' in the typical late Baroque French tradition: * 1st Suite in G Minor ** Les Liens Harmoniques - Rondeau ** La Caressante - Rondeau ** La Fertillante ** La petite Coquette ** Tambourin - Rondeau * 2nd Suite in C Minor ** Allemande ** Les Tendres Tourterelles - Rondeau ** Les Croisades - Rondeau ** Menuet

External links

*
La Sala del Cembalo del caro Sassone
Pièces de clavecin, Premier livre, 1734. The World Premiere Recording of the first book, as recorded by the harpsichordist Fernando De Luca (Rome, December 2008), is freely available in streaming on this non-profit website devoted to the ancient music and harpsichord baroque music.
''Vulcain dupé par l'amour''
a cantatille available on the BnF website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fevrier, Pierre French Baroque composers French male classical composers French harpsichordists French classical organists French male organists 1696 births 1760 deaths People from Abbeville 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century classical composers 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male musicians Male classical organists

Biography

Works

See also

External links