The initial stage of the formation of the French accompanist school: from Italian-German influence to self-identity.

Kalitzky Vitaly Valer'evich PhD in Philosophy Professor of the Department of Instrumental Performance at Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts 121165, Russia, g. Moscow, pr-d Rezervnyi, 12 kalitzky@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

The reconstruction of the history of the formation of the French concertmaster school is a complex and multifaceted process. The main difficulties in studying it are the contradictory information about its initial stage. Let's combine these reasons into three groups:

1. Composing;

2. Research projects;

3. Cultural and historical.

Let's consider them separately.

1. These contradictions, like a "time bomb", were partly laid by its "fathers", among whom F. Couperin (1668-1733) and J.F. Rameau (1683-1764). Their role in this process lies primarily in the author's comments on the performance of his own ensemble compositions with the participation of the harpsichord, as well as in the texts of treatises, where they are often synonymous with the types of keyboard accompaniment ad libitum, basso continuo, Generalbassa and obligato.

2. Information from the research of musicologists of the XX-XXI centuries does not clarify the understanding of the origins of the French concertmaster school, a number of which not only puts very different time periods of the origins of French keyboard art, but also claims that joint performance with the participation of the keyboard began to form in the 1740s ^[1] or even in the second the second half of the XVIII century ^[2]. We find this position controversial for two reasons. A) The availability of a corpus of compositions for joint performance with the participation of keyboard instruments by outstanding composers – Jacques Chambonnier (1601(1602) -1672), J.-B. Lully (1632-1687), J.-B. Lelli (1660-1728), F. Couperin, J.-F. Dandrier (1681-1738), A.-F. d'Agincourt (1684-1758), L.-K. Daken (1694-1772) and many others. All of them also worked as maestro al cembalo at the royal court, high nobility, and chapels. B) The publication of theoretical treatises, which set out the principles of joint performance with the participation of the keyboard. First of all, let us name the works of F. Couperin "The Art of playing the harpsichord" in 1696; M. Saint-Lambert "A Treatise on accompaniment on the harpsichord, organ and other instruments" in 1702 and "Principles of playing the harpsichord" in 1709; J.-F. Dandrie "Principles of accompaniment on the harpsichord" 1719; J.-F. Rameau's "Discourse on various methods of accompaniment..." 1732. For additional confirmation of our position, let us turn to the authoritative opinion of A. D. Alekseev, who, in the course of analyzing the work of A. Denis's "Treatise on the tuning of the spinet" from 1650 rightly notes that in France the art of piano "had already achieved considerable independence by that time" ^{[3, p. 23]}.

These facts eloquently indicate that in the second half of the 16th century, French keyboard and ensemble performance was at a high stage of development, and in the first third of the 17th century, extensive works on its theoretical justification appeared.

3. The process of formation of the French concertmaster school began in the first third of the 17th century, i.e. later than the German (XV century) and Italian (early XVI century) and was influenced by them, especially by the latter. In particular, this is evidenced by J.F. Rameau, in his treatise "A discourse on various methods of accompaniment...": "What level of knowledge about the art of playing together has reached in Germany! Without them, we would not have the carefully developed principles and combinations born of this science, which has its own secrets. <...>. Without knowing them, we [the French – VK] easily get lost <...>, because we don't know them very well" ^[4]. Here is one more fact. Let us recall that J.B. Lully was an Italian who grew up and studied in his homeland, which directly influenced the formation of not only French opera, of which he is the founder, but also the ways of writing and performing ensembles with the participation of the piano.

Let us single out two strategic lines of influence of the German and Italian concertmaster schools on the formation of the French one. The first concerns the practice of instrumental accompaniment ad libitum, basso continuo and General Bass in Europe at that time. The second is the formation in the French musical theater of the position of a musician involved in the study of opera roles and the musical design of ballet rehearsals – corr été titeur.

So, let's take a closer look at each of the circumstances we have mentioned and, based on their analysis, try to reconstruct the initial period of the formation of the French concertmaster school.

The art of the Italian maestro al cembalo [see details: 5] captured the musical circles of the highest French aristocracy at the beginning of the 17th century. The invitation of these musicians, as a rule, had two objectives. The first is to ensure the regular work of musical groups formed at the court; the second is to train family members (both children and adults) to play keyboard instruments and play music together. Among such maestro al cembalo were: Giovanni del Turco (1577-1647), Antonio Cesti (1623-1669), Carlo Pallavicino (1630-1688), Antonio Sartorio (1630-1680) and finally Giovanni Battista Lulli (1632-1687), better known to us as Jean Baptiste Lulli.

It is well known that J.B. Lully was a guitarist and violinist in addition to the composer. The thirty-year period during which he reigned at the head of French opera also played a role in the formation of the rehearsal process for performances. He independently selected the singers and musicians of the orchestra, participated in the design and manufacture of costumes and decorations, conducted performances with a violin in his hands. Accompanied by the violin, he also conducted lessons with musicians on learning parts. However, we managed to find valuable information in the archive of the former Royal Academy of Opera, on the stage of which most of the composer's premieres were given: "<...> a contract was signed with <...> Lully, according to which he undertakes to perform the work of the chief court musician and teach with musicians <...> the parts of operas and ballets, accompanied by playing the violin and harpsichord" ^{[6, p. 19]}. That is, his duties included the work of maestro al cembalo. Moreover, the composer himself has made at least twelve arrangements of arias from his operas for harpsichord and voice. These facts, in our opinion, are of particular value, as they shed light on the previously unknown fact of J.B. Lully's possession of playing the harpsichord.

Of course, the developed musical life at the court of Louis XIV could not have been fully organized and realized by J.B. Lully himself. To ensure the smooth operation of the theater and the chapel, he personally selected French harpsichordists trained by their Italian colleagues maestro al cembalo, who "instilled in them an Italian taste in playing accompaniment and improvisations with various decorations" ^{[6, p. 5]}. The archive of the Paris National Opera has preserved some of their names. The following artists worked on the stage: Jean-Henri d'angleber (1629-1691), Jean-Baptiste-Henri d'angleber (1661-1738), Francois Couperin (1668-1733), Michel-Richard Delalande (1657-1726). In the Royal Chapel: Jean-Baptiste Buterne (1678-1721), Francois Couperin (1693-1730). The following served in the Royal Chapel: Jacques-Denis Thomelin (worked from 1678 to 1693), Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (worked from 1678 to 1708), Gabriel Garnier (worked from 1702 to 1721), Nicolas-Antoine Lebesgue (worked from 1678 to 1702), Louis Marchand (worked with 1708 to 1713). The personality of F. Couperin deserves special attention in this list, whose composing and performing styles were strongly influenced by the Italians A. Corelli and J.-B. Lully.

F. Couperin worked as a court harpsichordist and maestro al cembalo for more than thirty-five years (from 1694 to 1730), handing over this position to his daughter Marguerite Antoinette. According to a contemporary, F. Couperin, as maestro al cembalo, "he significantly diversified his approaches to working with singers.", <..He allowed them to sing more freely, in Italian, using all kinds of decorations and dynamics. A special feature of his work as an opera tutor were installations for connecting a collapsible vocal ensemble. Francois [Couperin – V. K.] never gathers the entire ensemble at the beginning of work [on parts – V. K.], as he considered it a waste of time. He teaches each singer individually, works especially on intonation, showing its accuracy by playing the harpsichord. And only when each batch is perfectly made, the whole team gathers" ^{[6, p. 21]}. The above quote speaks about F. Kuperen's use of an important technique for learning the material of an opera part – the duplication of its elements on a well-tempered instrument. This method significantly improves vocal intonation, allows you to memorize the material better and more accurately.

Nowadays, F. Couperin is known primarily as a composer, the author of a huge number of solo and ensemble keyboard compositions. In this regard, it should be noted that the French ensemble keyboard music of the 17th century was also shaped by the music of the Italian Baroque. As a rule, its texture contains in its structure one or more parts fixed in the musical text, which can be divided into two groups:

1. Accompaniment of solo harpsichord works with melodic instruments;

2. Replacing one of the violin parts in the trio sonata with the right hand of the clavier part.

What type of texture was used by the composers and performers? For a long time, this issue remained in the shadow of research thought, however, its intensification in recent years does not clarify the fundamental question: was ad libitum or obligato accompaniment dominant at that time?

D. Fuller considers this question unsolvable and characterizes it as "one of the puzzles of the history of music" ^{[7, p. 167]}. In this regard, let us turn to the first French ensemble edition, the music collection of J.–J. Mondeville's "Pièces de clavecin en sonates" ("Sonata Pieces for harpsichord"), published in Paris in 1634 ^[8]. The collection consists of six sonatas for violin and harpsichord, the part of which is thoroughly written out by the author. Moreover, the remark of the harpsichord part at the beginning of the first composition reads: "The performance of the violin part should be equal to the performance of the harpsichord part" ^[8]. These facts indicate beyond a shadow of a doubt that in this case the accompanying party was written obligato. Note that in the title of his cycle, the composer makes an interesting attempt to combine French and Italian genres in one composition. His decision to start with the French overture and end with the Italian concerto is obviously consistent with his intention to find new stylistic solutions to those genres that were at the forefront of popularity in these countries at that time. Obviously, the use of Zh. Mondeville's use of such a "hybrid" approach required careful musical notation of his compositional intentions, which also affected the use of an obligate type of texture. However, in the matter of using the type of invoice accompaniment by younger contemporaries, Zh. There is no such certainty in Mondeville. First of all, this statement concerns the ensemble heritage of J.F. Rameau. According to him, "these pieces ["Pièces de clavecin en concert" ("Concertos for harpsichord with violin or flute and viola or second violin"), performed only on the harpsichord, leave nothing to be desired; there is not even a suspicion that they are capable of further embellishment" [9]. Modern researchers ambiguously evaluate this comment by the composer. So, K. Girdlestone finds a proposal by J.-F. Rameau is not entirely appropriate, and it is proposed to interpret the harpsichord part ad libitum, referring to the fact that "Rameau's modern arrangements for the harpsichord are significantly superior to the original" ^{[10, p. 167]}. Indeed, the artfully improvised texture does not allow us to agree with the composer that his fixed musical text "does not lose anything."

R. Neer, who claims that the ensemble compositions of J.-F. Rameau retains all the elements of his solo harpsichord compositions, using the composer's same statement as proof of his intention to "make the harpsichord the center of the ensemble's composition" ^{[11, p. 2]}. W. Newman holds a different opinion. He claims that "Rameau often uses only the harpsichord as the [accompanying – V. K.] part, and sometimes it is simply duplicated by [other instruments of the ensemble – V. K.]" ^{[12, p. 663]}. From our point of view, this remark by W. Newman is true for individual fragments from "Pièces de clavecin en concert", however, a detailed study of this cycle demonstrates that duplicating harpsichord parts with stringed instruments or violin and flute is just one of the composer's ways to create a more dense textured sound. Thus, W. Newman's approach to the analysis of the role of accompaniment in this cycle is J.F. Rameau is one-sided and does not take into account how it is used in the context of the sound of the entire texture. This researcher also states: "In fact, in just eleven years since the advent of op. 3 Of Mondonville, one can notice an evolution towards optional accompaniment [ad libitum – V. K.]" ^{[12, p. 622]}. A study of the French ensemble repertoire published between 1735 and 1760 casts doubt on this statement and shows that the French composers of that time did not adhere to any one way of writing the accompaniment part in the composition of such works. Consequently, the statement that the ad libitum style "became predominant after the 1760s, having developed from [the works of] Rameau and Guillemin" ^{[12, p. 610]}, is, in our opinion, inaccurate.

Note that by the middle of the 18th century, harpsichordists working in collaboration with other musicians had a very low opinion. This is eloquently evidenced by the article "Escorts" in the French encyclopedia of 1751, written by the famous J.J. Rousseau: "There is nothing more unpleasant than those singing features, those roulades, those ornaments that many companions [accompagnateurs] they add [l'accompagnement] to the accompaniment. They drown out the voice, spoil the harmony, confuse the vocal system; often, only out of ignorance, they commit cunning atrocities due to their inability to find a harmony suitable for a piece of music. A true companion will always simply accompany you for the good of the cause. Even in those parts of the play where pauses are written, the partner can fill them with his own play: but it is necessary that this be appropriate and always correspond to the nature of the subject" ^{[13, p. 77]}. The opinion of J. is consonant with this statement. Lacombe, expressed by him in the "Small Dictionary of Fine Arts" published in 1752. In the article "Accompaniment", he emphasizes that "the partner must be completely subordinate to the will of the melody" ^{[14, p. 11]}.

While preparing his "Musical Dictionary", published in 1768, J.-J. Rousseau expands his opinion on keyboard accompaniment. In particular, the author excludes from it the suggestion about the need for simple accompaniment for the sake of a common cause and adds the following: "Italians sometimes play the whole song instead of the accompaniment; and this is quite suitable for their idea of this genre of music. But no matter what they say, there is often more ignorance in this than there is truth and taste in this method of accompaniment. Anyone who accompanies at a concert should focus only on the approval of others. As soon as he turns the attention to himself, he spoils the performance; the more he thinks he is admired, the more ridiculous he shows himself. As soon as he adds loudness or inappropriate decorations to the accompaniment, it immediately distracts attention from the main part of the piece. If an accompanist shows talent, then he shows his vanity and bad taste. During the escort, one should only think about supporting and approving parties and do one's own work very skillfully so that the effect is felt without going beyond it" ^{[15, p. 15]}. Let's note an important detail: Zh. In his assessment of the activity of such a musician, Rousseau resorts to comparing the Italian and French styles of playing accompaniment, dividing it into possible and preferred options. This small, but, in our opinion, significant fact speaks about the gradual transformation of the cultural background of France at that time, the formation of their own ideas about its content and specifics.

Returning to the personality of Francois Couperin, we note that he questions the position of J.J. Rousseau to the keyboard players performing the accompaniment part. Moreover, he attempted to foster proper respect for these musicians in his treatise "The Art of Playing the Harpsichord" (1696). The work, which contains valuable guidance on the basso continuo game, is of a pronounced practical nature. Having outlined the role of the harpsichord and organ as ensemble instruments, comparing them with "the foundation that supports the whole house" ^{[16, p. 103]}, the author focuses on the importance of the accompanying part and at the same time on the important role of joint interaction with the soloist, which can be achieved only at the level of human mutual contact.

A significant place in the treatise is occupied by the study of approaches to the initial stage of teaching the art of seven-person performance with the participation of the harpsichord. Noting the need to master the playing of an instrument, F. Couperin states: "<...> do not try to study accompaniment earlier than two or three years after starting music lessons, for three reasons. Firstly, basso continuo, which has melodic sequences (progres chantant), must be performed with the left hand as cleanly as pieces; therefore, the left hand must be well developed; secondly, the right hand, which is occupied only with chords, is in a state of tension all the time, as a result of which it can become very tough; thirdly, if you start playing notes too early, the touch can become stiff and ponderous" ^{[16, p. 31]}. Of particular interest is the last statement, which runs counter to the modern ideas of many concert pianists about "urtextual snobbery." In an attempt to give the figure of the harpsichordist-ensemble due respect, F. Couperin notes: "<..There is nothing more pleasant than being a good accompanist, nothing brings us closer to other musicians. But what an injustice! The accompanist is the last to be praised in the concert. <...> He is almost never talked about, although he bears the brunt of the construction, and all the attention, all the applause of the audience belongs entirely to the performer of the plays" ^{[16, pp. 31-32]}. We state that F. Couperin at the end of the 17th century describes a common situation with the attitude to the professional and social status of a concert pianist in the 21st century!

Being an outstanding musician-ensemblist, proficient in the art of basso continuo, F. Couperin in his treatise focuses on the lack of repertoire for novice musicians-ensemblers. As mentioned above, the texture based on basso continuo requires thorough technical training, a big hand, and a confident command of counterpoint, which is inaccessible to children. This situation creates serious difficulties at the initial stage of mastering the art of ensemble performance and requires a special solution. As a basic methodological solution, F. Couperin suggests creating a special children's ensemble repertoire.

Despite the fact that "The Art of playing the Harpsichord" includes a section on the art of playing together, F. Couperin subsequently wrote a separate treatise on this issue. Unfortunately, only a sketch of his work of several pages has reached us, although the work was published in its entirety and mentioned by J.F. Rameau in his "Treatise on Harmony".

It should be noted that the reference of F. Couperin contained in this treatise as a researcher of the art of accompanying basso continuo does not always correlate with F. Couperin's instructions as an author-performer to the designations in their own compositions, where the clavier part is often designated ad libitum, while it is quite scrupulously written out in the musical text. We assume that in such examples, F. Couperin suggests that harpsichordists decide for themselves which option to present to the public – fixed by the composer or improvised. Let's make one more assumption. In our opinion, this approach could be dictated by the pedagogical considerations mentioned above. If an ensemble composition was studied by a child with a small hand, then his teacher, focusing on its size and structural features, could transform the accompanying part accordingly. Nevertheless, we note that the ambiguity of the designations in the types of accompaniment and the lack of author's comments on this issue causes some confusion and disagreement in judgments.

Further affirmation of the importance of keyboard accompaniment and the role of the harpsichordist-ensemble occurs in the methodological works of F. Couperin's followers.

In the treatise "Traite de l'accompagnement du clavecin, de I'orgue etc." ("A treatise on accompaniment on the harpsichord, organ and other instruments", 1702) ^[17] and "Principes du clavecin" ("Principles of playing the harpsichord", 1709) ^[18]. Michel Saint-Lambert discusses the methods of teaching harpsichord playing, gives advice on performing various strokes, decorations and improvisations, and defines ensemble performance as the art of playing basso continuo on the harpsichord.

In 1719, a work on the art of ensemble playing by J.F. was published. Dandrier "Principes de l'acompagnement du Clavecin" ("Principles of accompaniment on the harpsichord") ^[19]. In it, the author conducts a theoretical analysis of the basic harmonic principles of basso continuo, with particular emphasis on the need to study the basics of music theory. In 1725, I. Fuchs's treatise Gradus ad Parnassum was published ^[20]. He's just like J.F. Dandrie, insists on the need to develop practical playing skills (including ensemble playing) based on fundamental theoretical knowledge. It should be noted that this treatise was very popular for more than a century: it was a practical textbook for M. and J. Haydn, L. and V.-A. Mozart, L. Cherubini, F. Schubert and others.

In 1732, a study by J. F. was published. Rameau "Dissertation sur les différentes métodes d'accompagnement pour le Clavecin, ou pour l'orgue: avec le plan d'une nouvelle métode, établie sur une mechanique des doigts, que fournit la succession fondamentale de l'harmonie et à l'aide de laquelle on peut devenir sçavant compositeur, et habile accompagnateur, même sans sçavoir lire la musique" ("A discussion on various methods of accompaniment on the harpsichord or organ with a plan for a new method based on finger mechanics derived from the sequence of the main basses, with which even those who cannot read music can become a knowledgeable composer and a skilled ensemble player") ^[4]. Interestingly, in the most extensive title of the work, the composer and the ensemble follow in the same row, which can be explained by the following circumstance. In the above-mentioned works by M. Saint-Lambert, J.-F. Dandrie, I. Fuchs and, actually, J.-F. According to Rameau, there is a clear tendency towards the theorization of the joint performing process (including a detailed analysis of harmonic language, frets, tonalities, etc.). These authors practically or not at all indicate the ways of the game, the principles of partnership, referring to the fact that "a lot has already been written about this" ^[21]. At the same time, such a reference, in our opinion, indicates another important circumstance. The Baroque era was ending, musical and aesthetic paradigms were changing, and keyboard instruments were rapidly evolving. In these circumstances, the old masters tried to find new forms and techniques, both for writing and performing music, and for its methodical generalization. Those of them who failed to resist the new trends remained in the minority. The new classical musical aesthetics and its major composers were not inclined to work on theoretical treatises, therefore, in the following century, almost no works on the art of joint performance were produced in France.

Let us turn to another important aspect of the formation of the French concertmaster school. It is associated with the involvement of instrumentalists to work in French musical theaters. The first mention of them is found in M. Benoit's book "Versailles and the Royal Musicians of 1661-1733." According to the author, in February 1654, "one of the twenty-four chamber violinists of the French king was appointed to the post of conductor and tutor of the ballet." What role did they play? These stringed instrument performers, who were in the service of the French king, were responsible, among other things, for playing ballet music. In February 1654, one of them, Michel Leger, was entrusted with the "repetition and direction of ballets" ^{[22, p. 34]}, which indicates that at that time there was a need for musical design of rehearsals by appropriate musicians.

It should be noted that the French ballet theater was greatly influenced by German musical culture, which could not but be reflected in the thesaurus used in his work. Thus, the use of the term "Corrépétiteur", which was formed in Germany and Austria in the middle of the 17th century to refer to a musician who accompanies a performance, was documented in 1766 ^{[23, p. 111]}. Since German-language sources of the last quarter of the 18th century often contain specific definitions, such as "Correpetitor beym ballet" ^{[24, p. 76]} or "K orrepetitor der Pantomime und Balletts" ^{[25, p. 222]} on the one hand, and "K orrepetitor des Gesanges" ^{[26, p. 122]}, "Korrepetitor der Oper" ^{[25, p. 222]} or "Repetitor für die Operetta" ^{[27, p. 34]} – on the other hand, it can be assumed that the use of the term "cor répétiteur" was established at the French royal court no later than the end of the XVIII century. The article "A Brief history and Statistics of Parisian Theaters", published in 1805, is of considerable interest about the artistic composition of the Paris Opera. It contains the following classification of Paris Opera employees: "Artists can be divided into three classes: singers, dancers, and musicians. The number of the first class is 79 people; this class includes 4 corrépétiteurs [cor répéteur]. <...> The class of dancers consists of 102 people; it also includes <...> 5 correpetitors [cor répétiteur] <...>" ^{[28, p. 55]}.

Let's note an interesting detail. If during the XVI-XVIII centuries. France was heavily influenced by Italy and Germany in the process of forming its concertmaster school, but in the 19th century we can observe the opposite process. In particular, this is indicated by the fact that at the latest since 1802, the French form "cor répétiteur" was indicated as an independent position name in a musician's employment application ^{[29, p. 2450]} in Germany along with "Cantor" and "Organist". This fact is recorded in the "Musical Lexicon" of G.K. Koch: "In a troupe, a cor répétiteur is a musician who privately rehearses or repeats the roles of operas with actors, ballets with dancers, or rehearses the roles of new operas with singers" 3^{[30, p. 396]}. At the same time, this publication does not specify which specialty musician performs such work. And this is understandable, since these duties, depending on the specific circumstances, could be performed by both a violinist and a pianist [see details: 31]. If it was a pianist, then, as a rule, he devoted himself entirely to the work of learning the parts and participating as a rehearsator in the production process. The situation was somewhat more complicated for violinists. For example, a violinist who worked at the Paris Opera in 1814 received "dual qualifications as a ballet instructor and orchestra member, while being paid as usual, with a small surcharge" ^{[32, p. 356]}. Even in 1885, A. Poujean's "Historical and Visual Dictionary of Theater and Modern Arts" stated that the functions of "ballet instructor in all French musical theaters are performed by one of the violinists of the orchestra" ^{[33, p. 647]}. Thus, by the beginning of the 19th century, in France, the direction of joint music making in various forms had largely acquired independence and began to set the tone for the concertmaster art that was actively being formed in the European musical space. The following entry from the City Book of Lyon speaks eloquently about this: "All the efforts made by our [French – VK] famous musicians in the glorification of the country were not in vain. In recent years, they have given countless ensemble performances in a truly French manner, which is now unlike any German, Italian, or any other. Harpsichordists play especially boldly in such ensembles. They are not afraid to play French jewelry, they dictate the style of our time. It's a pity that we can't hear how the rehearsals of the Lyon and other major musical theaters perform. Outsiders are forbidden to come to their opera and ballet rehearsals, but they show the true French skill of working with singers and dancers" ^[34].

Let's summarize the results. The French concertmaster school can be characterized as an eclectic phenomenon. It was formed under the influence of the German Korrepetitor and, in particular, the Italian maestro al cembalo culture. This is indicated both by the genres in which French composers who were engaged in concertmaster activities worked, and by the principles of using ad libitum and basso continuo accompaniment in joint musical practice. The approaches used by Italian craftsmen are obvious in them. The influence of the Italian art of collaborative performance on the formation of French scientific and methodological thought about the concertmaster profession was no less strong in the XVII-XVIII centuries. In the manuscripts of that period, including the treatises of F. Couperin and F. Rameau, there is a clear line of reverence for Italian performance and musical ensemble pedagogy. Such a strong dependence, connected, among other things, with the formation of opera and ballet genres under the direct influence of the Italian J.B. Lully, began to weaken by the end of the XVIII century, when the French musical theater began to acquire a national identity. First of all, this concerns ballet, in the development of which the French correspondents played an important role. Despite the fact that most of them were violinists (however, often both violinists and pianists at the same time), and the tradition of attracting violin performers to participate in rehearsals and musical design of ballet performances persisted in the French musical theater until the beginning of the 20th century, their influence on European ballet was significant. This is eloquently evidenced by the invitation of these specialists to work in musical theaters in other countries, as well as the introduction of the French professional thesaurus into the creative, scientific, methodological and legal circulation of these countries (in particular, Germany).