= Oeuvres complètes de Gr'try, publiées par le Gouvernement Belge. Grétry (1741-1813) war in Paris "der große Unterhalter des Hofes und der Stadt" und wußte in diesen amüsanten Erinnerungen an Komponisten und andere Zeitgenossen seine Leser zu fesseln (MGG). "The composer himself was influenced by the great events he witnessed, and the titles of some of his operas, such as La rosière républicaine and La fête de la raison, sufficiently indicate the epoch to which they belong; but they are mere pièces de circonstance, and the republican enthusiasm displayed is not genuine. Little more successful was Grétry in his dealings with classical subjects. His genuine power lay in the delineation of character and in the expression of tender and typically French sentiment. The structure of his concerted pieces on the other hand is frequently flimsy, and his instrumentation so feeble that the orchestral parts of some of his works had to be rewritten by other composers, in order to make them acceptable to modern audiences. During the Revolution Grétry lost much of his property, but the successive governments of France vied in favouring the composer, regardless of political differences. From the old court he received distinctions and rewards of all kinds; the republic made him an inspector of the conservatoire; Napoleon granted him the cross of the legion of honour and a pension."(wikipedia). Cf. Eitner 4, pag.373; MGG 5, Sp. 827 und 832.