Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (
Fontaine-l'Évêque, Hainaut, Belgium 24 October 1676 -
Paris, January 1750 or 1751) was a Walloon composer and
haute-contre. He was maître de chapelle at
Toul Cathedral, then
Strasbourg Cathedral before employment from 1707 until 1711 at the
Opéra de Paris as a singer.[1][2] He worked in the service of the
Duke of Bourbon between 1715 and 1721, after which he became the director of the
Théâtre de la Monnaie in
Brussels (1722-1724). This appointment was the start of the era of his professional life in which he travelled from one city to the next, taking him to
Lille,
Lyons,
Poitiers,
Dijon,
Belgium and
the Netherlands. Little is known about the last years of his life. He died in poverty in Paris. Bourgeois mainly wrote
cantatas, ballets, and divertissements.[3]
Works, editions and recordings
Les Amours déguisés (1713)
Les Plaisirs de la Paix (1715).
Cantatas: Les Sirènes. Borée. Zéphire et Flore. Hippomène. Psiché
Carolyn Sampson Le Concert Lorrain
Carus 2012
References
^Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (1676-1750/51) - Anne Delvare - 2007 - 1196 pages - This thesis offers the most complete biography of the musician.
^Performing baroque music - Page 80 Mary Cyr - 1992 Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (1676-1750 or 1751) provides one of the few directions for registration in harpsichord continuo passages. For a delicate air from his cantata Psiché with obbligato viol, Bourgeois specifies the upper manual on the ..."
^David Tunley. Bourgeois, Thomas-Louis [Joseph] on
Grove Music Online(subscription required)