André Campra (French: [kɑ̃pʁa]; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several tragédies en musique and opéra-ballets that were extremely well received. He also wrote three books of cantatas as well as religious music, including a requiem.
Campra was the son of Giovanni Francesco Campra, a surgeon and violinist from Graglia, Italy, and Louise Fabry, from Aix-en-Provence. His father was his first music teacher. He was baptised on 4 December 1660 in the Église de la Madeleine in Aix. He became a choirboy in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur there in 1674 and commenced ecclesiastical studies four years later. He was reprimanded by his superiors in 1681 for having taken part in theatrical performances without permission, but was nevertheless made a chaplain on 27 May of that year.
He served as maître de musique (music director) at the cathedrals of Arles and Toulouse and then, from 1694 to 1700, served in a similar capacity at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. André Campra introduced violins into the performance of sacred music at the Cathedral of Paris, an innovation that proved controversial at a time when the instrument was still associated with popular street music. In 1697 he began composing for the theatre, initially publishing some works under his brother's name in order to safeguard his reputation with ecclesiastical authorities. He resigned his position at Notre-Dame in 1700 and thereafter devoted himself to theatrical composition, achieving considerable critical success. By 1705 he had attained such prominence as a composer that he became the subject of hostile commentary in the press. From 1720 onward, he restricted his activity to the composition of sacred music.
Although Campra had obtained critical success he lacked financial security. In 1722 he was engaged briefly as maître de musique by the Prince of Conti. After the death of the regent Philippe d'Orléans in December 1723, Campra became sous-maître at the Royal Chapel in Versailles. In 1730 he became the Inspecteur Général at the Opéra (Royal Academy of Music).
He died in Versailles on 29 June 1744 at the age of 83.
Creation of his first opéra-ballet
L'Europe galante (1697), which Campra wrote with librettist Antoine Houdar de la Motte, is often cited as the first opéra-ballet, as it was the first work of French opera to feature characters from the contemporary world rather than from mythology, as well as the first to employ comic intrigue as a part of the dramatic structure. L'Europe galante followed the structure of Pascal Collasse's Ballet des Saisons (1695), which introduced the structural framework of the opéra-ballet—where each act features an independent plot linked by an overarching central theme—though Collasse had retained mythological rather than contemporary characters. By prioritizing chain-like dance sequences, varied divertissements, and accessible plots, Campra created a lighter, more varied alternative to the grave tragédie en musique established by Jean-Baptiste Lully.
Fusion of French and Italian styles
Positioned historically between Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra was a pivotal figure in the transitional period of French Baroque music. His compositional style is characterized by the synthesis of traditional French theatrical conventions with Italian Baroque elements (a movement known in France as la réunion des Goûts). Having been exposed to Italian violin music through his father, Campra incorporated virtuosic vocal airs, concerto-like instrumental textures, repeated text fragments, and bold chromaticism into his scores.
While expanding the French harmonic and melodic palette, Campra introduced innovative atmospheric and orchestral effects in his tragic operas such as Tancrède (1702) and Idomenée (1712) which directly influenced Rameau's later theatrical works.
In addition to his contributions to French stage music, Campra was an exceptionally prolific composer of sacred music. His output includes over 50 grands motets, dozens of solo motets, and his celebrated Messe de Requiem. In his sacred works, Campra brought the emotional expressiveness and rhythmic vitality of his secular theater style into the church, combining counterpoint with rich orchestral color and expressive melodic writing.
Darius Milhaud based his 1936 orchestral work Suite provençale on 18th-century themes, including some by Campra.
A theme from Campra's opera Camille, reine des Volsques (1717) was used as the basis of the collaborative work La guirlande de Campra, a set of variations created by seven French composers in 1952.
The "Rigaudon" from his opera Idoménée, in an arrangement for organ, is probably his most familiar work, often used as a wedding processional and often recorded.
The Collège Campra, a state-owned secondary school in the centre of Aix-en-Provence is named for him and houses a statue of him.
Maurice Barthélemy, André Campra: sa vie et son oeuvre (1660–1744) (Éditions A. et J. Picard, 1957)
Catherine Cessac, ed., Itinéraires d'André Campra (1660–1744) (Editions Mardaga, 2012)
Jean Duron, André Campra: un musicien provençal à Paris (Editions Mardaga, 2010), available online