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A Symphony of Success: What made some Baroque Composers stan
12 years ago
A Symphony of Success:
What made some Baroque Composers stand out more than others?
The baroque period in music is probably one of the best known examples of early music and composition. It gave rise to many musicians who spent hours in their chambers writing and composing the music of the period. Such great Musicians were Johann Sebastian Bach but lesser known is Louis Nicolas Clerambault. Both musicians were equally talented, practiced the same style instruments as the other, yet only one really rose to fame. Both musicians were born around the same period just a few years apart. Yet how is it that one musician rose to fame and the other seems to of been rather forgotten in time?
Louis Nicolas Clearmalt was a French Composer born in Paris, France in December 19, 1676. His family comes from a line of previous musicians in which his father played the Violin in the court ensemble for the King of France.[1,3] It is quite easy to see that his son has taken an interest in his father as he too latter picked up the violin and learned to play. There aren’t many details of his early life but what is known is that he has had two teachers that taught him music throughout most of his early years, Jean-Baptiste Moreau and Andre Raison. His passion grew with these two teachers in music as he studied under these two for most of his early childhood before moving on and practicing on his own.[1]
He began to gain more practice in his mid-childhood years by playing for the local Royal Churches and even in the Royal Courts, Versailles.[1 ] Though out this period he has played in public and private concerts including for Louis XV as a gift to him for his recovery from his illness.[3 ] In his early years, he didn’t venture far from practicing the violin, it was only though the local churches that he was introduced to the Organ in which he has become better known to play.
As he grew older he spent most of his time teaching music to others, he began to teach at a girl’s orphanage in which he used them as an audience to experiment different methods of composition. [1,2] The time he spent there practicing and experimenting had really shaped his music by creating a new atmosphere in which he composed around. He began to blend different styles from French and Italian music to shape into something of his own. [2] It was something quite unique for the time. During this period Clerambault has taken a deep liking for teaching rather than composition. [ 3] With such interest in teaching music he has published several books from 1702-1726 on the organ to the harpsichord and even the violin.
In 1715 after many years of playing the organ, the church of Saint Sulpice had made him their lead organist. Shortly many other local churches followed suit. In 1720, it was the church of Saint Jacques that gave him the honorary title of their lead organist. During this year Clerambault had published his last book. Ever since then, he had withdrawn himself from the rest of the world not publishing any more works their after. [2] Perhaps he was struggling to keep the peoples’ interest in his music. Perhaps it was that he preferred to teach rather than to play his music and thought to rather share his knowledge of music rather than take the fame for his music. Bearing only three children, they would latter follow in his father’s footsteps to become musicians. Despite this, Clerambault has nearly fell out from history as he had been all but forgotten.
One composer that is quite well known and famous of the period is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was born around the same time as Clerambault, only years apart. He was born in Thuringia Germany in 1685 and died in 1750.[4,5,6] Like Clerambault, Bach had also come from a long line of musical talents that had run through his family. He gained much influence throughout his entire family. His father Johann Ambrosias was the court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and the director for the local musicians of Eisenach. He taught him how to play the Violin and the Harpsichord and his uncle was the first to introduce Sebastian to the organ while his older brother nurtured his interest in the organ and taught him to play.[6] Though out his entire childhood he was surrounded with family who played and taught music and Bach’s interest only grew more and more in this rich nourishing environment.
At a young age of 8, his parents sent him off to a Latin and Grammar school in which he involved himself deeper in music as he joined the choir there to sing. Through his school he had learned how to arrange different parts in music to accompany voice. A year later tragedy struck his mother, she had died. It wasn’t shortly after so did his father. [6] It is easy to see how the death of both his parents have affected both Bach and his music as allot of his music is quite dark and melancholy in his early years of composition. Without his parents, Bach had fallen back on his brother as a mentor in his music, as they both continued to practice playing the organ. Eventually, his older brother had abandoned him when he found out that his younger brother had copied a forbidden composition manuscript. [6]
Without any one to fall back on, Bach had continued to sing, but when he began to lose his voice, all he could do was to pick up the violin and play. Playing the violin he accompanied the harpsichord and the choir. This is where he gained further interest in composing and playing for the harpsichord. He became the lead violinist for the Court of Cell and played in the royal courts of Duke Johann Ernsy. As he became proficient in playing in public, he moved to play for the local churches and began to play the organ. The churches became quickly upset as he often used this time to experiment his new ideas of composition which the churches thought to be as “strange sounds”. [6] Settling down in later life, Bach had eventfully married his cousin, Maria Barbra Bach, and had 7 children in which 3 had died. It wasn’t but a year later that Bach had remarried to Anna Magdalena Wilcke, in which she bored13 children that only 5 survived, with several that continued in their father’s footsteps.[5,6] With so much death and even rejection from his family and others, his music has changed much angrier and darker with very few songs being anything happy. He had become withdrawn much in his latter life and taken to compose several chamber pieces on his own working in his own quarters.
As Bach aged his eyesight began to fail him and eventually he went blind. He died of a Stroke in 1750 just a year after Clerambault. In all his life he didn’t publish any works; it wasn’t till after his death that Bach was discovered in March 1829, by the musician Felix Mendelssohn. Felix had brought the attention to Bach and through him had raised Bach’s name to fame, but only years after his death. [4,5,6]
Both Bach and Clerambault started out in musical families, played in royal courts and experimented throughout their lives in music and composition. They both are near equal in every way; except that throughout Bach’s life, Bach has seen much more tragedy and seen allot more rejection instead of praise. In turn this had created a much darker personality which is seen much throughout his works. Much like a Shakespeare of Baroque music, there is allot of seen tragedy and melancholy in Bach’s music. Could it be that tragedy made Bach a better musician? How would that be if he wasn’t well known in his time but Clerambault was? How it is that one musician had fallen from history when the other one rose to fame? Perhaps when the times change and continue we seem to relate more with tragedy than we do with happy and pleasant things, as we see ourselves in the same predicaments as others we relate more to reality than we do fantasy. And so when we look upon such things, we seem to forget about the fantasy and happiness that music can hold as we accept a harsher and crueler reality.
Citations and Sources:
Louis Nicolas Clerambault
1. Anne Feeney “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” http://www.allmusic.com 2013
2. “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” http://www.naxos.com 2013
3. “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013 print.
Johann Sebastian Bach
4. “Johann Sebastian Bach: Baroque Composer” http://www.enchantedlearning.com 2001-2010
5. Cjay919 “Johann Sebastian Bach: Biography” http://www.last.fm 2012
6. Jan Hanford “Johann Sebastian Bach’s life (1685-1750)” http://www.let.rug.nl/ 2002
What made some Baroque Composers stand out more than others?
The baroque period in music is probably one of the best known examples of early music and composition. It gave rise to many musicians who spent hours in their chambers writing and composing the music of the period. Such great Musicians were Johann Sebastian Bach but lesser known is Louis Nicolas Clerambault. Both musicians were equally talented, practiced the same style instruments as the other, yet only one really rose to fame. Both musicians were born around the same period just a few years apart. Yet how is it that one musician rose to fame and the other seems to of been rather forgotten in time?
Louis Nicolas Clearmalt was a French Composer born in Paris, France in December 19, 1676. His family comes from a line of previous musicians in which his father played the Violin in the court ensemble for the King of France.[1,3] It is quite easy to see that his son has taken an interest in his father as he too latter picked up the violin and learned to play. There aren’t many details of his early life but what is known is that he has had two teachers that taught him music throughout most of his early years, Jean-Baptiste Moreau and Andre Raison. His passion grew with these two teachers in music as he studied under these two for most of his early childhood before moving on and practicing on his own.[1]
He began to gain more practice in his mid-childhood years by playing for the local Royal Churches and even in the Royal Courts, Versailles.[1 ] Though out this period he has played in public and private concerts including for Louis XV as a gift to him for his recovery from his illness.[3 ] In his early years, he didn’t venture far from practicing the violin, it was only though the local churches that he was introduced to the Organ in which he has become better known to play.
As he grew older he spent most of his time teaching music to others, he began to teach at a girl’s orphanage in which he used them as an audience to experiment different methods of composition. [1,2] The time he spent there practicing and experimenting had really shaped his music by creating a new atmosphere in which he composed around. He began to blend different styles from French and Italian music to shape into something of his own. [2] It was something quite unique for the time. During this period Clerambault has taken a deep liking for teaching rather than composition. [ 3] With such interest in teaching music he has published several books from 1702-1726 on the organ to the harpsichord and even the violin.
In 1715 after many years of playing the organ, the church of Saint Sulpice had made him their lead organist. Shortly many other local churches followed suit. In 1720, it was the church of Saint Jacques that gave him the honorary title of their lead organist. During this year Clerambault had published his last book. Ever since then, he had withdrawn himself from the rest of the world not publishing any more works their after. [2] Perhaps he was struggling to keep the peoples’ interest in his music. Perhaps it was that he preferred to teach rather than to play his music and thought to rather share his knowledge of music rather than take the fame for his music. Bearing only three children, they would latter follow in his father’s footsteps to become musicians. Despite this, Clerambault has nearly fell out from history as he had been all but forgotten.
One composer that is quite well known and famous of the period is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was born around the same time as Clerambault, only years apart. He was born in Thuringia Germany in 1685 and died in 1750.[4,5,6] Like Clerambault, Bach had also come from a long line of musical talents that had run through his family. He gained much influence throughout his entire family. His father Johann Ambrosias was the court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and the director for the local musicians of Eisenach. He taught him how to play the Violin and the Harpsichord and his uncle was the first to introduce Sebastian to the organ while his older brother nurtured his interest in the organ and taught him to play.[6] Though out his entire childhood he was surrounded with family who played and taught music and Bach’s interest only grew more and more in this rich nourishing environment.
At a young age of 8, his parents sent him off to a Latin and Grammar school in which he involved himself deeper in music as he joined the choir there to sing. Through his school he had learned how to arrange different parts in music to accompany voice. A year later tragedy struck his mother, she had died. It wasn’t shortly after so did his father. [6] It is easy to see how the death of both his parents have affected both Bach and his music as allot of his music is quite dark and melancholy in his early years of composition. Without his parents, Bach had fallen back on his brother as a mentor in his music, as they both continued to practice playing the organ. Eventually, his older brother had abandoned him when he found out that his younger brother had copied a forbidden composition manuscript. [6]
Without any one to fall back on, Bach had continued to sing, but when he began to lose his voice, all he could do was to pick up the violin and play. Playing the violin he accompanied the harpsichord and the choir. This is where he gained further interest in composing and playing for the harpsichord. He became the lead violinist for the Court of Cell and played in the royal courts of Duke Johann Ernsy. As he became proficient in playing in public, he moved to play for the local churches and began to play the organ. The churches became quickly upset as he often used this time to experiment his new ideas of composition which the churches thought to be as “strange sounds”. [6] Settling down in later life, Bach had eventfully married his cousin, Maria Barbra Bach, and had 7 children in which 3 had died. It wasn’t but a year later that Bach had remarried to Anna Magdalena Wilcke, in which she bored13 children that only 5 survived, with several that continued in their father’s footsteps.[5,6] With so much death and even rejection from his family and others, his music has changed much angrier and darker with very few songs being anything happy. He had become withdrawn much in his latter life and taken to compose several chamber pieces on his own working in his own quarters.
As Bach aged his eyesight began to fail him and eventually he went blind. He died of a Stroke in 1750 just a year after Clerambault. In all his life he didn’t publish any works; it wasn’t till after his death that Bach was discovered in March 1829, by the musician Felix Mendelssohn. Felix had brought the attention to Bach and through him had raised Bach’s name to fame, but only years after his death. [4,5,6]
Both Bach and Clerambault started out in musical families, played in royal courts and experimented throughout their lives in music and composition. They both are near equal in every way; except that throughout Bach’s life, Bach has seen much more tragedy and seen allot more rejection instead of praise. In turn this had created a much darker personality which is seen much throughout his works. Much like a Shakespeare of Baroque music, there is allot of seen tragedy and melancholy in Bach’s music. Could it be that tragedy made Bach a better musician? How would that be if he wasn’t well known in his time but Clerambault was? How it is that one musician had fallen from history when the other one rose to fame? Perhaps when the times change and continue we seem to relate more with tragedy than we do with happy and pleasant things, as we see ourselves in the same predicaments as others we relate more to reality than we do fantasy. And so when we look upon such things, we seem to forget about the fantasy and happiness that music can hold as we accept a harsher and crueler reality.
Citations and Sources:
Louis Nicolas Clerambault
1. Anne Feeney “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” http://www.allmusic.com 2013
2. “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” http://www.naxos.com 2013
3. “Louis Nicolas Clerambault” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013 print.
Johann Sebastian Bach
4. “Johann Sebastian Bach: Baroque Composer” http://www.enchantedlearning.com 2001-2010
5. Cjay919 “Johann Sebastian Bach: Biography” http://www.last.fm 2012
6. Jan Hanford “Johann Sebastian Bach’s life (1685-1750)” http://www.let.rug.nl/ 2002
