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Jean-Paul Martini
1741 - 1816
Germany | France
Real name: Johann Paul Ägidius Martin, changed his name in Jean Paul Egide Martini -better known as Martini il Tedesco- (01/09/1741 - 10/02/1816), a German composer, organist and conductor who moved to France, born in Freistadt, Germany. He was a French composer of German birth during the classical period.[1] He is best known today for the vocal romance "Plaisir d'amour," on which the 1961 Elvis Presley pop standard "Can't Help Falling in Love" is based. He is often confused with the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Martini, so is sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco ("Martini The German").
Martini was born Johann Paul Aegidius Martin in Freystadt, Bavaria as son of the schoolmaster Andreas Martin and his wife Barbara. He was educated at the Jesuit seminary in Neuburg an der Donau and later started a study of philosophy in Freiburg im Breisgau, which he quit unfinished. He temporarily adopted the code name "Schwarzendorf", presumably trying to cover his tracks for the fear of being urged to refund his education cost. He re-adopted his original family name in the Italianized form "Martini" after moving to France. There, he established a successful career as a court musician. In 1764, he married Marguerite Camelot. Having directed concerts for queen Marie Antoinette, he adapted to the changing regimes throughout the French Revolution, and later wrote music for Napoleon's marriage as well as for the restored Chapelle royale. His melodic opera L'amoureux de quinze ans, written in 1771, enjoyed great success. In addition, his highly popular church music combined old forms with modern theatricality, and his chansons including "Plaisir d'amour" were influential. In 1788, he paid 16.000 livres to become surintendant de la musique du roi. He was designated to take office after his predecessor's death, however the outbreak of the French Revolution prevented this. Martini lost all his functions and took flight to Lyon. In 1800 he became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1814, after the Bourbon Restoration, Martini was finally appointed surintendant de la musique du roi, the post that he had been promised more than 25 years earlier. His last composition was a requiem in honour of Louis XVI of France, which he performed in the Basilica of St Denis on 21 January 1816, the anniversary day of the monarch's execution. He died in Paris in February 1816 at the age of 74.
Requiem
J.P.E. Martini wrote at least two requiems including the one for Louis XVI.
Requiem
Requiem pour Louis XVI contains:
01. Requiem aeternam 02. Dies Irae 03. Liber scriptus 04. Rex tremendae majestatis 05. Ingemisco 06. Oro supplex – Lacrymosa 07. Offertorio 08. Sanctus 09. Elevatione 10. Noli meminisse 11. Agnus Dei 12. Amen
♫ 01. Requiem aeternam © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 02. Dies Irae © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 03. Liber scriptus © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 04. Rex tremendae majestatis © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 05. Ingemisco © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 06. Oro supplex – Lacrymosa © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 07. Offertorio © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 08. Sanctus © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 09. Elevatione © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 10. Noli meminisse © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 11. Agnus Dei © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 ♫ 12. Amen © Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS022 This requiem for four voices and orchestra was written for the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI (23/08/1754 - 21/01/1793) on 21 January 1817. and his wife Marie Antoinette (1755 -1793)
See also Bochsa and Cherubini. For his Requiem mass, performed in 1816 on the anniversary of the death of Louis XVI, he received the grand cordon of the Order of St. Michael.
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