Jean Joseph Mouret (“John Joseph” with a soft “j” sound. Mouret is  pronounced moo-RAY)

Born April 11, 1682 in Avignon, France

Died December 20, 1738

Nationality: French

Period/Style: Baroque

About the composer:

Jean Joseph Mouret was born with a fine voice, which became evident while he was still a young boy.  He also began writing music when he was very young. He caught the attention of a French duchess, who admired his work and thought he was an extremely talented young man.  She helped pay for his education and living expenses while he studied music.  Mouret wrote mostly music for stage plays, operas and ballets, but also some concert music for various groups of instruments. His most famous piece was a set of symphonic suites.  The piece we’re going to hear is from one of those suites.

About the music:

Rondeau (2 min)

This little fanfare is very short but packed with brilliance!  It’s an example of the finest in Baroque music.  If you’ve ever watched a program on Public Television called “Masterpiece Theatre” you’ll recognize this as the theme for that program.  It was written for trumpets, timpani, violins and oboes, but it has also been arranged for other groups of instruments including all-brass ensembles, organ, and even whole orchestras.  See which instruments you can hear in this recording.

Suggested activity:

As closely as you can, draw pictures of brass instruments and timpani (kettle drum).