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Marc-Antoine Charpentier

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Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 - February 24, 1704) was a French composer of the Baroque era.

An engraving from the 1682 Almanach Royale thought to be Charpentier.
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An engraving from the 1682 Almanach Royale thought to be Charpentier.

He was a prolific and versatile composer, producing music of the highest quality in several genres.  His mastery in the composition of sacred vocal music was recognized and acknowledged by his contemporaries.  





Contents





Life

Charpentier was born in or near Paris, the son of a master scribe who had very good connections to influential families in the Parlement of Paris. Marc-Antoine received a very good education, perhaps with the help of the Jesuits, and registered for law school in Paris when he was eighteen.  He was in Rome, probably between 1667 and 1669, and studied with Giacomo Carissimi.  A certain legend claims that Charpentier initially traveled to Rome to study painting before he was discovered by Carissimi.  This story is undocumented and possibly untrue.  Regardless, he acquired a solid knowledge of the contemporary Italian practice that he brought to France upon his return.


Most likely he worked for Marie de Lorraine, duchesse de Guise on his return to France, as her house composer, until her death in 1688.  During this time he composed a considerable quantity of dramatic secular vocal works, as well as Psalm settings, hymns, a Magnificat setting, a mass, and motets, which he called stories and canticum.





A recently discovered portrait, presumed to be Charpentier in his later years.

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A recently discovered portrait, presumed to be Charpentier in his later years.







Beginning around 1672, he worked with Molière, after Molière's falling out with Jean-Baptiste Lully. During the 1680s Charpentier served as maître de musique at the Jesuits' Paris church of St. Louis. In addition, Charpentier served as the music teacher to Philippe, Duke of Chartres. Charpentier was appointed maître de musique à la Sainte Chapelle in 1698, a post he held until his death in 1704. One of his most famous compositions during his tenure was the Mass "Assumpta Est Maria" (H.11).



Music, style and influence

His compositions include oratorios, masses, operas, and numerous smaller pieces that are difficult to categorize.  Many of his smaller works for one or two voices and instruments resemble the Italian cantata of the time, and share most features except for the name:  Charpentier calls them air sérieux or air à boire if they are in French, but cantata if they are in Italian.



Modern significance

The prelude to his Te Deum, H. 146, a rondeau, is well-known as the signature tune for the European Broadcasting Union, heard in the opening credits of the Vienna New Year's Concert and the Eurovision Song Contest.



Charpentier's works

Charpentier's compositions were catalogued by Hugh Wiley Hitchcock in his Les Oeuvres de Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Catalogue Raisonné, (Paris: Picard, 1982); references to works are often accompanied by their H (for Hitchcock) number.



Operas



Biblical tragedies



Pastorales



Pastoraletta



Incidental Theater Music



Comédies-Ballet



Ballets



Divertissements



Interludes (Intermèdes)



Sonatas



Sacred Music



Media








Bibliography


Biography



Music History and Theory



External links

































 





From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.














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