Nicolas Chédeville facts for kids
Nicolas Chédeville (born February 20, 1705 – died August 6, 1782) was a French musician. He was a talented composer and played the musette de cour. He also made musette instruments.
Contents
Biography
Nicolas Chédeville was born in Serez, a town in Normandy, France. His brothers, Pierre Chédeville and Esprit Philippe Chédeville, were also musicians. Louis Hotteterre, his great-uncle and godfather, might have taught him music. He also might have taught him how to make instruments.
In the 1720s, Nicolas started playing the oboe and musette in the Paris Opera orchestra. The musette is a type of bagpipe. It was very popular in French baroque music.
After Jean Hotteterre passed away in 1732, Nicolas took his place. He joined Les Grands Hautbois, which was the royal oboe band. He left the opera in July 1748. However, he sometimes returned to play his musette there.
When he was nearly 70 years old, he married the younger daughter of a valet. This valet had worked for the Duke of Orléans. Nicolas still called himself the musette player to the king. In his later years, he faced money problems. He had to give his ten houses to people he owed money to in 1774. After this, he and his wife separated. He left Les Grands Hautbois in 1777. He died in Paris four years later.
Jean-Benjamin de la Borde called him "the most celebrated musette player France had ever had." Nicolas also taught the musette to Princess Victoire around 1750. He became a very popular teacher among rich families. He eventually earned the title maître de musette de Mesdames de France. This meant he was the musette teacher to the Princesses of France. Nicolas also made musettes. He made the instrument's sound range bigger, adding lower notes.
Works
Chédeville wrote his music for wealthy amateur musicians to enjoy. Rich French people at that time loved playing country-style instruments. They enjoyed imagining a romantic peasant life. This was before the French Revolution changed everything.
His first published works were collections of pieces. They were for the musette de cour or hurdy-gurdy. These were called Amusements champêtres (country amusements). They were published in December 1729. He called himself 'Chedeville le jeune' (the younger). In later works, he called himself 'Chedeville le cadet' (the cadet).
Another collection of Amusements champêtres came out later. These pieces were more difficult to play and more musical. His op. 6 collection was different. It had pieces named after battles and showed 'war-like images'. He got the idea for this from a military trip he took with the Prince of Conti.
He briefly wrote more serious music with Italian influences in op. 7. This is his only collection written especially for the flute, oboe, or violin.
Pretending to be Vivaldi
In 1737, Nicolas made a secret deal with Jean-Noël Marchand. They agreed to publish a collection of Nicolas's own music. But they would say it was by Antonio Vivaldi. This collection was called Il pastor fido, op. 13. Chédeville paid the money and received all the profits. This was proven in a legal document in 1749.
He might have done this to make his instrument, the musette de cour, more popular. It didn't have the support of a famous composer like Vivaldi.
Nicolas was very interested in Italian classical music. In August 1739, he got permission to publish arrangements. These were for the musette, hurdy-gurdy, or flute. They were arrangements of concertos and sonatas by ten Italian composers. He also included music by Johann Joachim Quantz and Antoine Mahaut.
Le printems, ou Les saisons amusantes (1739) is a fun example of this. It is an arrangement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. It was made for hurdy-gurdy or musette, violin, and flute. The French word flute could also mean the recorder. Nicolas changed Vivaldi's original Summer with his own op. 8 no. 9 concerto. He moved the middle part of Winter to Autumn. He also replaced Winter op. 8 no. 12. He freely arranged and added some of Vivaldi's material to his own.
Compositions
These works were published in Paris. All solo pieces have continuo accompaniment. The '/' means you can use different instruments.
Opuses
- Op.[1]: Amusements champêtres, livre 1er (1729); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.
- Op.[2]: Amusements champêtres, livre 2e (1731); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
- Op.[3]: Troisième livre d'amusements champêtres (1733); for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe/violin.
- Op.4: Les danses amuzantes mellées de vaudeville (1733); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violin.
- Op.5: Sonates amusantes (1734); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violin.
- Op.6: Amusemens de Bellone, ou Les plaisirs de Mars (1736); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
- Op.7: 6 sonates (1739); for flute/oboe/violin.
- Op.8: Les galanteries amusantes (1739); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/violins.
- Op.9: Les Deffis, ou L'étude amusante; for musette/hurdy-gurdy.
- Op.10: Les idées françoises, ou Les délices de Chambray (1750); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violins.
- Op.11: (This work is lost)
- Op.12: Les impromptus de Fontainebleau (1750); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/violins/pardessus de viole/flutes/oboes.
- Op.13: (This work is lost)
- Op.14: Les variations amusantes: pièces de différents auteurs ornés d'agrémens (includes variations on Les folies d'Espagne); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/pardessus de viole/flutes/oboes.
Arrangements and other works
- Il pastor fido, sonates ... del sigr Antonio Vivaldi [actually by Nicolas Chédeville] (1737); for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe/violin.
- LE PRINTEMS / ou / LES SAISONS / AMUSANTES / concertos / DANTONIO VIVALDY / Mis pour les Musettes et Vielles / avec accompagnement de Violon / Fluste et Basse continue. / PAR MR CHEDEVILLE LE CADET / Hautbois De la Chambre du Roy / et Muſette ordinaire De l'Academie Royalle / De Muſique. Opera ottava. [arrangement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons by Nicolas Chédeville] (1739); for musette/hurdy-gurdy, violin, flute, and continuo.
- La feste d'Iphise [arrangement of songs from Montéclair's Jephté] (1742); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.
- Les pantomimes italiennes dansées à l'Académie royale de musique (1742); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
- Nouveaux menuets champêtres; for musette/hurdy-gurdy/violin/flute/oboe.
- [Dall']Abaco, op.4, arrangement for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe.
- La feste de Cleopatre (1751); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.
Images for kids
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Title page of Chedeville's ″Il pastor fido, Antonio Vivaldi. Opera XIII"(1737)
See also
In Spanish: Nicolas Chédeville para niños
