Élisabeth Brasseur (8 January 1896 – 23 November 1972) was a French

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

. In 1920 she founded a

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

which has borne her name since 1943.

Biography

Marie Josèphe Jeanne Élisabeth Brasseur was born in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

, from Jean Marie Joseph Brasseur, transport entrepreneur, and Marguerite Maria Grosjean. It is from the maternal side that the taste for music came to her, since her grandfather

Ernest Grosjean Ernest Grosjean (18 December 1844 – 28 December 1936) was a French organist and composer. Biography Born in Vagney (Vosges), Ernest Grosjean was the nephew and pupil of Jean-Romary Grosjean, founder and director of the ''Journal des organist ...

was

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Verdun. He's the one she started studying music with. She continued her studies of singing and piano at the . In 1920, she founded the women's Choir of the which later became mixed and took the name in 1943. This formation was to become one of the most famous choir formations of the post-war period. Under the direction of

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

, she directed the choir of the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...

in a production of ''

Mireille Mireille () is a French given name, derived from the Provençal Occitan name ''Mirèio'' (or ''Mirèlha'' in the classical norm of Occitan, ). It could be related to the Occitan verb ''mirar'' "to look, to admire" or to the given names ''Miriam'' ...

'' by Charles Gounod. With

Pierre Dervaux Pierre Dervaux (born 3 January 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; died 20 February 1992 in Marseilles, France) was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel ...

, she directed the Chœur du Conservatoire de Paris in a production of ''

Dido and Æneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was ...

'' by Henry Purcell at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1960, which was recorded on disc.on Amazon
/ref> For her long contribution to choral music, the city of Versailles, where she remained until her death on 23 November 1972, aged 77, named a place in her honour, Place Élisabeth-Brasseur, where the Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc church is located, where she founded her first choir.

Recordings

See the recordings with the in the dedicated article. * Charles Gounod: ''

'', choirs of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, choral conductor: Elisabeth Brasseur,

Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the philh ...

, dir.

(Grand Prix du disque of the

Académie Charles-Cros An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

) * Henry Purcell: ''

'', Orchestre de la société des concerts du conservatoire, dir.

, Choir of the Conservatoire de Paris directed by Élisabeth Brasseur, Aix-en-Provence Festival, ed. Walhall; 1960 * Jean-Philippe Rameau: ''

Hippolyte et Aricie ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Sim ...

'', Orchestre de la société des concerts du conservatoire, dir. Jacques Jouineau, artistic direction Gabriel Dussurget, choirs Elisabeth Brasseur, dir. Élisabeth Brasseur. Cour d'honneur du Palais Soubise

Festival du Marais A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

1964.

References

Bibliography

External links

Website of the choir Élisabeth Brasseur

Chœurs Élisabeth Brasseur

Élisabeth Brasseur
on Encyclopédie Larousse
Chœur Elisabeth Brasseur, Concert Mozart and Vivaldi on 19 June 2013
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Brasseur, Elisabeth French choral conductors 1896 births People from Verdun 1972 deaths 20th-century French conductors (music)