Antoine Clapisson
3 Duos conc. op. 27 for Horn and Bassoon
Antoine Clapisson was born on November 13, 1779 in Lyon. His father Léonard was a wind instrument maker there. Clapisson was probably a horn student of Giovanni Punto (1745–1803) in Paris. He participated as a military musician in Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign of 1798–1801. In 1805 he married the Swiss-born Philippine Dubois. At that time he was a musician in the 22nd Light Infantry Regiment in Besançon. Later, before 1808, he moved with his family to Naples, where he served under the local King Joachim Murat, who ruled there 1808–1815. He was also head of the Vélites de la garde du roi Murat, taught at the conservatory, and was first horn player at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. The political conditions of 1815 forced Clapisson to withdraw initially to Lyon. As a military musician considered a Bonapartist, he could no longer find work with the newly organized army. However, he found employment as first horn at the Grand Théâtre of Bordeaux. There he died on April 7, 1857.
Clapisson's œuvre does not seem to have been small. For example, Whistling's Musical Handbook of 1828 lists 12 published works with duos for 2 horns, various duos for horn and other wind instruments, trios for 3 horns, a quartet for 3 horns and trombone, and a fantasy for piano and horn.
