Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
WITCH , Augustin
WITCH , Louis Denis
? Accord Parfait sous Diane
? Accord Parfait sous Diane
? 1789
? 1789
WIDERHEHR , Christian Michel
WUNDERLICH , Johan Georg
Alsace L ’ Olympique 1783 1786
Germany Sainte-Cécile 1780 1785
ZIWNI , Jacques
Czech Republic
La Concorde 1779 1787
Even if it means coining a neologism , I have classified birthplaces in the Country column using modern terminology , so the musicians listed in many biographies as being born in Bohemia would today be born in the Czech Republic ; others classified as born in the Upper and Lower Rhine were actually born in Alsace , a province that was not a part of France in the eighteenth century . The same goes for Honoré Langlé , born in Monaco , or Pierre-François Alday , born in Minorca in 1763 , an island ruled by England .
Left Unmentioned : Absent Foreigners A first observation : the absence of Spanish , Russian , Swedish , or English musicians . This is all the more striking for the period that concerns us , when one notes the sizeable populations from these nations that are present both in Paris and in the provinces , in profane society as well in the realm of Freemasonry .
Let ' s consider the case of Spanish musicians . The ranks of the two prestigious lodges Les Neuf Sœurs and la Société Olympique include an illustrious contingent from these countries : diplomats , general officers , and scholars . 105 Granted , Freemasonry in Spain is stifled by the Very Catholic King ' s Inquisition . We follow Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire ' s example when he writes that brothers from Spain took advantage of their stay in Paris — whether voluntary or forced — to practice the works of the Royal Art [ les travaux de l ’ Art Royal ] that were forbidden in their homeland . 106 For them , France becomes a country of refuge . So these “ temporary exiles ” can safely socialize “ in proximity ,” worldly cosmopolitanism can freely blossom , and they can meet Parisian elites . In these circumstances , the absence of musicians of Iberian origins is not explicable . 107
And yet , the cultural and artistic exchanges between France and Spain multiplied — exchanges due in large part to the family connections that most often united
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 105 Françoise Randouyer , “ Les débuts de la Franc-maçonnerie en Espagne .” in XVIIIe siècle , no . 19 ,
( Paris , 1987 ), 33-42 . 106 Beaurepaire , L ’ Autre et le Frère , 466-468 . 107 José A . Ferrer Benimeli , La Masoneria espanola en el siglo XVIII ( Madrid , 1974 ), 654 p .
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