Michel Blavet

born on 13/1/1700 in Besançon, Franche-Comté, France

died on 28/10/1768 in Paris, Île-de-France, France

Michel Blavet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Michel Blavet (March 13, 1700 – October 28, 1768) was a French composer and flute virtuoso. Although Blavet taught himself to play almost every instrument, he specialized in the bassoon and the flute which he held to the left, the opposite of how most flutists hold theirs today.

Quantz writes of Blavet: "His amiable disposition and engaging manner gives rise to a lasting friendship between us and I am much indebted to him for his numerous acts of kindness."

Life

Born in Besançon as the son of wood turner Jean-Baptiste Blavet,[1] a profession which he followed for some time, he accidentally became the possessor of a flute and soon became the finest player in France. Blavet was famous for maintaining impeccable intonation, even when he played in difficult keys, and for the beauty of his tone.[2] Voltaire expressed his admiration for his playing and Marpurg spoke of him as a virtuoso of the highest excellence who preserved his innate modesty despite his unbroken popularity.

In 1726 he joined the Duke of Carignan and took part in the newly formed Concert spirituel for the first time.[2] In 1728 he published his first book of flute music, containing six sonatas for two flutes without bass.[1] In 1721, he entered the service of the Count of Clermont and became his steward of music.[1] From 1731 to 1735, he performed at a Concert with Jean-Marie Leclair, Jean-Pierre Guignon, Mondonville, Jean-Baptiste Senaillé, and Jacques Aubert.[1]

In 1738, Blavet became the principal flute in both Louis XV's personal musical ensemble, the "Musique du Roi", and in 1740 at the Paris Opera orchestra.[1] He then founded a quartet (flute Blavet, violin Guignon, viola da gamba Forqueray the younger, cello Édouard) which played the "Paris" quartets by Telemann.[2] Blavet turned down a post in Frederick the Great's court, which Quantz eventually accepted after the pay had been increased significantly. In 1752 he modeled on Italian interludes the first French comic opera Le Jaloux corrigé.[1] He also wrote a march for the Grande-Loge, having joined the Masons under the influence of the Comte de Clermont who was Grand Master of the Order in France.[1] He died in Paris in 1768.[1]

Musical works

Blavet wrote primarily for the transverse flute, in the so-called 'Italian' as well as the French style. His surviving works include a concerto and three books of sonatas (1740).[n 1] All of his works are written only in the easiest keys, since he wrote them for amateurs to play. They are unquestionably some of the most delightfully written chamber works ever composed for the flute. They exude happiness and are a delight to play.

Compositions

  • Six sonatas for two flutes without bass, Opus 1 (1728)
  • Six sonatas for flute and continuo, Op 2 (1732)
    • Nr. 1 in G major L'Henriette
    • Nr. 2 in D minor La Vibray
    • Nr. 3 in e minor La Dherouville
    • Nr. 4 in g minor La Lumagne
    • Nr. 5 in D major La Chauvet
    • Nr. 6 in a minor Le Bouget
  • Concerto in A minor for flute and strings (without viola) (1745, 1954 rediscovered).[n 2]
  • Four operas, of which only Le Jaloux Corrige (1752) survived.[n 3]
    • Le jaloux corrigé (1752)
    • Floriane ou la grotte des Spectacles (1752)
    • Les Jeux olympiques (1753)
    • La Fête de Cythère (1753)

Notes

  1. A selection of Blavet's sonatas was published in 1908 in New England. Several arrangements have appeared in Blavet's works for the recorder (soprano and alto).
  2. It has some of the composer's elaborate cadences, sounding over a pedal point.
  3. Blavet was the first composer of a French comic opera.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Musicologie. Blavet Michel (1700-1768). Musicologie.org. Retrieved on 7 July 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Flute History. Michel Blavet (1700-68). Flutehistory.com. Retrieved on 7 July 2012.

External links

This page was last modified 12.10.2013 00:59:43

This article uses material from the article Michel Blavet from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.