La Garde, Pierre de
La Garde, Pierre de
La Garde, Pierre de, French composer and baritone; b. near Crécy-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, Feb. 1717; d. c. 1792. He served as an ordinaire de la chambre du roi and was in charge of the musical education of the children of Louis XV. After serving as asst. conductor at the Paris Opéra (1750–55), he was made compositeur de la chambre du roi in 1756. He later was director of the concerts for the Count of Artois. His most successful stage work was the pastorale héroïque Aeglé (Versailles, Jan. 13, 1748). He also wrote the pastorale héroïque Silvie (Versailles, Feb. 26, 1749), the opéra-ballet La journée galante (Versailles, Feb. 25, 1750), the divertissement comique L’impromptu de la cour de marbe (Bellevue, Nov. 28, 1751), several notable cantatas and cantatilles, and airs of great popular vogue.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire