Musicians - Jean-Joseph Mouret

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	Musicians - Jean-Joseph Mouret

Jean-Joseph Mouret (April 11, 1682, Avignon - December 22, 1738, Charenton) was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country. Even though most of his works are no longer performed, Mouret's name survives today thanks to the popularity of the Rondeau from his first Suite de Symphonies, which has been adopted as the signature tune of the PBS program Masterpiece Theatre.

Life

Mouret's father was a silk merchant who recognized his son's precocious musical abilities and provided him with a fine education. The elder Mouret generously supported his son's decision to pursue a musical career. As a youth, Mouret proved himself a talented singer while also earning success for his compositions.

Around the age of twenty-five, Mouret settled in Paris. News of his arrival did not take long to spread and he was introduced to the Duchess of Maine. His genial character strongly assisted him in securing the patronage of the Duchess. Mouret thus launched his adult career under highly favorable auspices.

Mouret married and had one daughter. He collaborated with the Académie Royale de Musique as well as with the Comédie Italienne theatre company, and became the director of the Concert Spirituel musical society, a position which permitted him to live in affluence. However, his later years were overshadowed by financial and social disappointments. Sinking into poverty, Mouret died in a charitable home run by the Church in Charenton.

Works

Mouret composed mainly for the stage. He contributed to the emergence of the distinctively French genres of lyric tragedy and opera-ballet during the eighteenth-century:

Les fêtes de Thalie (1714)
Les amours de Ragonde (1714)
Ariane et Thésée (1717)
Pirithoüs (1723)
Les grâces héroïques (1733)
Le triomphe des sens (1732).

Mouret also wrote airs, divertissements, cantatilles, motets, and instrumental works (sonatas, fanfares). Among his other compositions, the two Suites de Symphonies (1729) deserve special mention. The First Suite, renowned for its Masterpiece Theatre theme, is entitled "Fanfare for trumpets, timpani, violins, and oboes" and dedicated to the son of the Duchess of Maine, the Prince of Dombes. The Concert Spirituel, conducted by Mouret himself, gave the premier performance of this Suite. The Second Suite, scored for violins, oboes, and horns, was first played at the Hôtel de Ville before King Louis XV.

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