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 took part as a military musician in Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign of 1798–1801. In 1805 he married the Swiss 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. There he served under King Joachim Murat, who ruled Naples from 1808 to 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 circumstances of 1815 forced Clapisson to withdraw back to Lyon for the time being. As a military musician who was regarded as a Bonapartist, he could no longer find work with the newly reorganized army. However, he found employment as first horn at the Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux. He died there on April 7, 1857.
Clapisson's oeuvre does not seem to have been small. For example, Whistling's Musical Handbook of 1828 alone lists 12 published works, including 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.
