François-Joseph Fétis

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Lore & Background

Fétis produced a large quantity of original compositions, from opera and oratorio to simple chanson, including several musical hoaxes. The most famous of these is the "Lute concerto by Valentin Strobel", premiered with Fernando Sor as soloist; Carcassi also participated. The work is attributed not to the Alsatian lutenist Valentin Strobel, but to Jean (Johann) Strobach, a member of a prominent Bohemian family of musicians who served Leopold I. There is no evidence that Fétis's score is a hoax. The composition was published in 1698, though no copy is known to have survived except Fétis's manuscript score, which is in the Royal Conservatory Library in Brussels. In 1856 he worked closely with Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in writing a treatise about Antonio Stradivari (*Antoine Stradivari, luthier célèbre*), including detailed chapters on the history and development of the violin family, old master Italian violin makers, and an analysis of the bows of François Tourte. His interest in instruments is also evident from his very substantial collection, which includes the oldest surviving Arab oud. Fétis died in Brussels. His valuable library was purchased by the Belgian government and presented to the Royal Library.

Reader's Guide

Fétis's significance lies primarily in his musicological work, which was ground-breaking for the 19th century in attempting to avoid an ethnocentric and present-centered viewpoint. Unlike many others at the time, he did not see music history as a continuum of increasing excellence moving toward a goal, but rather as something continually changing, neither becoming better nor worse, but adapting to new conditions. He believed all cultures and times created art and music appropriate to their conditions, and he began close study of Renaissance music, European folk music, and music of non-European cultures, building the foundation for what would later be termed comparative musicology. His *Biographie universelle des musiciens*, begun in 1806 and published in 1834, remains an important source. His writings serve as a primary source for researchers, dealers, and musicians studying the musical practices and instruments of the 19th century. Despite many inaccuracies, his historical works remain of great value for historians. His critical opinions of contemporary music were conservative, and his disputes with Berlioz became famous—Fétis wrote in the *Revue musicale* of 1 February 1835 that Berlioz lacked melodic and harmonic ideas, and Berlioz responded by criticizing Fétis's editorial alterations to Beethoven's harmonies. Fétis also had effects on music theory: in 1841 he assembled the first history of harmonic theory, his *Esquisse de l'histoire de l'harmonie*, and his main theoretical work, the *Traité complet de la théorie et de la pratique de l'harmonie* of 1844, influenced later theorists including Paul Hindemith, Ernst Kurth, and Franz Liszt.

Did You Know?

• Fétis began his *Biographie universelle des musiciens* in 1806, but it did not appear until 1834.
• He founded the *Revue musicale* in 1827, the first serious paper in France devoted exclusively to musical matters.
• His instrument collection includes the oldest surviving Arab oud.
• Fétis's manuscript score of the 'Lute concerto by Valentin Strobel' is held in the Royal Conservatory Library in Brussels.
• He worked with Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in 1856 on a treatise about Antonio Stradivari.

Roots in Mons and the Making of a Musician

Fétis entered the world on 25 March 1784 in Mons, in the province of Hainaut, as the eldest of ten children. His musical inheritance was deeply embedded in the family: his father Antoine-Joseph held the titular organist position at the noble chapter of Saint-Waltrude, and his grandfather had been an organ manufacturer. Young Fétis was trained directly by his father and was already playing the choir organ at Saint Waltrude by the age of nine, with compositional talent emerging as early as seven. In 1800, at sixteen, he left for Paris to complete his studies at the Conservatory, working under masters including Boïeldieu, Jean-Baptiste Rey, and Louis-Barthélémy Pradher. In October 1806 he married Adélaïde Robert, whose father was the French politician Pierre-François-Joseph Robert and whose mother Louise-Félicité de Kéralio had been a friend of Robespierre. The couple had two sons, Édouard and Adolphe Louis Eugène, both of whom would follow musical paths of their own.

Building Institutions in Paris and Brussels

After a period in Paris where he was appointed professor at the Conservatory in 1821, Fétis made a decisive institutional move. In 1827 he launched the Revue musicale, the first French publication devoted entirely and seriously to musical matters. He remained in the French capital until 1833, when King Leopold I of Belgium summoned him to Brussels to take on the dual role of director of the Royal Conservatory and chapelmaster to the royal court. In that capacity he also founded and personally conducted the celebrated conservatory concerts, a role he maintained until his death, and he inaugurated a free series of public lectures on musical history and philosophy. His earlier work in 1806—undertaking a revision of Roman liturgical chants in the hope of establishing their original form—foreshadowed the scholarly rigor he would bring to these institutional roles. His eldest son Édouard later assisted with editions of the Revue Musicale and became a member of the Royal Academy.

A Revolutionary Musicological Mind

Perhaps Fétis's most enduring contribution lies not in his compositions but in his writings and his philosophical approach to music history. His massive Biographie universelle des musiciens, begun in 1806 and not published until 1834, remains a vital reference work for researchers and musicians alike. More remarkably, his theoretical outlook was unusual for the nineteenth century: rather than treating music history as a linear progression toward ever-greater excellence, he argued that musical traditions continually adapted to their cultural conditions, with no culture or era inherently superior to another. This led him to study Renaissance music, European folk traditions, and non-European musical cultures with equal seriousness, laying groundwork for what would later be called comparative musicology. His other major writings include Curiosités historiques de la musique (1850), Histoire générale de la musique (1869–1876), and Méthode des méthodes de piano (1840), co-authored with Moscheles. Despite acknowledged inaccuracies in his historical works, scholars continue to regard them as indispensable primary sources.

Controversies, Hoaxes, and the Berlioz Affair

Fétis was not above theatrical provocation. Among his many compositions he included several works presented as hoaxes, the most notorious being a "Lute concerto by Valentin Strobel" premiered with Fernando Sor as soloist and Carcassi also participating. The piece is in fact attributed to Johann Strobach, a member of a prominent Bohemian musical family who served Leopold I, and was published in 1698; the sole surviving copy is Fétis's manuscript held in the Royal Conservatory Library in Brussels, and there is no firm evidence the score is a fabrication. His critical pen was equally sharp. In the 1 February 1835 issue of the Revue musicale, he dismissed Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, declaring that melody was antipathetic to the composer, that his rhythmic sense was faint, and that his harmony constituted a "monstrous accretion of notes" yet remained flat and monotonous. He went so far as to state that Berlioz's output fell outside the art of music entirely and that the composer lacked its most basic capability. These remarks, and the fierce responses they provoked, cemented Fétis's reputation as both a formidable critic and a figure whose judgments, however conservative, shaped the musical discourse of his era.