Jean Marie Leclair Free Sheet Music, Recordings, Program Notes and Biography

The Unsolved Murder of a Baroque Master

On the cold morning of October 23, 1764, a gardener peered through the window of a modest home in a dangerous, crime-ridden suburb of Paris. He saw a shocking sight: the home’s owner, the most celebrated violinist in all of France, lay dead on the floor in a pool of blood. The authorities were called, and they found the 67-year-old Jean-Marie Leclair lying just inside his doorway, dressed in his formal attire, with his un-drawn sword beside him. He had been viciously stabbed three times. An investigation began, and suspicion fell on three people: the gardener who found him, Leclair’s estranged wife from whom he had separated years earlier, and his own nephew, a fellow violinist who was known to be resentful of his famous uncle's success. But no one was ever charged. The murder of the great Leclair remains one of the most famous unsolved crimes in music history, a dark and mysterious end to the life of the man who created the French violin school.

From Dancer to Virtuoso

Jean-Marie Leclair’s journey to becoming a violin virtuoso was highly unconventional. Born in Lyon in 1697, he was the son of a lacemaker and master weaver who was also an amateur cellist. Jean-Marie, the eldest of eight children (several of whom also became musicians), did not begin his artistic life as a violinist. His first profession was that of a dancer. He showed great talent in dance and lacemaking, and by his early twenties, he had secured a position as a ballet master at the opera house in Turin, Italy.

It was in Turin that his life's path changed forever. The city was a major center for Italian music, and it was there that Leclair encountered the violinist Giovanni Battista Somis, a direct student of the legendary Arcangelo Corelli. Leclair began intensive violin studies with Somis, absorbing the principles of the Italian school—its emphasis on a big, singing tone, its brilliant passagework, and its expressive, virtuosic fire. This Italian training, combined with his innate French sensibility for poise and elegance rooted in the dance, would become the unique foundation of his genius.

The Fusion of Two Styles: France and Italy

In the early 18th century, the violin world was dominated by two opposing national styles. The French school, descended from the courtly dance music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, was characterized by grace, rhythmic precision, and a sweet, refined tone. It was music of understated elegance. The Italian school of Corelli and Vivaldi, by contrast, was all about passion, virtuosity, and drama. It pushed the technical boundaries of the instrument with rapid-fire arpeggios, complex double stops, and soaring lyrical melodies.

When Leclair returned to Paris and made his triumphant debut at the city's premier musical institution, the Concert Spirituel, in 1723, audiences heard something entirely new. He possessed the technical firepower and passionate expression of an Italian virtuoso, but his playing was tempered with the poise, balance, and sophisticated grace of a French master. He had single-handedly synthesized the two great rival schools of violin playing. This fusion became the foundation of the new French violin school, a style that would dominate the instrument's pedagogy and performance for the next century and a half.

Success in Paris and the Courts of Europe

Leclair’s career skyrocketed. He became the toast of Paris, and in 1733, he was appointed ordinaire de la musique du roi by King Louis XV, a highly prestigious position in the royal court at Versailles. He was to share the duties of directing the king's private orchestra, performing every other month. However, Leclair’s famously proud and uncompromising personality soon caused trouble. He entered into a bitter dispute with his colleague, the violinist Pierre Guignon, over who should lead the orchestra. When the issue could not be resolved to his satisfaction, the proud Leclair resigned from his royal post after only a few years.

This setback did little to harm his international reputation. He embarked on a new phase of his career, spending several years in the Netherlands in the service of the wealthy Princess Anne of Orange, an accomplished keyboardist and a great admirer of his work. He also worked for a time for the Duke of Gramont in Spain. He continued to compose and publish his music, which was eagerly awaited and sold throughout Europe, cementing his fame as the continent's leading French violinist.

The Composer: Sonatas and Concertos

Leclair's reputation as a composer rests primarily on his instrumental music, particularly his four books of twelve violin sonatas each (Opus 1, 2, 5, and 9) and his two sets of six violin concertos (Opus 7 and 10). His works are models of Baroque form and elegance, but they are also notoriously difficult to play, even for today's virtuosos.

He made extensive use of complex double and triple stops, intricate bowing patterns, and demanded that the player navigate the highest positions of the fingerboard. Yet this virtuosity was never an end in itself. For Leclair, technique was always in the service of graceful, balanced, and expressive music. His compositions are a perfect reflection of his artistic philosophy, uniting Italian brio with French refinement. Among his most famous pieces is the dazzling finale, titled "Tambourin," from his Sonata in D major, Op. 9, No. 3, a brilliant and energetic dance movement that showcases his unique style.

A Difficult Man and a Tragic End

After years of success abroad, Leclair returned to Paris in the late 1740s. His personal life was in disarray. He separated from his second wife, Louise Roussel, who was a talented music engraver and had engraved all of his published works. He became increasingly reclusive and, seeking security, bought a small house in the rough, northern suburbs of the city. He was known to be a proud, somewhat arrogant, and difficult man, and he had likely made enemies over the years.

It was in this small house that he met his violent end. The police investigation into his murder was extensive, but the evidence was circumstantial. The nephew, Antoine-Guillaume Vial, had the motive of professional jealousy. The gardener had a weak alibi. And his estranged wife, who stood to inherit his estate, was also a prime suspect. The case grew cold, and the murder of France’s greatest violinist was never solved, leaving a dark stain on the final chapter of his story.

The Father of the French Violin School

Despite his tragic death, Jean-Marie Leclair’s legacy is immense. He is, without question, the father of the French school of violin playing. He established a national style and a level of technical and artistic mastery that would be the benchmark for all who followed, from Pierre Gaviniès in the 18th century to Rodolphe Kreutzer and Jacques Thibaud in the 19th and 20th. He brought the violin to the forefront as a solo instrument in France and left behind a collection of sonatas and concertos that are among the most beautiful and sophisticated of the entire Baroque era.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Borowitz, Albert. "The Unsolved Murder of Jean-Marie Leclair." The Musical Quarterly 73, no. 3 (1989): 388–414.

• Zaslaw, Neal. "Leclair, Jean-Marie." In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001.

• Schwarz, Boris. Great Masters of the Violin. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.

• Preston, Robert E. The Life and Works of Jean-Marie Leclair, the Elder. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1983.