Faà di Bruno, Giovanni Matteo [Horatio, Orazio] 83

Freitas Branco, Luís de.

See Branco, Luís de Freitas

Freithoff, Johan Henrik

(b Christiansand [now Kristiansand], 1713; d Copenhagen, 24 June 1767). Norwegian violinist and composer. He received his first training from his father, Baltazar Freithoff, town musician in Christiansand. At the age of about 20 he set off on travels ‘in Europe, Asia and Africa’ which lasted until the end of 1742. Little is known of where he was or what he did, but he was certainly in Smyrna and Constantinople and, since he later published translations from both English and French, it is possible he visited England and France. Of more importance to his career as a musician is a period of residence in Italy which would seem to be indicated by the inscription ‘Livorno a 20 de Fevrier 1739’ on the manuscript of his sonata for two flutes and cello (S-Skma). At the end of 1742 Freithoff wrote to the king in Copenhagen asking for a position, preferably in the civil service. It does not appear that his applications were successful, but he nevertheless went to Copenhagen, where in 1744 he created a sensation with his violin playing. In May 1744 he was appointed court violinist extraordinary, a special appointment which did not require his day-to-day attendance as a member of the court orchestra but reserved his services as a virtuoso performer for special occasions. In 1745 he was granted his wish of a position as secretary in the Danish chancellery. He died of consumption; in a poem published later in 1767 in a Copenhagen newspaper his death was lamented as a loss to music equal to that of Telemann, who had died the following day.

As a composer Freithoff appears to have limited himself to writing music which could be useful to him as a performer – with few exceptions his compositions are chamber music. He is above all the virtuoso violinist writing well and confidently for his instrument in an attractive style that might be described as moving away from the Baroque towards the Classical. If he wrote any church music it seems not to have survived; his only vocal music consists of a few theatre songs.

WORKS

Edition: J.H. Freithoff: The Complete Works, ed. B. Kortsen (Bergen, 1974)

principal sources: DK-Kk, S-L, Skma

2 sonatas, 2 vn, bc; 4 trios, 2 vn/fl, vc; Trio, 2 fl, vc

Sonata, vn, bc; Andante avec les variations, vn, bc [perhaps 3rd movt of sonata]; Sonata, fl, bc; Minuet, vn solo

2 minuets, hpd; Gavotte, hpd; 8 songs for comedies perf. at Royal Theatre, Copenhagen, and pubd in 18th-century anthologies

BIBLIOGRAPHY

E. Winkel: ‘Johan Henrik Freithoff’, Levende musik, i (1942), 109–17

B. Kortsen: Johan Henrik Freithoff (1713–67): Man and Music (Bergen, 1974)

B. Kortsen: Norwegian Music and Musicians (Bergen, 1976)

JOHN BERGSAGEL

Frémart, Henri

(b late 16th century; d ?Paris, after 1646). French composer and priest. According to Gantez his family came from Picardy. He is first heard of in 1611 as master of the children at Rouen Cathedral, where Titelouze was organist. He held this post until 17 November 1625 even though he was appointed director of the choir school at Notre Dame, Paris, on 10 November 1624. At Rouen he showed a certain lack of respect for authority: in 1624 he wrote a chanson criticizing the master of the brotherhood of Ste Cécile in whose presence he had it sung by his choirboys at a puy de musique. Frémart was nevertheless ‘highly esteemed as a composer’. He applied for the position at Notre Dame because he felt that his talents justified such a promotion, but he failed to keep the chapter of Rouen Cathedral informed of his actions, and he had to leave Rouen hastily. He remained in his post at Notre Dame until 8 October 1640, when he was replaced by Jean Veillot. In retirement he apparently continued to live in Paris, and he probably carried out duties as a priest. On 1 January 1646, when the publication of his masses by Ballard was complete, he presented them to the chapter of Rouen Cathedral. Frémart was proud by nature and had a fine presence – one report states that he ‘resembled an emperor’. Mersenne and Gantez, who both valued his works highly, placed him on a par with men such as Aux-Cousteaux, Gobert, Cosset and Bouzignac. As a composer he is known only by eight masses, which are distinguished by excellent imitative counterpoint enlivened by frequent syncopations. They are unequivocally tonal, like the works of Aux-Cousteaux and Cosset, but Frémart surpasses them through the supple elegance of his writing.

WORKS

all published in Paris

Missa, 4vv, ‘Ad placitum’ (1642)

Missa, 4vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Confundantur superbi’ (1642)

Missa, 5vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Paratum cor meum Deus’ (1642)

Missa, 5vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Domine refugium’ (1643), lost

Missa, 5vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Eripe me, Domine’ (1643)

Missa, 6vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Jubilate Deo’ (1645); San, Bs, Ag, ed. in Chartier

Missa, 6vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Salvum me fac, Deus’ (1645)

Missa, 4vv, ad imitationem moduli ‘Verba mea auribus percipe’ (1645)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MersenneHU

A. Gantez: L’entretien des musiciens (Auxerre, 1643); ed. with commentary by E. Thoinan (Paris, 1878/R), letters 27, 31

A. Collette and A. Bourdon: Histoire de la maîtrise de Rouen (Rouen, 1892/R)

F.-L. Chartier: L’ancien chapitre de Notre-Dame de Paris et sa maîtrise (Paris, 1897/R)

C. de Waard, ed.: Correspondance du P. Marin Mersenne, i (Paris, 1932), p.xxxiii; iii (Paris, 1945), 61, 64

A.-M. Yvon-Briand: La vie musicale à Notre-Dame de Paris aux XVIIème et XVIIIème siècles (diss., Ecole des Chartes, Paris, 1949)

A.-M. Yvon-Briand: ‘La maîtrise de Notre-Dame aux XVIIème et XVIIIème siècles’, Bibliothèque de la Société d’histoire ecclésiastique de la France: huitième centenaire de Notre-Dame de Paris [Paris 1964] (Paris, 1967), 359–99

D. Launay: La musique religieuse en France du concile de Trente à 1804 (Paris, 1993)

DENISE LAUNAY/JAMES R. ANTHONY