The Classical Music Book

71

A skilled violinist, Lully performed

in his own works. He is thought to be

the man holding the violin in François

Puget’s painting of 1688.

See also: Le jeu de Robin et de Marion 32–35 ■ Euridice 62–63 ■ Hippolyte et Aricie 107 ■ Orfeo ed Euridice 118 –119 ■

The Magic Flute 134 –137 ■ The Barber of Seville 14 8 ■ Der Freischütz 149 ■ La traviata 174 –175 ■ Tosca 194 –197

BAROQUE 1600 –1750

grandiose “Turkish” march with

lively percussion. Although Lully

was not the innovator of musical

“orientalism,” he is widely credited

with spreading its influence in the

18th century. His use of a scene-

setting overture—an orchestral,

marchlike introduction usually

to allow for royal pageantry and

homage to be paid—became

a standard musical feature for

almost all subsequent operas.

Enter the conductor

Lully’s increased instrumentation,

with five-part strings, woodwind,

and percussion, meant that

Le bourgeois gentilhomme was

one of the earliest pieces of music

to require a conductor to coordinate

the timing of both singers and

orchestra. Indeed, there is an

etching of Lully’s later opera,

Alceste, premiered in 1674, that

shows a man “beating time” on

the floor with a staff. Unfortunately

for Lully, it was this vigorous

method of musical direction that

precipitated his untimely demise.

In March 1687, he died from a

gangrenous wound that developed

after a blow to his toe while

beating time as he conducted

his own Te Deum. ■

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Born into

a family of

Florentine

millers in 1632,

Giovanni

Battista Lulli

began his rise through French

society when he gained a

position as a servant at the

French court at the age of 14.

He attracted the attention of

Louis XIV, with whom he later

danced in courtly spectacles.

By 1661, he had been placed

in charge of court music, at

which point he gallicized his

name. Lully’s monopoly on

French opera enabled him to

produce multiple works of his

own creation. His prolific output

before his early death in 1687

also included chamber music

and sacred works.

Other key works

1663 Miserere mei Deus

1674 Alceste

1677 Te Deum

1686 Armide

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