Little research has been done on the life of horn player Charles Fleury. He was born in the second half of the 18th century. It can only be assumed that he received his training on the horn in Paris. He had some of his compositions published in his own print, such as a quartet for horn, violin, viola and basso on which he is named "Premier Cor du Grand Theater de Lyon".
The present 12 quartets bear the title on the print
DOUZE QUATUORS / POUR QUATRE CORS / Composes et Dediés au Citoyen Gillet /PAR CHARLES FLEURY / Professeur de Musique et de Cors / ŒUVRE 1.m
The 12 quartets for 4 horns appeared before 1798 and are composed for valveless invention horns. In this instrumentation they are one of the first works for 4 horns in chamber music.
Fleury's composition was apparently appreciated by the horn players. The horn players of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig Fleischauer, Müller, Pfau and Herr performed this work on March 4, 1806 in a concert in the Theater am Rannstadt Schiessgraben. On May 19, 1806, this work was repeated “on request” in a concert in the hall of the Hotel de Saxe in Leipzig.
