Hilaire Verloge

Hilaire Verloge , called Alarius (* around 1684 in Ghent ; † 1734 there) was a Flemish gambist and Baroque composer who worked in France.

Hilaire Verloge was a member of the court orchestra of Maximilian II Emanuel von Bayern from around 1704 to 1715 , during his exile in France. There he was influenced by musicians such as Antoine Forqueray and Jean-Baptiste Anet . After Maximilian's return to Bavaria, Verloge became "Ordinaire de la Musique de la Chambre du Roy". He performed regularly as a gambist at the court of Versailles. He mainly played his own compositions here.

Verloge, alias Alarius in 1714 and 1715, was also one of the regular performers in François Couperin's "Les Concerts Royaux". In the foreword to the publication Couperin wrote: “These pieces are not only suitable for the harpsichord, but also the violin, flute, oboe, viol and bassoon. I wrote them for the small chamber concerts that Louis XIV gave for almost every Sunday throughout the last year. The pieces were performed by the messieurs François Duval (violin), André Danican Philidor (oboe or bassoon), Pierre Dubois (oboe or bassoon) and Alarius (viol): I played the harpsichord myself. In the hope that they will find favor with the general public, like the late king. I hereby publish several complete volumes ” .

In the meantime, Verloge was in Lyon in the service of the Maréchal de France François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy , the most important patron of the local "Académie des Beaux-Arts". After his retirement, Verloge moved to his hometown Ghent, where he died the following year.

Verloge's works include the ballet “Le Ballet de la jeunesse”, which he composed with Jean-Baptiste Matho and which was performed in February 1718 in the Tuileries Palace in the presence of the king.

After Alarius, one of the early historical performance practice ensembles, the Alarius Ensemble, was named in the 1950s , which in 1972 merged into the La Petite Bande .