Photo: MT CHedeville · CC BY 3.0 · credits

Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography

Nicolas Chédeville

Person · male · Kingdom of France · Serez · born 1705 · died 1782 · recording since 1993

French composer, musette player and musette maker

database database database

YouTube Music

Also known as 尼古拉斯·瑟德维尔

Debut: 1993
Release groups: 6
Timeline events: 9
Wiki language versions: 14

Compare this artist Read the biography Jump to timeline

Timeline

9 events▣ Album 6◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1

1700s
1. 20 February 1705 · Birth
  Born 1705-02-20
  source: wikidata
1780s
1. 6 August 1782 · Death
  Died 1782
  source: wikidata
1990s
1. 1993 · Debut release
  Debut release: Oboe Sonatas
  First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1993 · Album
  Album: Oboe Sonatas
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1997 · Album
  Album: Les Saisons amusantes
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. June 1998 · Album
  Album: La Vielle à roue baroque
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2000s
1. 2008 · Album
  Album: Les Saisons Amusantes
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2010s
1. 1 February 2019 · Album
  Album: Les Saisons amusantes
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2020s
1. 6 October 2022 · Album
  Album: Chédeville / Vivaldi: Il Pastor Fido
  Album
  source: musicbrainz

Biography

English biography828 words · 6 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1349431500

Biography

Nicolas Chédeville (20 February 1705 – 6 August 1782) was a French composer, musette player and musette maker.

Biography

Nicolas Chédeville was born in Serez, Normandy; musicians Pierre Chédeville (1694–1725) and Esprit Philippe Chédeville (1696–1762) were his brothers. Louis Hotteterre was his great uncle and godfather, and may have given him instruction in music and turning instruments. He began playing the oboe and musette (a bagpipe-like instrument commonly used in French baroque music) in the Paris Opera orchestra in the 1720s. After Jean Hotteterre's death in 1732, he took over his post in Les Grands Hautbois, the royal oboe band. He retired from the opera in July 1748, though returned occasionally to play the musette there. When he was nearly 70, he married the younger daughter of a valet who had once worked for the Duc d'Orléans, and was still describing himself as musette player to the king. In his last years he experienced financial difficulties. His ten houses were signed over to creditors in 1774, following which he separated from his wife. He resigned from Les Grands Hautbois in 1777, petitioned for bankruptcy in 1778 and died in Paris four years later. Lawyers were still trying to settle his affairs in 1790.
Jean-Benjamin de la Borde called him "the most celebrated musette player France had ever had", though he mistakenly held the opinion that he was dead by 1780, two years before he met his end. He taught the musette to Princess Victoire from about 1750, and became a popular teacher among the aristocracy, eventually attaining the title of maître de musette des Mesdames de France. He was also a musette maker, and extended the instrument's compass in the bass down to c' (middle C).

Impersonation of Vivaldi

In 1737 he made a secret agreement with his cousin Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Antonio Vivaldi's op. 13, entitled Il pastor fido. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was attested to in a notarial act by Marchand in 1749. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette, the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked. (Whether Vivaldi was ever aware of the fraud is unknown; there is no record of him lodging any complaint against either Chédeville or Marchand, and he was already dead by the time of Marchand's notarised deposition.) Vivaldi scholars had doubted the authenticity of Il pastor fido since at least the 1950s, but the forgery was only conclusively proven by French musicologist Philippe Lescat in 1989.
Chédeville's interest in Italian music led to his receiving, in August 1739, a privilege to publish arrangements for the musette, hurdy-gurdy or flute of concertos and sonatas by ten specific Italian composers, in addition to Johann Joachim Quantz and Antoine Mahaut. Le printems, ou Les saisons amusantes (1739) is a particularly amusing result of this privilege; it is an arrangement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons for hurdy-gurdy or musette, violin, and flute (though the French flute could also mean the recorder). He replaced Vivaldi's original Summer with his op. 8 no. 9 concerto, transferred the middle movement of Winter to Autumn, and replaced Winter op. 8 no. 12. All this was quite freely arranged and combined with some added Vivaldian material by Chédeville.

Compositions

Published in Paris. All solo works are accompanied by continuo. '/' indicates alternative instrumentation.

Opuses

Op.[1]: Amusements champêtres, livre 1er (1729); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.
Op.[2]: Amusements champêtres, livre 2e (1731); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
Op.[3]: Troisième livre d'amusements champêtres (1733); for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe/violin.
Op.4: Les danses amuzantes mellées de vaudeville (1733); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violin.
Op.5: Sonates amusantes (1734); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violin.
Op.6: Amusemens de Bellone, ou Les plaisirs de Mars (1736); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
Op.7: 6 sonates (1739); for flute/oboe/violin.
Op.8: Les galanteries amusantes (1739); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/violins.
Op.9: Les Deffis, ou L'étude amusante; for musette/hurdy-gurdy.
Op.10: Les idées françoises, ou Les délices de Chambray (1750); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes/violins.
Op.11: lost
Op.12: Les impromptus de Fontainebleau (1750); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/violins/pardessus de viole/flutes/oboes.
Op.13: lost
Op.14: Les variations amusantes: pièces de différents auteurs ornés d'agrémens (includes variations on Les folies d'Espagne); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/pardessus de viole/flutes/oboes.

Arrangements and other works

Il pastor fido, sonates ... del sigr Antonio Vivaldi [by Nicolas Chédeville] (1737); for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe/violin.
LE PRINTEMS / ou / LES SAISONS / AMUSANTES / concertos / DANTONIO VIVALDY / Mis pour les Musettes et Vielles / avec accompagnement de Violon / Fluste et Basse continue. / PAR MR CHEDEVILLE LE CADET / Hautbois De la Chambre du Roy / et Muſette ordinaire De l'Academie Royalle / De Muſique. Opera ottava. [arrangement of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons by Nicolas Chédeville] (1739); for musette/hurdy-gurdy, violin, flute, and continuo.
La feste d'Iphise [arrangement of airs from Montéclair's Jephté] (1742); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.
Les pantomimes italiennes dansées à l'Académie royale de musique (1742); for 1 and 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies/flutes/oboes.
Nouveaux menuets champêtres; for musette/hurdy-gurdy/violin/flute/oboe.
[Dall']Abaco, op.4, arrangement for musette/hurdy-gurdy/flute/oboe.
La feste de Cleopatre (1751); for 2 musettes/hurdy-gurdies.

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.

Normalised profile metrics with percentile rank
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	14	70.2th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	6	79.7th
Studio albums	6	86.1th
Awards recorded	0	0th
Timeline events	9	85.5th
Recording span (years)	-211	3.1th
Genres	1	56th

Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.

Discography (6 release groups · 6 studio albums)

Albums · 6

Oboe Sonatas
1993 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 19 tracks · 49:51
1Sonata in C minor for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 53: I. Adagio2:34
2Sonata in C minor for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 53: II. Allegro2:19
3Sonata in C minor for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 53: III. Andante3:55
4Sonata in C minor for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 53: IV. Allegro2:43
5Trio sonata in G minor ("Lund") for 2 oboes, bassoon, harpsichord & archlute, RV 81: I. Allegro2:03
6Trio sonata in G minor ("Lund") for 2 oboes, bassoon, harpsichord & archlute, RV 81: II. Largo3:26
7Trio sonata in G minor ("Lund") for 2 oboes, bassoon, harpsichord & archlute, RV 81: III. Allegro1:23
8Sonata in A major (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, organ & guitar, RV 59: I. Preludio: Largo2:01
9Sonata in A major (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, organ & guitar, RV 59: II. Allegro, ma non presto2:58
10Sonata in A major (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, organ & guitar, RV 59: III. Pastorale, ad libitum3:04
11Sonata in A major (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, organ & guitar, RV 59: IV. Allegro1:52
12Sonata in C major ("Salmoe") for oboe, violin, organ & chalmuleau, RV 779: I. Andante3:26
13Sonata in C major ("Salmoe") for oboe, violin, organ & chalmuleau, RV 779: II. Allegro3:48
14Sonata in C major ("Salmoe") for oboe, violin, organ & chalmuleau, RV 779: III. Largo e Cantabile2:10
15Sonata in C major ("Salmoe") for oboe, violin, organ & chalmuleau, RV 779: IV. Allegro4:08
16Sonata in G minor (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 58: I. Vivace1:27
17Sonata in G minor (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 58: II. Fuga da Capella: Alla breve1:52
18Sonata in G minor (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 58: III. Largo1:30
19Sonata in G minor (from "Il pastor fido") for oboe, cello, harpsichord & archlute, RV 58: IV. Allegro, ma non presto3:12
Les Saisons amusantes
1997 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 20 tracks · 59:50
1Les Saisons amusantes, part 1 "Le Printemps": I. Allegro3:27
2Les Saisons amusantes, part 1 "Le Printemps": II. Adagio sempre piano2:28
3Les Saisons amusantes, part 1 "Le Printemps": III. Pastorello. Allegro3:58
4Sonata XII in A minor, op. 2 no. 2: I. Preludio. Largo4:52
5Sonata XII in A minor, op. 2 no. 2: II. Capriccio. Presto1:36
6Sonata XII in A minor, op. 2 no. 2: III. Grave1:51
7Sonata XII in A minor, op. 2 no. 2: IV. Allemande. Allegro3:02
8Les Saisons amusantes, part 2 "Les Plaisirs de l'eté": I. Allegro3:16
9Les Saisons amusantes, part 2 "Les Plaisirs de l'eté": II. Largo2:29
10Les Saisons amusantes, part 2 "Les Plaisirs de l'eté": III. La Caccia. Allegro3:36
11Les Saisons amusantes, part 3 "L'Automne": I. Allegro4:50
12Les Saisons amusantes, part 3 "L'Automne": II. Largo1:42
13Les Saisons amusantes, part 3 "L'Automne": III. Allegro3:17
14Sonata IV in A major, op. 13 "Il pastor fido": I. Preludio. Largo2:23
15Sonata IV in A major, op. 13 "Il pastor fido": II. Allegro ma non presto3:03
16Sonata IV in A major, op. 13 "Il pastor fido": III. Pastorale ad libitum3:24
17Sonata IV in A major, op. 13 "Il pastor fido": IV. Allegro2:21
18Les Saisons amusantes, part 4 "L'Hiver": I. Allegro3:12
19Les Saisons amusantes, part 4 "L'Hiver": II. Largo1:56
20Les Saisons amusantes, part 4 "L'Hiver": III. Allegro3:07
La Vielle à roue baroque
1998 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 29 tracks · 1:01:13
1Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Bellone deel I1:27
2Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Bellone deel II3:34
3Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Bellone deel III2:11
4Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Bellone deel IV2:20
5Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Bellone deel V1:56
6Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel I2:02
7Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel II2:37
8Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel III2:32
9Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel IV2:41
10Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel V2:31
11Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement de Mars deel VI1:58
12Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement militaire deel I2:14
13Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement militaire deel II1:35
14Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement militaire deel III1:32
15Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement militaire deel IV1:11
16Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel I1:24
17Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel II1:33
18Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel III1:26
19Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel IV1:27
20Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel V1:52
21Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel VI3:10
22Amusement de Bellone nr.1-4 ; Amusement Palatin deel VII1:49
23Les Missions deel I3:24
24Les Missions deel II5:52
25Suite voor melodieinstrumenten [2], op.2, nr.1, "La vielle amusante" deel I1:06
26Suite voor melodieinstrumenten [2], op.2, nr.1, "La vielle amusante" deel II1:44
27Suite voor melodieinstrumenten [2], op.2, nr.1, "La vielle amusante" deel III1:30
28Suite voor melodieinstrumenten [2], op.2, nr.1, "La vielle amusante" deel IV1:21
29Suite voor melodieinstrumenten [2], op.2, nr.1, "La vielle amusante" deel V1:14
Les Saisons Amusantes
2008 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 18 tracks · 54:04
1Concerto “Le Printems”, do majeur: Allegro3:32
2Concerto “Le Printems”, do majeur: Adagio2:28
3Concerto “Le Printems”, do majeur: Pastorello: Allegro3:25
4Concerto “Les Plaisirs de l'Ete”, do majeur: Allegro3:15
5Concerto “Les Plaisirs de l'Ete”, do majeur: Largo2:12
6Concerto “Les Plaisirs de l'Ete”, do majeur: La Caccia: Allegro3:49
7Concerto “La Moisson”, sol mineur: Allegro3:10
8Concerto “La Moisson”, sol mineur: Largo1:53
9Concerto “La Moisson”, sol mineur: Allegro3:56
10Concerto “L'Automne”, sol majeur: Allegro4:46
11Concerto “L'Automne”, sol majeur: Largo1:48
12Concerto “L'Automne”, sol majeur: Allegro3:23
13Concerto “Les Plaisirs de la St.Martin”, do majeur: Allegro3:04
14Concerto “Les Plaisirs de la St.Martin”, do majeur: Largo2:44
15Concerto “Les Plaisirs de la St.Martin”, do majeur: Allegro2:50
16Concerto “L'Hiver”, do mineur: Allegro3:06
17Concerto “L'Hiver”, do mineur: Largo2:02
18Concerto “L'Hiver”, do mineur: Allegro2:41
Les Saisons amusantes
2019 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 18 tracks · 51:44
1Le Printems: I. Allegro3:22
2Le Printems: II. Adagio2:08
3Le Printems: III. Pastorello (Allegro)3:32
4Les Plaisirs de l’été: I. Allegro3:08
5Les Plaisirs de l’été: II. Largo2:40
6Les Plaisirs de l’été: III. La Cacia (Allegro)3:26
7La Moisson: I. Allegro2:59
8La Moisson: II. Largo2:10
9La Moisson: III. Allegro3:31
10L’Automne: I. Allegro4:39
11L’Automne: II. Largo1:37
12L’Automne: III. Allegro3:14
13Les Plaisirs de la Saint-Martin: I. Allegro3:08
14Les Plaisirs de la Saint-Martin: II. Largo1:47
15Les Plaisirs de la Saint-Martin: III. Allegro2:44
16L’Hiver: I. Allegro2:55
17L’Hiver: II. Largo2:00
18L’Hiver: III. Allegro2:44
Chédeville / Vivaldi: Il Pastor Fido
2022 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 28 tracks · 54:23
1Sonata I: I. Moderato2:40
2Sonata I: II. Allegro Tempo di Gavotta1:48
3Sonata I: III. Aria Affettuoso3:03
4Sonata I: IV. Allegro2:46
5Sonata I: V. Giga Allegro1:35
6Sonata II: I. Preludio Adagio1:39
7Sonata II: II. Allegro Assai2:41
8Sonata II: III. Adagio Sarabanda1:57
9Sonata II: IV. Allegro2:02
10Sonata III: I. Preludio Andante1:48
11Sonata III: II. Allegro ma non presto3:12
12Sonata III: III. Sarabanda1:08
13Sonata III: IV. Corrente2:28
14Sonata III: V. Giga Allegro1:17
15Sonata IV: I. Preludio Largo2:14
16Sonata IV: II. Allegro ma non presto2:22
17Sonata IV: III. Pastorale ad libitum2:53
18Sonata IV: IV. Allegro2:11
19Sonata V: I. Un poco vivace1:37
20Sonata V: II. Allegro ma non presto3:24
21Sonata V: III. Un poco Vivace2:52
22Sonata V: IV. Giga Allegro2:14
23Sonata V: V. Adagio1:05
24Sonata V: VI. Minuetto uno et duo1:56
25Sonata VI: I. Vivace et adagio1:31
26Sonata VI: II. Allabreve fuga da capella
27Sonata VI: III. Largo
28Sonata VI: IV. Allegro ma non presto

Stats & PK

Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Nicolas Chédeville head-to-head →

Nicolas Chédeville metrics with percentile rank among published artists
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	14	70.2th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	6	79.7th
Studio albums	6	86.1th
Awards recorded	0	0th
Timeline events	9	85.5th
Recording span (years)	-211	3.1th
Genres	1	56th

Awards & honours

No awards recorded

No major awards are stored for this artist yet.

Browse the best-documented artists

Where this record comes from

portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicolas_Chedeville-pte.jpg
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6f8a03c1-3076-4dcc-a0e2-df079b6eed22
discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6f8a03c1-3076-4dcc-a0e2-df079b6eed22
core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q491486
seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Ch%C3%A9deville
biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Ch%C3%A9deville

Why this artist is in the database

List of composers by name

Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: MT CHedeville · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q491486 · MusicBrainz: 6f8a03c1-3076-4dcc-a0e2-df079b6eed22

Timeline

1700s

Born 1705-02-20

1780s

Died 1782

1990s

Debut release: Oboe Sonatas

Album: Oboe Sonatas

Album: Les Saisons amusantes

Album: La Vielle à roue baroque

2000s

Album: Les Saisons Amusantes

2010s

Album: Les Saisons amusantes

2020s

Album: Chédeville / Vivaldi: Il Pastor Fido

Biography

Biography

Biography

Impersonation of Vivaldi

Compositions

Opuses

Arrangements and other works

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Discography (6 release groups · 6 studio albums)

Albums · 6

Stats & PK

Awards & honours

Where this record comes from

Why this artist is in the database