Jean-Baptiste Rey
Jean-Baptiste Rey (born December 18, 1734 in Lauzerte , Quercy , † July 15, 1810 in Paris ) was a French composer , conductor and opera director.
Live and act
Jean-Baptiste Rey received his musical training as a choirboy at the Saint-Sernin Abbey in Toulouse . At the age of 17 he became Kapellmeister at the cathedral in Auch , but remained there for only three years due to disagreements with the chapter. Then he was orchestra leader at the Toulouse Opera, then in Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes. In 1776 he was called to Paris to lead performances of the works of Gluck and Piccini . Rey then became assistant to Louis-Joseph Francœur (1692–1745), then director of the Académie royale de musique (Paris Opera). He followed Francœur as director of the opera in 1781. Rey was the last conductor to use the baton like Jean-Baptiste Lully .
In 1779 Jean-Baptiste Rey was "maître de musique de la chambre du roy" by Louis XVI. From 1781 to 1785 he also conducted the Concert Spirituel orchestra .
In 1788 Rey completed the opera Arvire et Evelina by his friend Antonio Sacchini , which the latter had not completed before his death. Several motets testify to Rey's ability as a composer.
The French Revolution deprived him of all his privileges, but he showed himself adaptable. In 1792 he became a member of the board of directors of the Paris Opera, he was also one of the first professors of the Paris Conservatory , where he taught according to the Rameau principles . Among his students was François-Joseph Fétis , to whom posterity owes most of the information about Rey's life. In 1802 he was suspended from this position because of theoretical quarrels with some colleagues. Nevertheless, Napoleon appointed him his "maître de musique de chambre". In 1809, the sudden death of his daughter threw him off course; he died in bitterness just a few months later at the age of 76.
Individual evidence
- ^ François-Joseph Fétis, Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique , Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1866–1868, p. 234
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rey, Jean-Baptiste |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French composer and opera director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 18, 1734 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lauzerte , Quercy, France |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 15, 1810 |
| Place of death | Paris |