Henri-Joseph Rigel

André Dutertre : Henri-Joseph Rigel

Henri-Joseph Rigel (born February 9, 1741 in Wertheim ; † May 2, 1799 in Paris ) was a German composer who worked in France .

Life

Rigel received his musical training initially from his father Georg Caspar Rigel (around 1725–1754), who was music director at the local court of Prince von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and from Niccolò Jommelli , who worked at the Württemberg court.

In 1767 Rigel traveled to Paris and had considerable success there with his instrumental works, harpsichord works, string quartets and symphonies . His compositions have also been performed at the Concert Spirituel . Most of these were sacred works in accordance with local customs, such as his oratorios La sortie d'Egypte (1774), La destruction de Jéricho (1778), Jephté (1783) and Les Macchabées . From 1783 he was maitre de solfège (music teacher) at the royal singing school, the École Royale de Chant . Due to the reorganization of the institutions after 1789, Rigel became "first class piano professor" in 1793 at the newly founded Conservatoire de Paris .

Between 1788 and 1799 Rigel composed 16 operas , including the comic opera Le savetier et le financier (1778). His compositions show the influence of Gluck . Rigel also made a name for himself as a music teacher.

He published his extensive compositional work himself with the help of his wife, who was a music engraver , and from 1780 also with his brother, the composer Anton Rigel . After his works were published in Paris, they were later printed in Mannheim, Offenbach and Vienna with different opus numbers.

His sons Louis Rigel (1769–1811) and Henri-Jean Rigel (1772–1852) were also composers.

Web links

Commons : Henri-Joseph Rigel  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• List of stage works by Henri-Joseph Rigel based on the MGG at Operone
• CV and works in French