{"id":698,"date":"2026-01-24T03:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T03:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/2026\/01\/24\/versailles-violinists-lully-and-the-discipline-of-the-sun-kings-court\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T03:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T03:13:14","slug":"versailles-violinists-lully-and-the-discipline-of-the-sun-kings-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/2026\/01\/24\/versailles-violinists-lully-and-the-discipline-of-the-sun-kings-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Versailles\u2019 Violinists \u2013 Lully and the discipline of the Sun King\u2019s court."},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Lully and the discipline of the Sun King&#8217;s court<\/h2>\n<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>\n\u201cIt is a very long story,\u201d King Louis XIV is supposed to have said, \u201cand it will take a very long time to tell it. I will have to take my time and write it out by hand.\u201d He was right; the history of Versailles, France, and its court had a very long story indeed.<\/p>\n<p>But the story of one particular instrument \u2013 the violin \u2013 is especially important in the musical history of France. It was not just an instrument for playing melodies, but an instrument for which the king could compose music. It was also a symbol of the French court. In the hands of King Louis XIV himself, it was played by the finest musicians in the world. And it was not just in France that the violin was highly respected, but in Europe and in England as well.<\/p>\n<p>So why, despite this long history, have the violins made by the best craftsmen, and which came to such prominence in the 18th century, been largely forgotten by the French today? This article will explore the history of the violin in France, as well as the important composers and pieces that have been made on the instrument. It will not only be an in-depth look at the history of the violin in France, but also a journey into the history of the Sun King\u2019s court, the French royal orchestra, and the music of the composers of the French Renaissance.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Chronological order of events<\/h2>\n<p>1600: Lully&#8217;s birth. Lully began his musical career as a child in the royal chapel.<\/p>\n<h2>The Sun King\u2019s court<\/h2>\n<p>1610: Louis XIII becomes king.<\/p>\n<h2>Early musical career<\/h2>\n<p>1615: Lully becomes a musician in the royal chapel.<\/p>\n<h2>The French Renaissance<\/h2>\n<p>1633: Lully composes his first violin piece.<\/p>\n<h2>The Sun King\u2019s court<\/h2>\n<p>1641: Louis XIV ascends the throne.<\/p>\n<h2>Late musical career<\/h2>\n<p>1646: Lully dies.<\/p>\n<h2>Sun King&#8217;s court<\/h2>\n<p>1661: Louis XIV is crowned.<\/p>\n<h2>The French Baroque period<\/h2>\n<p>1685: King Louis XIV creates the office of the &#8220;Master of the Royal Music&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2>The Enlightenment period<\/h2>\n<p>1735: Composer Johann Sebastian Bach composes a piece for violin and orchestra.<\/p>\n<h2>The Sun King&#8217;s court<\/h2>\n<p>1744: King Louis XIV is crowned.<\/p>\n<h2>Baroque musical style<\/h2>\n<p>1750: Lully composes his first violin piece in a Baroque style.<\/p>\n<h2>Renaissance musical style<\/h2>\n<p>1756: Bach composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>1758: Lully&#8217;s death.<\/h2>\n<p>1764: Bach composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Renaissance musical style<\/h2>\n<p>1768: Bach composes his second violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>1780: Mozart composes his first violin concerto.<\/h2>\n<p>1783: Mozart composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late musical period<\/h2>\n<p>1795: Beethoven composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>1800: Beethoven composes his first violin concerto.<\/h2>\n<p>1804: Beethoven composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1810: Beethoven composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>20th century<\/h2>\n<p>1915: Brahms composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>1918: Stravinsky composes his first violin concerto.<\/h2>\n<h2>1938: Stravinsky composes his last violin concerto.<\/h2>\n<h2>Late 20th century<\/h2>\n<p>1957: Brahms composes his second piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 20th century<\/h2>\n<p>1970: Stravinsky composes his last piece, \u201cThe Rake\u2019s Progress\u201d.<\/h2>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1993: Brahms composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1999: Brahms composes his second piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 20th century<\/h2>\n<p>2007: Brahms composes his third piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 20th century<\/h2>\n<p>2018: Stravinsky composes his last piece, \u201cDumbarton Ode\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2018: Brahms composes his last piece, \u201cHymn to the Virgin\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2020: Brahms composes his last piece, \u201cThe Brahms Symphony No. 4\u201d.<\/h2>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2022: Brahms composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2022: Brahms composes his second piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2024: Brahms composes his third piano concerto.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Renaissance musical style<\/h2>\n<p>1600: Lully composes his first violin piece.<\/p>\n<h2>Early musical career<\/h2>\n<p>1615: Lully is appointed to the position of \u201cMaster of the King\u2019s Music\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 17th century<\/h2>\n<p>1635: Lully composes his first ballet.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 18th century<\/h2>\n<p>1644: Bach composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1723: Saint-Sa\u00ebns composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 18th century<\/h2>\n<p>1755: Bach composes his first orchestral piece.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 18th century<\/h2>\n<p>1770: Haydn composes his first symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1797: Mozart composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Early 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1803: Lully composes his first ballet.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1825: Mozart composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1848: Chopin composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1865: Brahms composes his first violin concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1903: Brahms composes his last piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1907: Brahms composes his first symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1930: Stravinsky composes his first piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1934: Stravinsky composes his first ballet.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1941: Stravinsky composes his first opera.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1955: Stravinsky composes his first symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1957: Stravinsky composes his last ballet.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1958: Stravinsky composes his last opera.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1961: Stravinsky composes his last symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 20th century<\/h2>\n<p>1965: Stravinsky composes his last ballet.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>1968: Stravinsky composes his last opera.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2006: Brahms composes his final piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2008: Brahms composes his final symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2014: Brahms composes his final piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2018: Stravinsky composes his last opera.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2020: Brahms composes his final piano concerto.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2021: Brahms composes his final symphony.<\/p>\n<h2>Late 19th century<\/h2>\n<p>2022: Brahms composes his final piano concerto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lully and the discipline of the Sun King&#8217;s court Introduction \u201cIt is a very long story,\u201d King Louis XIV is supposed to have said, \u201cand it will take a very long time to tell it. I will have to take my time and write it out by hand.\u201d He was right; the history of Versailles, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalcomposer.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}