1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. And today's topic is 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: one that has been on my list for quite a while, 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: but I hadn't thought about him for a bit until 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: I was watching the movie Tar and his name came up. 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: That's another thing related to my travels that was on 8 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: a flight. We watch this on an airplane. Yes, it 9 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: comes up in passing very early on in the film. 10 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: So outside of music circles, Jean Baptiste Lulie is perhaps 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: best known for the unusual circumstances of his death, but 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: he lived a really fascinating life that would rival just 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: about any fictional rags to riches story. The Chateau de 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: Versailles website has a little anecdotal sidebar about him that reads, 15 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: despite his Italian origins, Lulie was the most ardent defender 16 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,320 Speaker 1: of French music and the founder of the French operatic tradition. 17 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk about how an Italian 18 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: kid landed in France and became so deeply ingrained in 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: both the royal court and the country's cultural history. So 20 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,199 Speaker 1: Giovanni Battista Luli was born November twenty ninth, sixteen thirty 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: two in Florence, Italy. We don't really know a whole 22 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: lot about his childhood, although he later claimed that a 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: Franciscan monk had taught him a little bit of guitar. 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: He also later claimed that his parents had been part 25 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: of Florence's noble class, but it really appears that his father, 26 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: Lorenzo Dimaldo Lulli, was actually a miller. His mother was 27 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: Katerina del Sera, and she was also from a miller's family. 28 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: Giovanni had an older brother and sister who died when 29 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: he was still very young, and he was his parent's 30 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: only surviving child. When Giovanni was just eleven, he was 31 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: spotted performing allegedly during carnival festivities by the Duke de 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: guise or possibly a member of the Duke's family. Giovanni's 33 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: mother had died around this same time, and so it 34 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: appears that when the offer was made for the Duke 35 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: de Guisee to take the young boy away to France, 36 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: it was not met with resistance, so soon Givanni was 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: going by the French version of his name Jean Baptiste Lullie, 38 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: and he did legally take that name, but he did 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: that when he became a naturalized French citizen, which did 40 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: not happen for almost two decades after this. The first 41 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: job that young Loulie had in France was serving as 42 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: garson de chambre and conversational companion to the young Mademoiselle 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: de Montpencier. This was Anne Marie Louise d'rleon, Duchess of Montponcier, 44 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: who was fourteen at the time that young Lili appeared 45 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: in France. She had in him a native Italian speaker 46 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: that she could practice learning that language with. He was 47 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: paid one hundred and fifty livres a year for this position, 48 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: but this also meant that Loulie had access to educational 49 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: opportunities of his own. He was exposed to a lot 50 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: of different music of all kinds, which he really loved. 51 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: He started learning music more formally with a string ensemble 52 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:14,799 Speaker 1: who played for the young Royal. There are two different 53 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: versions of how Louli's time in the Montpencier household. Ended. 54 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: One is that he showed a lot of promise musically 55 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: but was abruptly let go from his position when he 56 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: wrote some verses set to music that were very scandalous 57 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: and full of innuendo. The other version is much less salacious, 58 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: at least for Lulie. When the series of French civil 59 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: wars that came to collectively be known as La Fronde 60 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: took place over the years of sixteen forty eight to 61 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: sixteen fifty three, Mademoiselle de Montpensier was caught up in it. 62 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: At this point, Louis the fourteenth had not yet fully 63 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: assumed the throne. His mother Anne of Austria, and Jules 64 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: Cardinal Mazarin, her Italian chief minister, were running that did 65 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: not sit well with the French nobility or the parlement. Initially, 66 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: Mademoiselle de Montpensier's involvement in Lafrand seemed kind of minimal. 67 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: She became friends with participants in the Frande desnoble, that 68 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: was the segment of the conflict that involved the nobility 69 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: opposing a reduction in their influence and power. But then 70 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: she kind of got right in the middle of it 71 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: when she tried to intercede with the City of Orleans, 72 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: attempting to stay neutral in all of this, and things 73 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: kind of spiraled from there, and she did become much 74 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: more involved. She was ultimately exiled for her part in 75 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: the conflict, and in this version of Jean Baptiste, Lullie 76 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: no longer working for her, he simply asked to be 77 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: let go because he did not want to live in 78 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: the country. Of course, the relationship that most influenced the 79 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: course of Loulie's life was the one that he had 80 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: with the King, Louis the fourteenth. The two men appeared 81 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: on stage together on February twenty third, sixteen fifty three, 82 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: in the Le Royale de la Nui. In our two 83 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: part episode on the history of ballet, which came out 84 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, we talked about how Louis the fourteenth 85 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: had formalized ballet, shifting it from being a social activity 86 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: to a performative art, and Loulis was instrumental in that, 87 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: although his real power as a leader in the arts 88 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: came later, But Louli and the King really hit it 89 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: off from the start. Louis's appointments to various creative roles 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: in the arts that the king's command began not long 91 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: after they met in the summer of sixteen fifty three, 92 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: Louis became head of Louis the fourteenth's personal orchestra, nicknamed 93 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:42,160 Speaker 1: Peti violon durois a little violins. This was the first 94 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: step in a historic rise to fame and power. For context, 95 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,799 Speaker 1: Loulis was six years older than the king, and Louis 96 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: the fourteenth was still a teenager at this time. He 97 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: was fourteen or fifteen, so right at the age when 98 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: having a witty friend in his twenties would probably seem 99 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: really alluring. From early on, Louis the fourteenth had in 100 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: Loulie a friend who would devote himself to keeping the 101 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: monarch entertained and amused and delighted. Louie, of course, benefited 102 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: from the favor bestowed on him by one of the 103 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: most powerful men in Europe and really of the world. 104 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: Although that felt weird to type, so I typed it 105 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: and deleted it many times. In his role as the 106 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: king's composer, Loulie started writing music for court ballets, and 107 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: he also performed in them, and he quickly made a 108 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: name for himself as a dancer and composer, but also 109 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: because of his fantastic comedic performances, so he was also 110 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: considered a comedian he gained the nickname Baptiste as his 111 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: stage name and became something of a Celebrity's Baptiste is 112 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: mentioned in a lot of writing of the day as 113 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: being this amazing performer, and it was Loulie. During this time, 114 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: Louie had developed the Little Violins into a group so 115 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: exceptional that it was soon seen is far superior to 116 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: the Royal Orchestra that it was technically an offshoot of. 117 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: But eventually the two of them did merge for court ballets. 118 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: Starting in sixteen sixty one, Jean Baptiste Louie went through 119 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: a particularly important stretch, lasting a couple of years. This 120 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: was the year he became a French citizen and took 121 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: this French version of his name legally. He became Superintendent 122 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: of Music and Court Composer to the King on May sixteenth, 123 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: sixteen sixty one. He was not the sole holder of 124 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: that position. Composer Jean Baptiste was set also held that title. 125 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: In sixteen sixty two, just before he turned thirty, Louis married. 126 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: His bride was Madeleine Lambert, who's the daughter of composer 127 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: Michel Lambert, who was an influence and possibly a teacher 128 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: of Loulie in his early years in France. This wedding 129 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: was attended by King Louis the fourteenth, then Queen Maria Theresa. 130 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: Lee and Madeline went on to have ten children together. 131 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 1: Seen sixty four, Loulie began collaborating with Moliere. The two 132 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: of them produced many comedie ballet pieces over the next 133 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: several years, including Lamour Medsin Love Medicine or Medical Love 134 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: in sixteen sixty five, l Sicilian in sixteen sixty seven, 135 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: and Monsieur de Porsignac in sixteen sixty nine. The duo's 136 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: final collaboration was Le Bourgeoise gen Dillome in sixteen seventy. 137 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: The years of sixteen seventy three to sixteen eighty seven 138 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 1: are considered Lulie's most productive as a composer. He wrote 139 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: an opera every year during this time, so fourteen in total. 140 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: During this time, his collaborator was Lebrest Philippe Killon, and 141 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: in this phase of Luie's career he tended to focus 142 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: primarily on tragic opera. There are only a few comedies 143 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: sprinkled in. Working with Quinon, Lili produced, among other operas, Isis. 144 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: In sixteen seventy seven, Psyche in sixteen seventy eight, La 145 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: Tempted pet in sixteen eighty five. His collaborations with other 146 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: librettists were often pretty fraught. Louie was really picky, he 147 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: wanted to rewrite things himself sometimes, and he was also 148 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: very frank with his criticisms. These traits, combined with the 149 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: fact that he had basically taken over all of music 150 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: in France, led to just a lot of tension within 151 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: the arts community. At one point, this turmoil actually resulted 152 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: in one of his rivals trying to have Louie assassinated 153 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: with arsenic which was planned to be mixed into his tobacco. 154 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: And that plot came to light when opera singer Marie Aubrey, 155 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: who worked with Loulie, told him about it. Her brother 156 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,319 Speaker 1: had been the man asked to commit the murder. There 157 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: was a big trial, It went back and forth, there 158 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: was an appeal, but Lili was never actually nobody attempted 159 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: to kill him, so it was kind of a trying 160 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: to prove a plot, which is tricky. In a moment, 161 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: we'll talk about how Lui monopolized the musical life of France, 162 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: but first we will hear from our sponsors. During that 163 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: particularly productive time of his life, Lulie also achieved an 164 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 1: incredible coup of sorts for opera in France. He had 165 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: used his various positions, power and money to basically become 166 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,679 Speaker 1: the sole arbiter of what was performed on the operatic 167 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: stage in the country. In addition to having achieved the 168 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: highest rank possible within the monarch's power structure, he had 169 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: also purchased the performing rites of librettiest Pierre Perin and 170 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: composer Robert Cambert. This meant that Lulie was the opera 171 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: composer of France. No one could produce any operas in 172 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: the country without his permission. Par have been granted a 173 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: twelve year permit in sixteen sixty nine to build opera 174 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: academies anywhere in France, and Louis had been fighting that 175 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: from the beginning. Initially he insisted that the French language 176 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: wasn't really a good language for longer form opera. He 177 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: thought Italian was superior. He would change his opinion on that, though, 178 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: we'll get to that in a moment. But just a 179 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: few years after Parenz started this endeavor, he found himself 180 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: in financial straits, and that was when Louise seized the 181 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: moment and bought him out. Loulie's offer to Parentz paid 182 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: off all of his immediate debts and gave him a 183 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,199 Speaker 1: pension for the rest of his life. In return, Louie 184 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 1: was able to parlay the academy rights to an exclusivity 185 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 1: deal with the king to create the Academy Royalty Musique, 186 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: with no one else allowed to open an academy of 187 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,719 Speaker 1: that nature in France. Although Loulis and Moliere had been 188 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: colleagues with a lot of success together, Moliere tried to 189 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: block this whole thing, as did other composers. By the 190 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: time Loui's machinations were complete, he had managed to cut 191 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: off all of his competition through one legal arrangement after another, 192 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: and he profited from it as well. We're talking a 193 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: bit more about that in a moment. He even managed 194 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: to seize control over Moliere's theater within weeks of the 195 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: playwright's death, and he received a royal grant to convert 196 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: it into the home of the Academy Royal de Musique. 197 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: When Loulie started working on operas in the sixteen seventies, 198 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: Italy was considered to be the center of opera He 199 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: may well have continued to work in ballets were it 200 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: not for the wavering enthusiasm of Louis the fourteenth. When 201 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: the King and Louie had met and Louis was a teenager, 202 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: performing ballet was easy and enjoyable for him. But as 203 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: the king got older, time gets us all and ballet 204 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: got more demanding, he didn't want to participate as much, 205 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: and it stopped being his favorite of the arts, Thus 206 00:12:55,640 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: the transition to opera. Many of Louliy's works borrowed from 207 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: the Italian opera tradition, taking styles that had been popular 208 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: earlier in his life and then giving them new life 209 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: by pairing them with French verse and with the French 210 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: ballet styles that had risen to prominence. Was using the 211 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: balletic elements as a chorus of sorts. We said just 212 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: a moment ago that Louli thought that French was not 213 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: really going to work out for opera, but he challenged himself, 214 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: probably with some encouragement from Louis the fourteenth, to work 215 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: with the French language to make a new style of 216 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,640 Speaker 1: delivery that would work with opera. Some of this involved 217 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: working with the way verse was spoken and sung by performers, 218 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: but he also approached the problem from the opposite angle, 219 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 1: and it was something that Louis was quite academic about. 220 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: He's said to have studied the way French stage dramas 221 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: were performed and then mimicked the patterns of speech musically. 222 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: This way he innovated the French opera to have a 223 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: greater continuity from segment to segment. In sixteen eighty one, 224 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: Loulie made a really interesting move. So he had, as 225 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: we said, initially performed in the comedy ballet that he 226 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,120 Speaker 1: wrote for performances at the King's Court. But over the 227 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: years his appearances on stage had waned to nothing. But 228 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: that year he returned to perform Monsieur de Porsignac, a 229 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: ballet that included sections of spoken dialogue written by Moliere. 230 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 1: This was not a new ballet. It had first been 231 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: performed twelve years earlier, but it was popular and it 232 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: had gone back into rotation. In addition to writing the 233 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: music for it, Loulie had originated the role of a 234 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 1: doctor in the comedy who performed in a dance segment 235 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 1: called the Dance of the Enemas. This was pretty broad comedy, 236 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: and in the sixteen eighty one performance, where Loulie decided 237 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: to return. He went all out, which included surprising everyone 238 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: by basically stage diving from the stage into the orchestra pit. 239 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: Near his part's conclusion, he destroyed a harpsichord in the process. 240 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: But this whole thing delighted King Louis the fourteenth utterly, 241 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 1: who broke out into loud laughter in the theater. One 242 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: of the reasons it was so odd for Loulie to 243 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: engage in this kind of just clownery was that he 244 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: had been working to rise even higher in the ranks 245 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: of the court. He wanted to become a secretary to 246 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: the King. So, as a brief explainer, the secretary's zufra 247 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: were men in service to the king who either served 248 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: as advisor notary secretary to the King and Household and 249 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: Crown of France and its finances, or just advisor notary 250 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,320 Speaker 1: Secretary of the King, House and Crown of France. So 251 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: that distinction of and its finances in that first description 252 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: put those secretaries in the Grand chancellery. It meant that 253 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: they benefited from the country's wealth but were also on 254 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: the hook for it. This was an office that offered 255 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: a chance for a common born civil servant to really 256 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: gain ranking of nobility which could then be inherited by 257 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: heirs if the secretary served for twenty years or more, 258 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: or if they died while in office. So this was 259 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: a really ambitious move for Lolie. So back to that 260 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: performance of Monsieur de Porsignac and the stage diving. The 261 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: king's other secretaries did not find vamping around and jumping 262 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: off the stage to be the kind of behavior suitable 263 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: for someone who might gain such a position, and their 264 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: feelings on the matter got Toluli's ears almost instantly, allegedly 265 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: as he was leaving the stage to change out of costume, 266 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: but he also received word that he was to return 267 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: to the stage to give the king another bow and 268 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: receive the monarch's appreciation. Loulie did something rather bold. He 269 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: took the opportunity to tell the king what had been 270 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 1: going on with the other secretaries, saying from the stage, 271 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: but Sire, I want to become a secretary of the king. 272 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: Your secretaries will not receive me, and they may not 273 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: want to receive you. The implication here was that in 274 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: openly associating with Louis, the king might be tarnished. It 275 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 1: also made very clear to the men who had just 276 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: called him undignified that they were insulting the King's taste. 277 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: So this was a little daggery, and the King replied 278 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: with they will no longer want to receive it will 279 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: be a great honor for them. If I'm interpreting this 280 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: direct translation correctly, the implication here is that Louis the 281 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 1: fourteenth was essentially telling Louie and everyone else there that 282 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: it would be an honor to the other secretaries for 283 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: Louie to become one of their number. This feud over 284 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: Louie and his rise to power continued. Louie was even 285 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: confronted over the issue by the French Minister of War, 286 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:53,880 Speaker 1: Francois Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois. Louvois had been 287 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 1: approached by the other secretaries to intercede on their behalf, 288 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: and he explained to Loulie it really was not appropriate 289 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: for him, a performer and comedian, to try to rise 290 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: to such a station, making a note that Loui's only 291 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: real skill was making Louis the fourteenth laugh, so that 292 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: was sort of comparing him to being nothing more than 293 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: a jester. I feel like gesters can be really powerful, 294 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: but that was not the It's not the implication here. 295 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 1: Louise replied rather indignantly that Louvois would do the exact 296 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 1: same thing if he could, implying that the minister had 297 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,199 Speaker 1: no sense of humor. Things escalated to the point where 298 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,920 Speaker 1: King Louis the fourteenth made clear to the secretaries through 299 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:42,800 Speaker 1: an intermediary that they were the ones who were behaving badly, 300 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: and that they should see Louise's desire to become a 301 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: secretary as an honor. At some point, though it's not 302 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: entirely clear when the king had already given Louie the 303 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,679 Speaker 1: required lettre de noblesse that made him part of the 304 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: French nobility, and should have given him enough credentials that 305 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: he could pursue the office of secretary without issue, although 306 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: the letters would not have been a requirement for it. Finally, 307 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: in December sixteen eighty one, Loulie purchased the title of 308 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: Esquire Advisor Secretary to the King, Household, Crown of France 309 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: and his finances. He purchased that office from the widow 310 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: of the prior holder, Joseph Clozel, as would have been 311 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 1: customary at the time, basically he was buying out their 312 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:31,720 Speaker 1: family's inheritance. Madame Clozell received sixty three thousand livre in 313 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: exchange for Louie's assumption of the position, having been admonished 314 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: by the throne. The other secretaries accepted Loulie, at least 315 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: on the surface, and for his part, Louie invited many 316 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: of them to a feast in an evening of opera 317 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,920 Speaker 1: to celebrate the role of secretary was clearly important to Loulie. 318 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: All of his scores after this had printed at the 319 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: top by Monsieur Lellie Esquire Adviser, Secretary to the king 320 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,719 Speaker 1: House Crown of France and its finances, and superintendent of 321 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,160 Speaker 1: His Majesty's music, just in case she wanted a really 322 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: long title end business card every time. In just the moment, 323 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: we will talk about how lucrative becoming a king's secretary 324 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: was for the composer and where the rest of his 325 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: wealth came from. First, though, we will hear from the 326 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: sponsors that keeps stuffy miss in history class going. James P. Fairleie, 327 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 1: writing for the periodical Bach in nineteen eighty four, noted 328 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: that Lulie was through his position as secretary collecting an 329 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,359 Speaker 1: estimated sixteen hundred livre a year in addition to the 330 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 1: money he was being paid for his various other offices. 331 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: His positions as the master of music to the royal 332 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: family and the composer to the King would have gotten 333 00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: him an estimated thirty thousand livre a year. Addition, in 334 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: instances where anyone wished to perform in the country using 335 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: more than two singers and more than six violins, it 336 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 1: was now considered an opera, and Loulie was to be 337 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: paid a fee in exchange for permission to perform. In 338 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: This control over who could perform and where in the 339 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: country really became a rather ruthless pursuit for Loulie, and 340 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 1: one that he approached strategically. In sixteen eighty four, Louis 341 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: the fourteenth granted him the power to approve or deny 342 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,720 Speaker 1: requests for building opera houses anywhere in the country, and 343 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: his approval came with a fee. Of course, when Louie's 344 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: daughter Catherine Madeline married one of the king's household staff, 345 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: Nicholas Francine, in sixteen eighty four, the composer let his 346 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: new son in law manage some of the non creative 347 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,679 Speaker 1: day to day elements of the Academy Royaley musique. This 348 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: offered him some breathing room and what was a really 349 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,919 Speaker 1: packed schedule because Louie was not just writing operas, he 350 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 1: was also staging, the running rehearsals, training new talent, and 351 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: by all accounts was kind of a backbreaker in all 352 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: of it. He was incredibly exacting in his staging and arrangement. 353 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: There were accounts of him having a violent temper when 354 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: his performers weren't working as hard as he wanted them to. Audiences, though, 355 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: saw none of this. They just saw excellence. Almost equivalent 356 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: to Lulie's excellence in his work and his ambition was 357 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: his astute accumulation of real estate to ensure that his 358 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: wealth continued to grow. He purchased multiple properties as he 359 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: got more and more money, and in sixteen eighty two 360 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,159 Speaker 1: he moved his family to a huge house outside of 361 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: Paris that was surrounded by gardens. He even attempted to 362 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: purchase the entire county of Gregnon, near the Swiss border, 363 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,480 Speaker 1: and this particular effort caused friction with other nobles for 364 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: a couple of reasons. One someone else had already been 365 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: on it when Lulie swooped in and offered fifty percent 366 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: more than the existing bid, which by most estimations was 367 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:03,399 Speaker 1: more than it was worth. So it kind of just 368 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: seemed like he wanted to be a jerk. There was 369 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: really like this air of dishonor about the whole thing, 370 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,360 Speaker 1: like you wouldn't do that to a colleague or an equal. 371 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: But it also really riled the aristocracy in general, who 372 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: just thought Loulie was being really showy with his cash. 373 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 1: That was to them extra ghosh, because he wasn't even 374 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,160 Speaker 1: French to begin with. One letter that passed between two 375 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: members of the nobility read quote, must a wanderer have 376 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: the temerity to have such land? The wealth of a 377 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: man of this quality is greater than that of the 378 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: prime ministers and the other princes of Europe. Lilie did 379 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: not get Grignond, but he sure did keep on buying 380 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: properties in Paris. There was more drama in the composer's 381 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: life in sixteen eighty five, when Lulie's page named Brune 382 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: was removed from the composer's household. Lilly's romance with Brune 383 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: has been described by some historians as kind of an 384 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 1: open secret in the Journal Historical Reflections. In two thousand 385 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: and seven, Philip Brett wrote an article titled Issues in 386 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: Music and Sexuality in the Long eighteenth Century, and in 387 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: this article Brett mentions that Louis was part of a 388 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: circle of men within the court of Louis the fourteenth 389 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 1: who were known to have affairs with other men, and 390 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,919 Speaker 1: this was something that was mentioned in the writing of 391 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: the day. One account of Louie's contemporaries mentions that the 392 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: king was growing tired of Louie's conduct with other men, 393 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: particularly because he was becoming less and less covert about 394 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 1: such things, and in the case of Brune, it appears 395 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 1: that things had become really too obvious they had to 396 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: be ended by external forces. This was also happening as 397 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth was becoming more devout himself following Queen 398 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: Maria Theres's death and his marriage in secret to Francoise 399 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: d'aubigna Madame de Matino. Eight was also when Louie composed 400 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: most of his religious music. This was partially a response 401 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 1: to the clergy's critiques of Louie's operas, as well as 402 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: shifting attitudes at court, so he had gone from ballets 403 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,520 Speaker 1: to operas because the king wanted it, And now he 404 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 1: was kind of getting into sacred music because that was 405 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: what the king was into. Then it was also probably 406 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: helping to revise Loui's public persona. The king had kind 407 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: of turned on opera, and Louie did not enjoy royal 408 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: favor the way he once had, although he did retain 409 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: his various titles. I read one account that said he 410 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: kept making Louis the fourteenth angry because of his affairs 411 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: and his behavior, but he always forgave him in the end. 412 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,880 Speaker 1: In November of sixteen eighty six, Louis the fourteenth underwent 413 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:51,439 Speaker 1: surgery for an anal fistula. The surgery was painful and 414 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: the recovery process was long. Finally, in early sixteen eighty seven, 415 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: the king was feeling well and Louie planned a celebratory 416 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: performance of his piece to Damn. During the concert, which 417 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: took place on January eighth, he conducted an orchestra of 418 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 1: more than one hundred and fifty musicians in the couvon 419 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,639 Speaker 1: diff Weel, the royal monastery of sam Bernard for that occasion. 420 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: As part of his renowned perfectionism, Louie was known to 421 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: beat time with a sharpened cane that also served as 422 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: his conductor's baton. But during this event, he accidentally brought 423 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: the sharp end of this cane down on his own 424 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: foot instead of the stage while marking time, and he 425 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: pierced through the shoe into his toe. Over the next weeks, 426 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: that toe became infected and gangrene set in. Loulie's physicians 427 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: wanted to amputate, but he refused. There are accounts that 428 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 1: indicate that he said that he would no longer be 429 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: able to dance if he submitted to an amputation. But 430 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: surely he was aware that even if he didn't have 431 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 1: an amputation in his foot heeled, his dancing days were 432 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 1: probably over. But he became sicker and sicker, and he 433 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: must have known that he had basically doomed himself because 434 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: he made various end of life legal arrangements. Jean Baptiste 435 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: Lui died on March twenty second of sixteen eighty seven. 436 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,119 Speaker 1: He was buried in the church of Notre Dame de Victoire. 437 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: To be clear that it is not the same as 438 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: Notre Dame Cathedral. When Luley died, he left behind an 439 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,119 Speaker 1: impressive fortune for his heirs. His holdings were estimated to 440 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: be worth about eight hundred thousand livres, although in some 441 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: accounts it's closer to a million. He had five homes 442 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: in Paris, the very large and opulently decorated home he 443 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,199 Speaker 1: lived in during his last years in the suburb of 444 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: Villa Leveque, two country houses, one at Puteaux and one 445 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,879 Speaker 1: at seven. He also had two blocks of apartments in 446 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: the Rue Royale and Rue de PETITCHMP. As a landlord 447 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,640 Speaker 1: he had a steady stream of income from those properties alone. Yeah, 448 00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,159 Speaker 1: he did what he set out to do, which was 449 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: to set up, you know, a name for himself, create 450 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,240 Speaker 1: family wealth, make his family noble, his children inherited all 451 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: of that. So he kind of, you know, he set 452 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: a goal and he achieved it. Today, Loli is often 453 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: credited with founding the French opera, although we should note 454 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 1: there were certainly other composers contributing to the field at 455 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: the same time, even though Louie did try to have 456 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: them silenced with his legal maneuvering. The range of feelings 457 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,480 Speaker 1: about him, bookended by his own time in the modern world, 458 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: can perhaps be summed up best in two quotes. The 459 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:35,920 Speaker 1: first is from James P. Firleigh, who we mentioned earlier. 460 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 1: In his nineteen eighty four writing, he said of Loulie quote, 461 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: he was one of the few men of genius belonging 462 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: to the company of royal secretaries. Despite his many shortcomings, 463 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:47,920 Speaker 1: he was among the brightest lights in the reign of 464 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,959 Speaker 1: Louis the fourteenth and then the next is a comment 465 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: from one of Louie's contemporaries, the librettist Jean de la Fontaine, 466 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: who once stated in the Papers of the day about 467 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 1: Louie quote, he is lewde and I'm evil minded, and 468 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: he devours all. So the good news is if people 469 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: think you're a monster today, eventually you might be lauded. 470 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: Is amazing. Yeah, we have some listener mail for us, 471 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: I do, and unsurprisingly to me, we got emails about 472 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: hot doctor Pepper. Yeah we did, we did. Uh. The 473 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: one I'm reading today is from our listener Laura, who writes, Hi, 474 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: Dracy and Holly. I've been waiting for an excuse to 475 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: write you to for a long time, and I know 476 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,280 Speaker 1: I don't need an excuse to tell you how wonderful 477 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: y'all are, and this week gave me two. I grew 478 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 1: up in a very teetotaler household where my father was 479 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 1: very anti alcohol in any form. He is loosened up 480 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: as he's aged. And one of our Christmas winter holiday 481 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: drinks was mould doctor pepper. My stepmom would heat it 482 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: on the stove with spices like you do a mould wine, 483 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 1: and we would have that on special winter occasions. Maybe 484 00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: it does not sound good to you, but I have 485 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 1: fond memories of hot mold Doctor p and Christmas or 486 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: New Year's celebrations. As for hot doctor pepper from a 487 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: bottle of heated in a car, I agreed that is gross. 488 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: Hot plastic does not impart good flavor. Second thing I 489 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: wanted to write to you about is Anne Hutchinson, which 490 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: is from the episode Tracy Research. That week I've been 491 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: meaning to write to ask for an episode about her. 492 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 1: Time always gets away from me. It was very excited 493 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: that she is a big part of the Mary Dier episode. 494 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: I live for twelve years in the Bronx, New York, 495 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 1: right next to the Hutchinson River Parkway, which everyone calls 496 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:31,200 Speaker 1: the hutch which is named for Anne Hutchinson. I find 497 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: her to be very interesting and loved learning about her 498 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,720 Speaker 1: and Mary Dyer from you. Two. I love stuff you 499 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: missed in history class and have listened to all the 500 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: back episodes. I think I started listening in twenty nine 501 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: or twenty ten. I also listened to all of pop 502 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,320 Speaker 1: stuff back when that was on. Thank you for all 503 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: you've taught me, and I'm always excited to listen to 504 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: a new episode. I love you too, and the previous 505 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: host too much love Laura. What a sweet sweet email, 506 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 1: hot doctor Pee listen. So I do like a Muld 507 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,960 Speaker 1: wine or a muld cider. Those can be great. No, 508 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: they're not for you. I don't. I really struggle. I 509 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: really struggle with hot punches. Sure, I mean I drink 510 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: hot coffee with sweeteners. So it's not a hot sweet issue. 511 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: I don't know what it is. It might be a 512 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: level of sweetness like a hot fruity drinks of any kind. No, 513 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: but I'm willing to try it. Look, I'm never now 514 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, maybe maybe we'll try a doctor Pepper situation. 515 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: I would be willing to try kind of like hot 516 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: muld doctor Pepper. I would try that too. I would 517 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: probably put alcohol in it. The way my brain auto 518 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: filled that sentence was, I would probably put it over 519 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 1: ice with some vodka that was fun. I was like, 520 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: that would defeat the purpose of it being able to 521 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: do it. I'll do it warm with vodka. That's fun. Uh. 522 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: We have some other doctor Pepper emails we might read 523 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: because there's some interesting ones, and I appreciate it and 524 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: I listen. I want everyone to stand up for the 525 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: things they love, even if I'm like, oh, yuck, because 526 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,120 Speaker 1: that's one ding dong's opinion. I also think that sometimes 527 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:24,520 Speaker 1: people get very uh they will take personally other people's 528 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: like food and beverage perference, and I'm like, it's okay, 529 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: It is okay if you personally don't like a particular 530 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: flavor or texture or whatever that is not that's not 531 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 1: a judgment on anybody else's use of that flavor or 532 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: texture unless you are literally like people who like this 533 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: are bad. And nobody's saying that this is indicative of 534 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: moral family. No, everybody eat and drink what you like, 535 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: so long as it is you know, safe and not 536 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: gonna hurt anybody. Yeah, Like I know there's a whole 537 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:00,560 Speaker 1: like people can make value judgments about like foods and 538 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,520 Speaker 1: beverages and things that are like racist or classist or whatever. 539 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 1: I'm just talking about if you don't like the way 540 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: something tastes in your mouth, nobody needs to be offended 541 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: about that. Listen. I eat lots of stuff that I'm 542 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: sure other people find horrifying. Fine, no big. If you 543 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,760 Speaker 1: would like to try to us about your hot Doctor 544 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: Pepper desires or memories, you can do that at Historypodcast 545 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find us on 546 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: social media at mist in History, and you can subscribe 547 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: to the show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you 548 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:42,280 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History 549 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 1: Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 550 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,400 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 551 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.