A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Francœur, François
FRANCŒUR, François, violinist and composer, born at Paris in 1698. He entered the band of the Opera in 1710, was for many years a member of the king's private band, and for some time, conjointly with Rébel, manager of the Opera. He died at Paris in 1787. He published two sets of sonatas, which, according to Wasielewsky, show considerable progress in form and in treatment of the instrument, when compared with similar works by Rébel and other French composers of the period. It is worth mentioning as a peculiarity of his, that he occasionally employs the thumb of the left hand on the fingerboard for taking the bass note of a chord a proceeding hardly in accordance with legitimate treatment. He also composed a number of operas conjointly with Rébel, which however do not rise above the level of the period.
His son, Louis Joseph, an eminent violinist and clever conductor, was born at Paris in 1738, and died in 1804. He was first leader and afterwards conductor and manager of the Opera and of the royal band, and composed a number of operas. He also published a treatise on instrumentation, which Fétis considers a meritorious work.