Janssens, Jean-François-Joseph

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Janssens, Jean-François-Joseph

Janssens, Jean-François-Joseph, Belgian composer; b. Antwerp, Jan. 29, 1801; d. there, Feb. 3, 1835. He studied with his father and later with Le Sueur in Paris. Returning to Antwerp, he practiced law until the siege of 1832 and composed in his leisure hours. Going to Cologne, he lost his manuscript and other possessions in a fire on the night of his arrival; this misfortune so affected him that he became insane. He wrote four operas, two cantatas, two syms., five masses, a number of motets, anthems, and hymns, and songs.

Bibliography

Hendricks, Simple histoire. Boutades biographiques à l’occasion du 25e anniversaire de la mort de J.-F.-J. J. (Antwerp, 1860); E. van der Straeten, J.-F.-J./., Compositeur de musique (Brussels, 1866; contains a list of his works).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire