Andre Campra (1660-1744)

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20100120101206Donald Macleod is joined by the musicologist, harpsichordist and conductor, William Christie for a series of programmes to mark the 350th anniversary of Andr退 Campra's birth.

Andr退 Campra, the man from Aix, seems to have had what it takes, a natural gift for producing such charming and elegant music that it delighted audiences wherever it was heard. A succession of church posts resulted in a wealth of sacred music, while the success of his opera ballet l'Europe Galante made him a household name. These days his stage works are largely unknown and he's best known for a Requiem and a Te Deum. Part of the reason for this obscurity can be attributed to historical circumstance. He came to the fore in the wake of Lully's domination of the French operatic stage, and latterly was eclipsed by the genius of Jean-Philippe Rameau. As a link between these two Baroque giants, Campra makes a fascinating study but to think of him only in these terms sells him rather short. William Christie has done much to put Campra on the map, with performances and recordings of his music. For the first time on 'Composer of the Week' Campra features alone, providing a rare opportunity to appreciate the breadth of music he wrote, from the meltingly beautiful to the highly dramatic.

Contemporaries called Campra a plagiarist, thief, rogue, hellhound, even fiend - strong words indeed. Campra it seems was at the very least a shrewd operator, a survivor, who knew how to cultivate powerful protectors. Yet despite the scheming, Campra seems to have had a rather devil may care attitude when it comes to authority, he survived several scandals in his career.

When Lully died in 1687, young Campra was in his twenties, with a head full of untapped theatrical possibilities. His career had begun in the church, with a series of provincial posts. It was in the Cathedral at Toulouse that his operatic tendencies began to offend his clerical superiors' sensibilities. A few months after a scandal involving a girl and some members of his choir, Campra arrived in Paris on four months leave, supposedly to 'improve himself and make himself more capable of rendering service to the church'. Clearly chafing at the bit, the wily Campra never returned, preferring instead to wangle himself the prestigious post of Master of Music at Notre-Dame in Paris. Finally in a position to stake his claim on the operatic stage, in 1697 Campra wrote an opera ballet, L'Europe Galante, an act so scandalous to his church employers, that he had to issue it under an anonymous name. In one sweep it became a massive hit. He had revitalised French opera and Campra was all set for a dazzling career on the operatic stage. More stage works followed, among them Les fꀀtes v退nitiennes, Tancr耀de and Idom退n退e but further difficulties also ensued. Having left Notre Dame to write for the stage, a quarrel resulted in his replacement by Marin Marais at the Op退ra of the Acad退mie Royale de Musique. Subsequently it took Campra twenty years to secure a job as one of the Masters in the Royal Chapel at Versailles. Once established there with generous resources and a splendid setting for his grand motets, Campra being Campra, still found himself some trouble. In 1731 at the age of 71 it's recorded that he took part in an orgy. Since the most scurrilous thing about the event appears to have been the loss of his glasses, perhaps it's more a measure of the viperous nature of gossip at Versailles than a reflection of a septuagenarian's libertine propensities.

In the first programme Donald Macleod and William Christie look at Campra's provincial training, first as a choirboy and later as a Music Master at the Cathedral of St. ɀtienne in Toulouse. At the age of just seventeen, supposedly a year after he'd learnt to read and write, Campra produced a setting of verses from Psalm 45, Deus Noster Refugium, while his operatic tendencies were already bursting through in joyous settings such as the secular motet Florete prate.

Donald Macleod on Campra's provincial training - as a choirboy and as music master.

20100220101207Donald Macleod and guest William Christie chart Andr退 Campra's progress in Paris, from Master of Music at Notre Dame to becoming a composer of opera. From the moment he arrived at Notre Dame, Campra started shaking things up. A watershed came when he composed an opera ballet l'Europe galante in 1697. Its success led to Campra leaving Notre Dame to pursue a freelance career writing stage works.

Donald Macleod charts Campra's successful launch in Paris.

20100320101208Presented by Donald Macleod. Now based in Paris, life as a freelance composer was a precarious business for Andr退 Campra. He gave up the security of a job at Notre Dame in 1700, so when he was appointed as Director of the Orchestra of the Opera at the Acad退mie Royale de Musique it must have seen like a very good proposition indeed, but then things didn't quite turn out as he might have expected. Guest William Christie explains how Parisian theatrical life worked.

Donald Macleod discusses Campra's career as a stage composer.

20100420101209Presented by Donald Macleod.

Patronage played a significant part in Andr退 Campra's life. When Louis XIV died Campra's own patron, the Duke of Orleans, became Regent for the five year old Louis XV. After the royal court moved from Versailles to Paris Campra was well placed to manipulate circumstances to his own advantage. Guest William Christie fills in the background.

Donald Macleod considers the impact the succession of Louis XV had on Campra.

201005 LAST20101210Presented by Donald Macleod.

Having survived years of relative instability as a freelance musician, in 1723 Andr退 Campra finally managed to secure a position as one of the Masters of the Royal Chapel at Versailles. It's one of the reasons why, in his later years, he produced relatively little secular music, despite his natural abilities in that area. Having recorded and performed Campra's music over many years, William Christie puts the case for better awareness of his music outside France.

Donald Macleod and William Christie discuss Campra's later years.