François van Campenhout (February 5, 1779 – April 24, 1848) was a Belgian opera singer, conductor, and composer. He composed the music for the Belgian national anthem, “La Brabançonne.”
Campenhout was born in Brussels, where he studied violin. He initially worked as a clerk, but soon took up a career in music. After playing the viola at the Théâtre de la Monnaie (Muntschouwburg) in Brussels for some time, he began his career as a tenor at the Opera in Ghent. This was the beginning of a successful opera career that took him to Brussels, Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam, The Hague, Lyon, and Bordeaux. In 1828, he ended his singing career and became a conductor in Brussels, where he died in 1848. He was buried at the Brussels Cemetery in Evere, Brussels.
Campenhout wrote many works: operas such as “Grocjusz czy Zamek Lovesteyn” and “Passe-Partout,” which were successful, as well as ballet music, symphonies, and choral music. He wrote the music for “Brabançonne” in September 1830 to lyrics by Alexandre Dechet (Jenneval).
Van Campenhout was a Freemason and a member of the Grand Orient of Belgium.
source: wikipedia.org
