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Jean-Féry Rebel

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4.3K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  joen_cph  
#1 ·
Jean-Féry Rebel (1666-1747) was an innovative French Baroque composer and violinist. He could have done with a good PR man as some of his portraits are terrible.

This is credited to Antoine Watteau and shows Rebel in about 1710.

Rebel was a student of the great composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. By 1699 Rebel had become first violinist of the Académie royale de musique (Royal Academy of Music) and at the Opéra. Rebel went to Spain in 1700. Upon his return to France in 1705 he was given a place in the 24 Violons du Roy (Violins of the King). Rebel served as court composer, maître de musique at the Académie, and director of the Concert spirituel.

In honor of his teacher, Rebel composed Le Tombeau de M. Lully (literally, the Tomb of Monsieur Lully; figuratively, A Tribute to Lully). Some of Rebel's compositions were choreographed "symphonies." His Les Caractères de la danse presented the leading dance rhythms of the time and combined music with dance. Among his boldest original compositions is Les élémens ("The Elements") which describes the creation of the world.

 
#9 ·
Taggart said:
In honor of his teacher, Rebel composed Le Tombeau de M. Lully (literally, the Tomb of Monsieur Lully; figuratively, A Tribute to Lully).
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The 'Tombeau' was actually a common musical genre at the time, basically a sort of elegy.

The disc I spoke of earlier was not in fact cpo, but from an apparently unidentifiable label. Either way, the Ensemble Rebel - who evidently named themselves after Rebel - play a selection of his trio sonatas, which follow the Corellian form. (Italian music overtook the French musical landscape quickly after the death of Lully.) It has been re-released on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, here. Andrew Manze also recorded a selection of the same 1712 publication, Recueil de 12 Sonates a Il et Ill Parties, which you can find here. Despite consisting mostly of trio sonatas (7, the other 5 are violin sonatas) you will likely see recordings of it always labeled 'violin sonatas', which makes it quite difficult to distinguish it from the violin sonatas published a year later, but I believe this disc contains some of them, next to one of his 1705 suites for violin and basso continuo, of which he composed three. Hugo Ryene also once performed Rebel's only opera, Ulysse, and that recording, though out of print, can be found here.

By the way, if you were planning on getting the Manze set, do consider buying this compilation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Violin-Archangelo-Corelli/dp/B002HNA94U/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top I'm buying it right now, as for some ridiculous error, it is only 15 bucks at a certain site here, which is significantly less expensive than any the individual recordings..
 
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