A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Martini il Tedesco

by J. A. Fuller-Maitland

MARTINI IL TEDESCO ('the German'), the name by which the musicians of his time knew Johann Paul Aegidius Schwartzendorf, born Sept. 1, 1741, at Freistadt, in the upper Palatinate, who was organist of the Jesuit seminary at Neustadt, on the Danube, when he was 10 years old. From 1758 he studied at Freiburg, and played the organ at the Franciscan convent there. When he returned to his native place, he found a stepmother installed at home, and set forth to seek his fortune in France, notwithstanding his complete ignorance of the language. At Nancy he was befriended, when in a penniless condition, by the organ-builder Dupont, on whose advice he adopted the name by which he is known. From 1761 to 1764 he was in the household of King Stanislaus, who was then living at Nancy. After his patron's death Martini went to Paris, and immediately obtained a certain amount of fame by successfully competing for a prize offered for the best march for the Swiss Guard. At this time he wrote much military music, as well as symphonies and other instrumental works. In 1771 his first opera, 'L'amoureux de quinze ans,' was performed with very great success, and after holding various appointments as musical director to noblemen, he was appointed conductor at the Théâtre Feydeau, when that establishment was opened under the name of Théâtre de Monsieur for the performance of light French and Italian operas. Having lost all his emoluments by the decree of Aug. 10, 1792, he went to live at Lyons, where he published his 'Melopée moderne,' a treatise on singing. In 1794 he returned to Paris for the production of his opera 'Sappho,' and in 1798 was made inspector of the Conservatoire. From this post he was ejected in 1802, by the agency, as he suspected, of Méhul and Catel. At the restoration of 1814 he received the appointment of superintendent of the Court music, and wrote a Requiem for Louis XVI. which was performed at St. Denis, Jan. 21, 1816. Very shortly afterwards, on Feb. 10 of the same year, he died. Besides the operas mentioned above he wrote 'Le fermier cru sourd' (1722); 'Le rendez-vous nocturne' (1773); 'Henri IV.' (1774); 'Le droit du Seigneur' (1783); 'L'amant sylphe' (1795); 'Annette et Lubin' and 'Ziméo' (1800). In the department of church music he wrote several masses, psalms, requiems, etc. A cantata written for the marriage of Napoleon with Marie Louise exists, besides much chamber music, but Martini's best-known composition is probably the charming song 'Plaisir d' amour.' (Mendel's Lexicon, etc.)

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