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John Ernst Galliard Life

Galliard was primarily the composer of many operas and pantomimes: his operas were not overly successful but people flocked to the pantomimes.

They were productions under one hour with numerous effects that audiences enjoyed. "Calypso and Telemachus" was an opera composed by Galliard and esteemed by Handel even though it had limited performances.

Galliard worked in London most of his life (from 1706) but learned the oboe and flute from Marechal, a member of the French orchestra in Celle.

He was talented enough to join the orchestra at the age of eleven and studied
composition with Steffani and Farinelli.

Galliard served in the court of George of Denmark, the consort of Queen Anne; he was then retained as the organist for Somerset House.

In Galliard's "Pan and Syrinx" he employed the use of the viol to depict the movement of the river and three recorders enter illustrating the transformation of the Syrinx; the pantomimes were composed during a seven year period, 1723-1730, in which the medium was quite popular.

Galliard also composed instrumental sonatas and hymns with some adeptness.

MIDI FILE - Sonata No.4 for bassoon and b.c. (complete) (7'13'')

Often Galliard would use his pantomimes and operas to satirize Italian opera; the
music, needless to say, contained little innovation but was composed with a great deal of convention.