February 09, 2014 <Back to Index> Naturalist Johann Baptist von Spix, 1781 Composer Henri Joseph Rigel, 1741 Taoiseach of Ireland Garret FitzGerald, 1926 This page is sponsored by: PAGE SPONSOR

Henri - Joseph Rigel (9 February 1741— 2 May 1799) was a German born composer of the Classical era who spent most of his working life in France. He was born in Wertheim am Main where his father was musical intendant to the local prince. After an education in Germany, where his teachers included Jommelli, Rigel moved to Paris in 1767. He quickly acquired a reputation in musical circles and published harpsichord pieces, string quartets, symphonies and concertos. He began composing for the Concert Spirituel, most notably four hiérodrames (oratorios on sacred themes): La sortie d'Egypte (1774), La destruction de Jericho (1778), Jephté (1783) and Les Macchabées (score lost). These show the influence of Gluck, and Gluck himself praised La sortie d'Egypte. Between 1788 and 1799 Rigel also wrote 14 operas, including the opéra comique Le savetier et le financier (1778).