Remise solennelle du coeur de Grétry à la ville de Liége : Notice historique de procès que cette ville a soutenu pou en obtenir la restitution (Liège Collardin, 1829)
The passing of André Ernest Modeste Grétry on 24 September 1813, took on a rather macabre complexion. Grétry was born on 8 February 1741 in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, presently located in the French-speaking southern region of Belgium known as Wallonia. For much of his active life as a composer, Grétry worked in Paris, and he even acquired French citizenship. After taking his terminal breath, he was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, yet his hometown of Liège demanded the return of his body. Parisian and French authorities refused, prompting a series of lawsuits over Grétry’s final resting place. The matter was finally settled fifteen years later with a somewhat uneasy and grotesque compromise. The city of Liège would build a large bronze statue of the composer containing Grétry’s heart, while his body would stay in Paris! Finished in 1842 and placed in front of the opera house, the statue indeed still holds Grétry’s disembodied cardiac muscle.
Relation des fetes qui ont eu lieu les 7,8 et 9 septembre 1828 pour célébrer le retour, suivies des procès-verbaux, pièces justificatives etc.
Keywords: Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste -- 1741-1813; 19th Century (1801-1900); History; Music history; Funeral; Liège (Belgium)