The 200th Anniversary of the Death of Nicolas Roze
Monday, September 30, 2019
Today, 30 September 2019, is the 200th anniversary of the death of French music teacher and composer Nicolas Roze (17 January 1745, Bourg-Neuf – 30 September 1819, Saint-Mandé).
Early on, he was on a path to become a priest and in 1752 he was a choirboy at the collegiate church in Beaune. Shortly after, Roze took composition lessons from Jean-Marie Rousseau in Dijon. Beginning in 1779, Roze gave private lessons in basso continuo and harmony, after having served as chapel master at different churches in Beaune, Angers, and Paris. Roze wrote an essay called Système d’harmonie, which was published by Jean-Benjamin de Laborde in Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne (Paris, 1780).
When Napoleon I was crowned on 2 December 1804 in the Eglise Metropolitaine in Paris, Roze composed the motet “Vivat in aeternum” (RISM ID no. 990056301). The finale, “Vivat rex,” was a popular piece for official celebrations in the early 19th century.
In 1807 Roze became director of the library at the Paris Conservatory. Until the end of his life, he supported the introduction of a catalog system and worked on conserving and expanding the collection.
Image: “C’est dans nos boccages” from Deux Ariettes (Paris, ca. 1780; RISM ID no. 990056304).
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