Louis Grabu
Encyclopedia
Louis Grabu, Grabut, Grabue, or Grebus (fl.
1665 – 1690, died after 1693) was a Catalan
-born, French-trained composer
and violin
ist who was mainly active in England.
While he was probably born in Catalonia – he was later referred to as 'Lodovicus Grabeu of Shalon in Catalunnia' – details of his early life are lacking. Sometime in his youth he moved to Paris, where he was most likely trained by Lully
. At the time of the Restoration he went to England, where French music, especially opera
, was much in vogue.
Charles II of England
appointed him as a composer for his own private music in 1665, and with the death of Nicholas Lanier
in 1666 he became the second person to hold the title Master of the King's Musick. He adapted Robert Cambert
's opera
Ariadne for a London
performance in 1674, and wrote music for John Dryden
's Albion and Albanius
in 1685.
In 1693 he left England, the only land where he had achieved any fame, and completely disappeared from the historical record.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1665 – 1690, died after 1693) was a Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
-born, French-trained composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist who was mainly active in England.
While he was probably born in Catalonia – he was later referred to as 'Lodovicus Grabeu of Shalon in Catalunnia' – details of his early life are lacking. Sometime in his youth he moved to Paris, where he was most likely trained by Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
. At the time of the Restoration he went to England, where French music, especially opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, was much in vogue.
Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
appointed him as a composer for his own private music in 1665, and with the death of Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier
Nicholas Lanier, sometimes Laniere was an English composer, singer, lutenist and painter....
in 1666 he became the second person to hold the title Master of the King's Musick. He adapted Robert Cambert
Robert Cambert
Robert Cambert was a French composer principally of opera. His opera Pomone was the first actual opera in French.Born in Paris in 1628, he studied music under Chambonnières, His first position was as organist at the church of St. Honor in Paris...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Ariadne for a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
performance in 1674, and wrote music for John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
's Albion and Albanius
Albion and Albanius
Albion and Albanius is an opera, closely resembling a French tragédie en musique, by Louis Grabu with an English text by John Dryden.The words were written by Dryden in 1680...
in 1685.
In 1693 he left England, the only land where he had achieved any fame, and completely disappeared from the historical record.