Charles Ots

Charles Ots was born on 13 May 1776 in Brussels (at that time part of the Austrian Netherlands). Little is known about his family background or early musical training, but he must have received a substantial musical education at an early age, since in 1795, when he was only nineteen, the Mainz publisher Bernhard Schott issued his "Sei Canzonette col’Accompagnamento del Cembalo" op. 5. Another indication of this is an advertisement by Charles Ots in the Journal du commerce of 28 April 1809, in which he offered instruction in singing, piano, violin, guitar, accompaniment, and composition. Among his pupils was the young Adolphe Quetelet, later famous as an astronomer, mathematician, and statistician.
From the first decade of the nineteenth century onward, Ots was closely associated with the cultural life of Ghent. He belonged to the milieu of the Societe royale des Beaux-Arts et de Litterature, whose later history listed him among the composers of whom the city could be proud, alongside figures such as Pieter Verheyen, Martin-Joseph Mengal, Charles-Louis-Joseph Hanssens, and others. He contributed music to public and private celebrations; on 10 June 1811, a cantata of his was performed in Ghent to mark the birth of Napoleon's son, the King of Rome. On 21 October of the same year, he collaborated with Philippe Lesbroussart on Couplets sung at the banquet of the Societe des Beaux-Arts for the feast of its patron, Saint Luke. From 1813 onward, his name appears regularly in the Ghent directory Wegwyzer, although his presence in the city is documented much earlier. By 1818, Charles Ots had become chef d'orchestre of the Ghent theatre. Ots remained orchestra leader until 1820, when he was replaced by Charles Hanssens.
After 1820, Charles Ots becomes increasingly difficult to trace. His name disappears from the Ghent Wegwyzer after 1822 or 1823, and the details of his later life remain uncertain. Francois-Joseph Fetis stated in his monumental "Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie generale de la musique" that in old age Charles Ots returned to his native Brussels and died there in 1845, an assertion repeated by many later reference works. However, Paul Bergmans, writing for the Belgian Biographie nationale, noted that no corresponding death record for Charles Ots could be found in the Brussels civil registers for the period 1796–1860. The date and place of death therefore cannot be given with certainty.

The catalogue of Charles Ots's works contains at least four stage works: La Ruse villageoise (Ghent, 1796), Le Nouveau Marie ou Les Importuns (Brussels, 1806), Jean Second ou Charles-Quint dans les murs de Gand (Ghent, 1816), and David Teniers (Ghent, 1818).
Alongside his stage works, Ots cultivated a wide range of vocal music. His secular works included the cantata "La Rose enlevee" for bass voice with orchestra, as well as numerous romances, among them "Henri quatre", "Je l'aimerai" and "Les Beaux-Arts". A collection entitled "Six romances nouvelles, avec accompagnement de forte-piano ou harpe", on texts by Demoutier and Laharpe and dedicated to William de Nayer, was published in Paris by Brun. His "Sul margine d'un rio - Theme varie pour la voix avec accompagnement de piano" was dedicated to the celebrated Italian soprano Angelica Catalani and was issued in Paris by Alphonse Leduc and in Berlin by Schlesinger; the piece was associated with Catalani's Berlin concert repertoire around 1819. Other surviving or bibliographically documented songs include "Non so dir se pena sia" and the French romance "Il t'aime bien". Sacred music formed another substantial part of Ots's activity. His sacred works included a "Dixit Dominus", a "Laudate pueri", several settings of Tantum ergo, and O salutaris, with orchestral accompaniment.

La Ruse villageoise

In my possession is the autograph full score of the opera-comique "La Ruse villageoise" by Charles Ots. The work was premiered in Ghent on 2 January 1796. No further information about the premiere are known and no other performances are documented.

The manuscript was written on paper measuring ca. 37x28 cm and containing the watermark of a lily and the countermark "DP" throughout the complete document. Here are photos of the watermarks. Unfortunately I could not identify the associated papermill.