Which composer stabbed himself in the foot

Jean-Baptiste Lully is one of those figures who loom large in histories of music; much less so in concert and on disc. All this week, Donald Macleod explores the life and work of this ambitious, arrogant, difficult, ruthless but remarkable man who came from the backstreets of Florence to be the preeminent composer of the French court in the late 17th century, the founding father of French opera and one of the leading figures in the music of his era.

In today's programme, Lully goes too far - with his page-boy, a young lad called Brunet. The composer's rock-solid supporter to date, Louis XIV was scandalized, or at least had to appear so, and Lully was warned to 'amend his conduct' in future. Perhaps as a public sign of the king's disapproval, Lully's opera Armide, considered by many to be his masterpiece, did not, as usual, receive its premiere at Versailles, but in Paris.

Lully had another rather more pressing problem to contend with around this time - an anal fistula, which was operated on in January When a few months later the king suffered the same affliction, the royal surgeon developed a special type of sheathed lancet to treat it.

The operation, which was extensively trialled on citizens at the bottom end of the societal food chain, was a success, and celebrations broke out all over France. Lully's contribution to the frenzy of thanksgiving was a special performance of his Te Deum in Paris - during the course of which the famous self-inflicted accident took place. See all episodes from Composer of the Week.

Armide - Act 2 scenes Il faut mourir, pecheur. Acis et Galatee - Act 1 entracte - Air. Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems. Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works. What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep? A favourite of Louis XIV, Lully spent most of his career composing in his court, writing trios, operas and ballets as music master of the royal family.

Rather ironically, this was the night Lully accidentally struck his own foot with the staff. He wanted to be able to dance, and to Lully the joy of dancing eclipsed any concerns about potentially fatal gangrene. Read more: 6 pieces of music that killed their composers. But as doctors predicted, it spread through his body and eventually killed him.

Lully is a fascinating figure in music history. And for the past 61 years, Haydn's coffin has had two. Yes- two heads. When Haydn died, 2 important things were happening: First, Vienna was occupied by Napolean, causing Haydn to be buried in Gumpendorf instead of Eisenstadt in the Esterhazy family seat the Esterhazy's were Haydn's patrons. This becomes important later in the story. Second: Phrenology was all the rage.

A friend of Haydn, Joseph Carl Rosenbaum, worked with another gentleman, Johann Nepomuk Peter, to bribe the gravedigger to exhume Haydn's body to retrieve the head for phrenological study. The task was achieved 4 days following the burial. Naturally, Haydn's skull showed a prominent musical bump in the skull, and Peter kept the skull in an elaborate box in his collection to show off to friends.

At some point, Peter gave the skull to Rosenbaum. The body was exhumed and the Prince was furious to find the head missing. Peter and Rosenbaum were immediately suspected of the macabre theft, but they used some amusing tactics to keep Haydn's head from Prince Nickolaus. Rosenbaum finally gave the Prince a different skull that was placed in the coffin , and Haydn's real head passed from hand to hand for years. It wasn't until that descendent Prince Paul Esterhazy finally united Haydn's real head with his body-and with the other skull as well.

There are many more composers with true bizarrities surrounding their deaths Search Query Show Search. About WHQR. FCC Application.

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