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Ghostwriter: The Story of Henri Desmarest

Ghostwriter: The Story of Henri Desmarest

Lucie Skeaping explores the life and music of French composer Henri Desmarest.

The Early Music Show · BBC Radio 3

June 12, 201016m 20s

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Show Notes

Henry Desmarest was obviously a talented musican and composer, first boy page and then musician in Louis XIV's court, he began ghost-writing Grands Motets for one of the chapel directors Nicholas Goupillet when he was in his early twenties. After a decade, this scandal was uncovered, but it was not the last of Desmarest's woes! A few years later, he fell in love with one of his pupils, who also happened to be the daughter of a wealthy and powerful man who managed to get the composer sentenced to death, forcing Desmarest to spend the rest of his days in exile. Lucie Skeaping explores the extraordinary life and music of Henry Desmarest.