Jean-Paul-Égide Martini

Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, also known as Jean-Paul-Gilles Martini (31 August 1741 – 14 February 1816) was a French composer of German birth during the classical period. He is best known today for the vocal romance “Plaisir d’amour,” on which the 1961 Elvis Presley pop standard “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is based. He is often confused with the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Martini, so is sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco (“Martini The German”). Life and career Martini was born Johann Paul Aegidius Martin in Freystadt, Bavaria, as the son of the schoolmaster Andreas Martin and his wife Barbara. He was educated at the Jesuit seminary in Neuburg an der Donau and later started a study of philosophy in Freiburg im Breisgau, which he quit unfinished. He temporarily adopted the code name “Schwarzendorf”, presumably trying to cover his tracks for the fear of being urged to refund his education costs. He re-adopted his original family name in the Italianized form “Martini” after moving to France. There, he established a successful career as a court musician. In 1764, he married Marguerite Camelot. Having directed concerts for Queen Marie Antoinette, he adapted to the changing regime