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Concept
François-Joseph Fétis
Summary
François-Joseph Fétis (fetis; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the Biographie universelle des musiciens remains an important source of information today.
Fétis was born in Mons, Hainaut, eldest son of Antoine-Joseph Fetis and Elisabeth Desprets, daughter of a noted surgeon. He had nine brothers and sisters. His father was titular organist of the noble chapter of Saint-Waltrude. His grandfather was an organ manufacturer. He was trained as a musician by his father and played at young age on the choir organ of Saint Waltrude.
In October 1806 he married Adélaïde-Louise-Catherine Robert, daughter of the French politician Pierre-François-Joseph Robert and Louise de Keralio, friend of Robespierre. They had two sons: the elder son Édouard Fétis (1812–1909) helped his father with the editions of Revue Musicale and became member of the Royal Academy.
In 1866 his wife died, and he withdrew from the Brussels society and court. When his father died, Eduard inherited his complete library and collection of musical instruments.
His talent for composition manifested itself at the age of seven, and at nine years old he was an organist at Saint Waltrude, Mons. In 1800 he went to Paris and completed his studies at the Conservatory under such masters as Boïeldieu, Jean-Baptiste Rey and Louis-Barthélémy Pradher.
In 1806 he undertook the revision of the Roman liturgical chants in the hope of discovering and establishing their original form. In this year he also began his Biographie universelle des musiciens, the most important of his works, which did not appear until 1834.
In 1821 he was appointed professor at the Paris Conservatory. In 1827 he founded the Revue musicale, the first serious paper in France devoted exclusively to musical matters. Fétis remained in the French capital till 1833, when at the request of Leopold I, he became director of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the king's chapelmaster.
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